Woven Display Could Bring TV Curtains and Interactive Clothing
Researchers have developed a woven display with smart sensors, energy harvesting and storage integrated directly into the fabric.
A team of researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, has developed a fully-woven smart textile display that integrates active electronics, sensing, energy and photonic functions into the fibers and yarns. The breakthrough could lead to interesting technologies, including TV curtains, energy harvesting carpets and interactive, self-powered clothing. What’s more, the smart textiles can be manufactured using existing textile-based industrial processes.
Despite recent advances in smart textiles, their functionality is usually limited, their dimensions and shapes are typically constrained, and most are not compatible with a weaving process. The researchers solved those issues by braiding some of the components and coating the fibers with durable materials, which also provides mechanical and electrical stabilities using conductive adhesives and laser welding techniques.
The resulting fabric can operate as a display, monitor various inputs and store energy. Moreover, it can detect RF signals, touch inputs, light and temperature. The researchers state their prototype display can usher in next-generation e-textile applications such as smart, energy-efficient buildings that can generate and store energy, new Internet of Things (IoT), distributed sensor networks and interactive displays that are flexible and wearable when integrated with fabrics.
The team is currently working with EU collaborators to make the technology sustainable and useable for everyday objects and wearables. They are also looking to integrate sustainable materials as fiber components for a new class of smart fabrics that could eventually be used for batteries, supercapacitors, solar panels and more.