Project overview
Imagine a world where your smart clothing charges as easily as your phone, transfers data seamlessly, and connects to any device without fuss. Right now, e-textiles—the future of wearable technology—are held back not by innovation, but by a lack of standardisation in connectivity.
Just as the USB revolution enabled the explosive growth of consumer electronics and reuse of devices by providing a universal interface, a unified textile connector, could be the tipping point that moves e-textiles from niche prototypes to everyday products. Without it, manufacturers face fragmentation, consumers face incompatibility, and the industry stalls before it even reaches mainstream adoption.
For electronics to become truly ubiquitous in textiles, wearables, e-skins and Internet of Wearable Things (IoWT), a paradigm shift is necessary making it easy to integrate electronics in textiles without developing components such as external power connectors from scratch. Connector requirements are common to many applications, so development of a universal connector will not only reduce development and manufacturing costs, it will reduce time to market and increase the sustainability of these devices by enabling use of common charging solutions, allowing manufacturers to focus on designing products that add value for end users and are robust enough to withstand anticipated use and laundry. Furthermore, development of a connector that directly addresses end-user needs and, together with vigorous test of robustness to laundering, aims to increase end-user satisfaction and adoption.
SoftIE will develop a garment interconnection ecosystem which allows developers and manufacturers to have a common standard with which to amalgamate their technologies with other manufacturers and enable a unified approach to future e-textile applications.
Just as the USB revolution enabled the explosive growth of consumer electronics and reuse of devices by providing a universal interface, a unified textile connector, could be the tipping point that moves e-textiles from niche prototypes to everyday products. Without it, manufacturers face fragmentation, consumers face incompatibility, and the industry stalls before it even reaches mainstream adoption.
For electronics to become truly ubiquitous in textiles, wearables, e-skins and Internet of Wearable Things (IoWT), a paradigm shift is necessary making it easy to integrate electronics in textiles without developing components such as external power connectors from scratch. Connector requirements are common to many applications, so development of a universal connector will not only reduce development and manufacturing costs, it will reduce time to market and increase the sustainability of these devices by enabling use of common charging solutions, allowing manufacturers to focus on designing products that add value for end users and are robust enough to withstand anticipated use and laundry. Furthermore, development of a connector that directly addresses end-user needs and, together with vigorous test of robustness to laundering, aims to increase end-user satisfaction and adoption.
SoftIE will develop a garment interconnection ecosystem which allows developers and manufacturers to have a common standard with which to amalgamate their technologies with other manufacturers and enable a unified approach to future e-textile applications.
