MRES.B.02.02 Multifunctional materials and Wearable Devices

 

This course module focuses on a multidisciplinary field of the electronic devices and the clothing items used for the operation of the sensors, the actuators and the communication devices for the acquisition of biological signals, process and transmission of the respective information, the operation of actuators etc. The textile based electrical energy harvesting is also an important function of the wearable systems.

Among the multifunctional materials, the most interesting ones are those which can be found or transformed in fibrous form, permitting their integration in the textile materials of the clothing items. Consequently, the course module covers both fields and enables the analysis and the design of wearable electronic systems based on textile substrates on the human body.

The contents of the module are outlined as follows:

  1. Principles of wearable technology

1.1 Wearable devices

1.2 Wearable signal interfaces

1.3 Interaction of wearables

  1. Principles of clothing technology

2.1 Textile materials

2.2 Textile fabrics

2.3 Clothing design and structure

  1. Properties of multifunctional materials

3.1 Conductive fibres

3.2 Piezoelectric fibres and triboelectric textiles

3.3 Heat – Light – Colour etc.

  1. Sensors and textile-based components

4.1 Yarns and fabrics with sensorial properties

4.2 R, C, L textile-based components

4.3 Power and transmission components

4.4. Textile antennas

  1. Connectivity of distributed units

5.1 Hardware connections

5.2 Flexible structures

5.3 Wireless interconnections

  1. Communication of wearable systems

6.1 Communication protocols

6.2 Data transmission

6.3 Internet applications

Mini project:

Short project for the analysis of the performance of multifunctional materials and basic wearable systems.

Upon successful completion of this course module, students are expected to be able to:

(1)          Understand the basic principles of a Wearable System.

(2)          To be familiarized with the textile and clothing technology.

(3)          Understand the properties of multifunctional materials.

(4)          Select and design a textile-based sensing system.

(5)          Consider the energy issues of the wearable systems

(6)          To use communication tools for the handling of the data

  • A course in Analog and Digital Electronics
  • A course in Materials

Student evaluation comes from

  • Mini group project x 30%
  • Final written exam x 70%

INDICATIVE RESEARCH ARTICLES

  • Suranga Seneviratne, Yining Hu, Tham Nguyen, Guohao Lan, Sara Khalifa, Kanchana Thilakarathna, Mahbub Hassan, and Aruna Seneviratne, ‘A Survey of Wearable Devices and Challenges’, IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials 19, 4 Fourth Quarter (2017)
  • Konstantinos Salonitis, John Pandremenos, John Paralikas and George Chryssolouris, ‘Multifunctional materials: engineering applications and processing challenges’, Int J Adv Manuf Technol 49, pp 803–826 (2010)
  • Rebecca R. Ruckdashel, Ninad Khadse and Jay Hoon Park, ‘Smart E-Textiles: Overview of Components and Outlook’, Sensors 22, 6055 (2022)
  • Jae Sang Heo, Jimi Eom, Yong-Hoon Kim, and Sung Kyu Park, ‘Recent Progress of Textile-Based Wearable Electronics: A Comprehensive Review of Materials, Devices, and Applications’, Small, 14, 1703034 (2018)
  • Kang Du, Rongzhou Lin, Lu Yin, John S. Ho, Joseph Wang, and Chwee Teck Lim, ‘Electronic textiles for energy, sensing, and communication’, iScience 25, 104174 (2022)
  • Ruiyang Yin, Depeng Wang, Shufang Zhao, Zheng Lou, and Guozhen Shen, ‘Wearable Sensors-Enabled Human–Machine Interaction Systems: From Design to Application’, Adv. Mater., 31, 2008936 (2021)
  • Repoulias, A., Vassiliadis, S., Galata, S.F., “Triboelectricity and textile structures”, Journal of the Textile Institute, 2021, 112(10), pp. 1580–1587

TOOLS: Audiovisual equipment, internet learning platform