A thread can be made to conduct electricity by either coating it with metals like copper or silver. It can also be made conductive by combining cotton or nylon fibers with metal fibers when it is spun.
Inputs for e-textiles:
To obtain information for wearable devices components such as sensors are often used, for instance, environmental sensors, antennas, global positioning system receivers, sound sensors and cameras. Such sensors can be divided on active and passive (Langenhove & Hertleer, 2004)(Seymour, 2009). Active inputs are controlled by a user via a tactile or acoustic feedback system, which provides an intuitive interaction with the garment. Passive inputs collect biometric data from the human body as well as environmental data collected via wireless transmission system.
Construction of E-Textiles:
- Lily Pad Arduino
- Fabric kit
- Aniomagic
- Flora
- Conductive fabrics and textiles are plated or woven with metallic elements such as silver, nickel, tin, copper, and aluminum these are: electro-nylon, electr-onylon nickel, clear-mesh, soft-mesh, electro-lycra and steel-cloth. All these textiles show amazing electrical properties, with low surface resistance15, which can be used for making flexible and soft electrical circuits within garments or other products, pressure and position-sensing systems. They are lightweight, flexible, durable, soft and washable (some) and can be sewn like traditional textiles, which makes them a great replacement for wires in computational garments.
- Conductive threads and yarns have a similar purpose to wires and that is to create conductive paths from one point to another. However, unlike wires they are flexible and can be sewn, woven or embroidered onto textile, allowing for soft circuits to be created. Conductive threads and yarns offer alternative ways of connecting electronics on soft and flexible textiles medium as well offering traditional textile manufacturing techniques for creating computational garments.
- Conductive coatings are used to convert traditional textiles into electrically conductive materials. The coatings can be applied to different types of traditional fibers, yarns and fabrics, without changing their flexibility, density and handling.
- Conductive ink is an ink that conducts electricity, providing new ways of printing or drawing circuits. This special ink can be applied to textile and other substrates. Conductive inks contain powdered metals such as carbon, copper or silver mixed with traditional inks
Advancement:
Some of the most advanced functions that have been demonstrated in the lab include:
- Organic fiber transistors: The first textile fiber transistor that is completely compatible with textile manufacturing and that contains no metals at all.
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