SWEET - Stretchable and Wearable Electronics for ...

In the present era of “ambient intelligence”, men, women and children are dragging along pockets / handbags full of all kinds of electronic gadgets.

Textiles, a flexible and versatile material, represent an excellent support to unite all these loose items into a single wearable system, offering a platform for the introduction of innovative technology, which is widely accepted by its potential users.

Despite these unique qualities of textiles, our markets are not yet flooded by smart textile products.

One of the main reasons is the present lack of a satisfactory technology to integrate rather complex electronic functions into textiles (garments). Standard electronic devices (mp3 players, i-pods, cell phones...) come in rigid forms, cannot be deformed (stretched the way clothing does) and have to be removed whenever the garments needs to be washed of dry-cleaned.

The elimination of these obstacles and the development of technologies rendering embedded electronics almost unnoticed would certainly boost the use and commercial success of smart textile products.

The project (Stretchable and Washable Electronics for Embedding in Textiles) is aimed at the creation of highly integrated electronics in textile. SWEET desires to develop a technology platform for stretchable and washable electronic circuits and their embedding technologies into textiles.