Researchers have developed a 46-inch woven display with smart sensors, energy harvesting and storage integrated directly into the fabric.
An international team of scientists have produced a fully woven smart textile display that integrates active electronic, sensing, energy and photonic functions. The functions are embedded directly into the fibres and yarns, which are manufactured using textile-based industrial processes.
The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, say their approach could lead to applications that sound like sci-fi: curtains that are also TVs, energy-harvesting carpets, and interactive, self-powered clothing and fabrics. This is the first time that a scalable large-area complex system has been integrated into textiles using an entirely fibre-based manufacturing approach.
To date, the manufacturing of these fibres has been size limited, or the technology has not been compatible with textiles and the weaving process. To make the technology compatible with weaving, the researchers coated each fibre component with materials that can withstand enough stretching so they can be used on textile manufacturing equipment. The team also braided some of the fibre-based components to improve their reliability and durability. Finally, they connected multiple fibre components together using conductive adhesives and laser welding techniques.
"By integrating fibre-based electronics, photonic, sensing and energy functionalities, we can achieve a whole new class of smart devices and systems. By unleashing the full potential of textile manufacturing, we could soon see smart and energy-autonomous Internet of Things devices that are seamlessly integrated into everyday objects and many other sector applications.” Dr Luigi Occhipinti, Dept of Engineering
The resulting fabric can operate as a display, monitor various inputs, or store energy for later use. The fabric can detect radiofrequency signals, touch, light and temperature. It can also be rolled up, and because it’s made using commercial textile manufacturing techniques, large rolls of functional fabric could be made this way.
The researchers say their prototype display paves the way to next-generation e-textile applications in sectors such as smart and energy-efficient buildings that can generate and store their own energy, Internet of Things (IoT), distributed sensor networks and interactive displays that are flexible and wearable when integrated with fabrics.
Read the original University of Cambridge article.
H.W. Choi et al. ‘Smart textile lighting/display system with multifunctional fibre devices for large scale smart home and IoT applications.’ Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28459-6