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A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Internet of Things".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 26541

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Vladan Koncar

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Guest Editor

ENSAIT, University of Lille, F-59100 Roubaix, France
Interests: flexible sensors and actuators; smart and e-textiles; modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Cedric Cochrane

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Guest Editor

École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries Textiles/Génie et Matériaux Textiles laboratory (ENSAIT/GEMTEX), 2 Allée Louis et Victor Champier, F-59100 Roubaix, France
Interests: smart textiles; textile and flexible sensors; e-textiles; textiles and flexible actuators; mechanical sensors; reliability of smart textiles; textile monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Xuyuan Tao

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Guest Editor

ENSAIT, University of Lille, Roubaix, France
Interests: embedded systems; smart textile; intelligent garment design; textile sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This is a Special Issue of the journal Sensors dedicated to smart textiles and their applications, which expects innovative work to explore new frontiers and challenges in the field of intelligent textiles, including smart sensors, e-textiles, and smart materials, as well as large-scale deployments and innovative use cases of intelligent textile technology.

In the last few years, developments in wearable computing, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence have been bringing new functionalities to textiles and our living spaces. With recent trends and research developments, smart textiles are applied in several technical fields such as medicine, transportation, energy, protection, security, structural health monitoring of composite structures, and electronics. The important characteristics of smart textiles are their launderability, stretching and flexing together with specific characteristics such as their aesthetics, dry cleaning, and comfort for fashion and wearables, for instance.

To help bring some new insights into the development and trends of smart textiles, the Editors invite the community to support Sensors (IF = 3.031) in this timely initiative by submitting new and ground-breaking papers that will constitute the roadmap of our future research.

The particular topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Textile sensors and actuators;
E-textiles;
IoT for textiles;
Standards and tests for smart and e-textiles;
Wearable technology, wearable devices, and fashion electronics;
Artificial intelligence in textiles;
Cyber materials.

Prof. Dr. Vladan Koncar
Dr. Cedric Cochrane
Dr. Xuyuan Tao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sensors and actuators;
textile electronics;
integration;
reliability;
communication

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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25 pages, 11537 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Textronic UHF RFID Transponder

by Piotr Jankowski-Mihułowicz, Mariusz Węglarski, Mateusz Chamera and Patryk Pyt

Sensors 2021, 21(4), 1093; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21041093 - 5 Feb 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3703

Abstract

In order to respond the growing interest towards radio frequency identification textile transponders, the authors propose a new approach to design radio frequency identification (RFID) devices by introducing the RFIDtex concept. The coupling system of inductive loops is implemented in the textronic structure with the RFID interface in order to split the transponder into two independently manufactured components. Then both modules can be easily integrated into the RFIDtex tag. The presented simulation and measurement results prove the concept of manufacturing a relatively small antenna in the form of a meandered dipole sewn in with a single thread, and further, that can be connected to the RFID chip through the coupling system without galvanic junctions. The achieved parameters clearly indicate that the tag can correctly communicate with the read/write device as well as the coupling between its both parts works properly, and the impedance matching is possible in this case. The possibility of confectioning products with electronic identification tags at the textile factory site and improved resistance to the impact of environmental conditions are the main advantage of the proposed approach to the RFID devices designing. The RFIDtex transponder idea proposed by the authors was restricted in the patent no PL 231291 B1. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Textiles and Applications)

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16 pages, 5004 KiB

Open AccessArticle

E-Textile Systems Reliability Assessment—A Miniaturized Accelerometer Used to Investigate Damage during Their Washing

by Shahood uz Zaman, Xuyuan Tao, Cédric Cochrane and Vladan Koncar

Sensors 2021, 21(2), 605; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21020605 - 16 Jan 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4104

Abstract

E-textiles reveal a new and hybrid sector of the industry that is created by the integration of electronic components or textile-based electronics in our daily life textile products. They are facing problems in terms of washability, reliability, and user acceptance. This manuscript explains the mechanical stresses acting during the washing process and their impact on e-textile systems. Different washing programs were investigated in terms of total process duration. This washing process duration is mainly divided into three diverse washing actions: low-speed rotation, high-speed rotation, and stop time. This investigation was performed to highlight the importance of the washing actions and their percentages in the total washing process. A piece of fabric with a flexible PCB (printed circuit board), equipped with an accelerometer with a Bluetooth communication device and a microcontroller, was placed in the washing machine to analyze the movement of fabric provoked by washing stresses. The PCB was used for fabric movements recording to determine the impact of mechanical stress on e-textile systems during the washing process. From the video analysis, it was concluded that the duration of the low-speed and high-speed rotation actions should be privileged comparing to the duration of the whole washing process. A power spectral density (PSD) analysis based on the accelerometer outputs was realized. Mechanical stresses at different frequencies were identified. Based on this analysis, it could be possible to improve the protocols of mechanical tests (Martindale and pilling box) used to simulate the mechanical stress applied to e-textile systems during the washing process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Textiles and Applications)

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16 pages, 10974 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Glow-in-the-Dark Patterned PET Nonwoven Using Air-Atmospheric Plasma Treatment and Vitamin B2-Derivative (FMN)

by Sweta Narayanan Iyer, Nemeshwaree Behary, Vincent Nierstrasz and Jinping Guan

Sensors 2020, 20(23), 6816; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20236816 - 28 Nov 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2521

Abstract

Flavin mononucleotide (FMN) derived from Vitamin B2, a bio-based fluorescent water-soluble molecule with visible yellow-green fluorescence, has been used in the scope of producing photoluminescent and glow-in-the-dark patterned polyester (PET) nonwoven panels. Since the FMN molecule cannot diffuse inside the PET fiber, screen printing, coating, and padding methods were used in an attempt to immobilize FMN molecules at the PET fiber surface of a nonwoven, using various biopolymers such as gelatin and sodium alginate as well as a water-based commercial polyacrylate. In parallel, air atmospheric plasma activation of PET nonwoven was carried for improved spreading and adhesion of FMN bearing biopolymer/polymer mixture. Effectively, the plasma treatment yielded a more hydrophilic PET nonwoven, reduction in wettability, and surface roughness of the plasma treated fiber with reduced water contact angle and increased capillary uptake were observed. The standard techniques of morphological properties were explored by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Films combining each biopolymer and FMN were formed on PS (polystyrene) Petri-dishes. However, only the gelatin and polyacrylate allowed the yellow-green fluorescence of FMN molecule to be maintained on the film and PET fabric (seen under ultraviolet (UV) light). No yellow-green fluorescence of FMN was observed with sodium alginate. Thus, when the plasma-activated PET was coated with the gelatin mixture or polyacrylate bearing FMN, the intense photoluminescent yellow-green glowing polyester nonwoven panel was obtained in the presence of UV light (370 nm). Screen printing of FMN using a gelatin mixture was possible. The biopolymer exhibited appropriate viscosity and rheological behavior, thus creating a glow-in-the-dark pattern on the polyester nonwoven, with the possibility of one expression in daylight and another in darkness (in presence of UV light). A bio-based natural product such as FMN is potentially an interesting photoluminescent molecule with which textile surface pattern designers may create light-emitting textiles and interesting aesthetic expressions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Textiles and Applications)

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16 pages, 3308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In Situ Detection of Water Leakage for Textile-Reinforced Composites

by Julie Regnier, Aurélie Cayla, Christine Campagne and Eric Devaux

Sensors 2020, 20(22), 6641; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20226641 - 20 Nov 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2619

Abstract

By incorporating electrically conductive yarns into a waterproof membrane, one can detect epoxy resin cracking or liquid leakage. Therefore, this study examined the electrical conductivity variations of several yarns (metallic or carbon-based) for cracking and water detection. The first observations concerned the detectors’ feasibility by investigating their conductivity variations during both their resin implementation processes and their resin cracking. Throughout this experiment, two phenomena were detected: the compression and the separation of the fibres by the resin. In addition, the resin cracking had an important role in decreasing the yarns’ conductivity. The second part of this study concerned water detection. Two principles were established and implemented, first with yarns and then with yarns incorporated into the resin. First, the principle of absorption was based on the conductivity variation with the yarns’ swelling after contact with water. A short circuit was established by the creation of a conductive path when a drop of water was deposited between two conductive, parallel yarns. Through the influence of the yarns’ properties, this study explored the metallic yarns’ capacity to better detect water with a short circuit and the ability of the carbon-based yarns to detect water by the principle of absorption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Textiles and Applications)

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18 pages, 33696 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impedance Enhancement of Textile Grounded Loop Antenna Using High-Impedance Surface (HIS) for Healthcare Applications

by Mohammed M. Bait-Suwailam, Isidoro I. Labiano and Akram Alomainy

Sensors 2020, 20(14), 3809; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20143809 - 8 Jul 2020

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4226

Abstract

In this paper, impedance matching enhancement of a grounded wearable low-profile loop antenna is investigated using a high-impedance surface (HIS) structure. The wearable loop antenna along with the HIS structure is maintained low-profile, making it a suitable candidate for healthcare applications. The paper starts with investigating, both numerically and experimentally, the effects of several textile parameters on the performance of the wearable loop antenna. The application of impedance enhancement of wearable grounded loop antenna with HIS structure is then demonstrated. Numerical full-wave simulations are presented and validated with measured results. Unlike the grounded wearable loop antenna alone with its degraded performance, the wearable loop antenna with HIS structure showed better matching performance improvement at the 2.45 GHz-band. The computed overall far-field properties of the wearable loop antenna with HIS structure shows good performance, with a maximum gain of 6.19 dBi. The effects of bending the wearable loop antenna structure with and without HIS structure as well as when in close proximity to a modeled human arm are also investigated, where good performance was achieved for the case of the wearable antenna with the HIS structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Textiles and Applications)

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14 pages, 4677 KiB

Open AccessLetter

Textile Based Electrochromic Cells Prepared with PEDOT: PSS and Gelled Electrolyte

by Carsten Graßmann, Maureen Mann, Lieva Van Langenhove and Anne Schwarz-Pfeiffer

Sensors 2020, 20(19), 5691; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20195691 - 6 Oct 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4824

Abstract

Electrochromic devices can act as passive displays. They change their color when a low voltage is applied. Flexible and bendable hybrid textile-film electrochromic devices with poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) were prepared on polyethylene polyethylene terephthalate (PEPES) membranes using a spray coating technique. The electrolyte consisted of a gelatin glycerol mixture as host matrix and calcium chloride. Titanium dioxide was used as an ion storage layer and a carbon containing dispersion was used for the counter electrode on a polyester rip-stop fabric. The sheet resistance of PEDOT:PSS on PEPES was 500 Ohm/sq. A 5 × 5 electrochromic matrix with individually addressable pixels was successfully designed and assembled. The switching time of the pixels was 2 s at a voltage of 2.0 V directly after assembling. The use of titanium dioxide as ion storage also increased the contrast of the dark-blue reduced electrochromic layer. Coloration was not self-sustaining. The PEDOT:PSS layer needed a constant low voltage of at least 0.5 V to sustain in the dark-blue reduced state. The switching time increased with time. After 12 months the switching time was ~4 s at a voltage of 2.8 V. The addition of glycerol into the electrolyte extended the lifetime of a non-encapsulated textile electrochromic cell, because moisture is retained in the electrolyte. Charge carriers can be transported into and out of the electrochromic layer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Textiles and Applications)

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13 pages, 36718 KiB

Open AccessLetter

Improving the Recovery of Patients with Subacromial Pain Syndrome with the DAid Smart Textile Shirt

by Guna Semjonova, Janis Vetra, Vinita Cauce, Alexander Oks, Alexei Katashev and Peteris Eizentals

Sensors 2020, 20(18), 5277; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20185277 - 15 Sep 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3221

Abstract

Wearable technologies provide many possibilities for applications in medicine, and especially in physiotherapy, where tracking and evaluation of body motion are of utmost importance. Despite the existence of multiple smart garments produced for applications in physiotherapy, there is limited information available on the actual impact of these technologies on the clinical outcomes. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the Double Aid (DAid) smart shirt, a purely textile-based system, on the training process of patients with subacromial pain syndrome. A randomized controlled trial was performed where patients with subacromial pain syndrome had to perform the assigned training exercises while employing the DAid smart shirt system. The core point of each exercise was to perform a movement while holding the shoulders stationary. The smart shirt was designed to sense even slight shoulder motion thus providing the patient with feedback on the accuracy of the motion, and allowing the patient to adjust the movement. The appropriate muscles should be strengthened through an increased effort to control the shoulder motion. The recovery of patients using the feedback system at the end of the treatment was compared to that of a reference group through standardized tests—the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score (DASH score), Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability test (CKCUES test), and internal/external rotation ratio. The test group that used the DAid system demonstrated significantly better results of the performed tests for all applied outcome measures compared to the reference group (p < 0.001). An overall positive impact on the patient recovery was observed from the DAid smart shirt system when applied for rehabilitation training of patients with subacromial pain syndrome. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Textiles and Applications)

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