Textiles spin a yarn for the digital revolution

Woven display system brings a whole new meaning to the concept of wearable digital technology

Researchers have developed 46-inch display complete with smart sensors, energy harvesting and storage integrated directly into the fabric

By Mark Cantrell

SCIENTISTS have come up with a way to make flexible display screens with integrated sensors, memory and energy harvesting out of ordinary woven fabric.

The trick is in the weave, as it were; or rather in the integration of flexible fibre-based electronics into the conventional yarns used to make the fabric. Cloth displays can then be manufactured using textile-based industrial processes.

As breakthroughs go, it’s one that potentially brings a host of science fiction accessories to everyday life: curtains that also serve as televisions; energy-harvesting carpets, fabrics with programmable patterns and images; and interactive, self-powered clothing.

Will they fasten themselves and automatically adjust to our size and proportions, though? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we can’t have everything at once.

The international team behind the breakthrough, led by scientists from Cambridge University, reported their results in the journal Nature Communications.

This is said to be the first time that a complex system has been integrated into textiles over a large area in a way that can be scaled to requirements by using an entirely fibre-based manufacturing approach.

Hitherto, despite progress in the development of so-called smart textiles, their functionality, shape and dimensions have been limited by current manufacturing processes.

Integrating specialised fibres into textiles through conventional weaving or knitting processes means they can be incorporated into everyday objects, opening up a range of possibilities, but the scope has been limited by size.

Either that, or the technology was simply incompatible with textiles and the weaving process. Inevitably, this has set limits on what can be achieved.

To overcome these problems, the researchers coated each fibre component with materials that can withstand enough stretching that they can be used on textile manufacturing machinery. They also braided some of the fibre-based components to improve their reliability and make them more durable.

Finally, the team connected multiple fibre components together using conductive adhesives and laser welding techniques. This meant, as the researchers put it, that “multiple functionalities” could be incorporated in a large piece of woven fabric.

The resulting piece of ‘cloth’ can operate as a display, monitor various inputs, or store energy for later use. What’s more, the fabric can detect radio-frequency signals, touch, light and temperature.

The material is also sufficiently flexible that it can be rolled up. Since it’s made using commercial textile manufacturing techniques, this means that large rolls of functional fabric could be made this way.

From such a prototype display, the way is paved towards what the team call “next-generation e-textile applications” in a variety of sectors. This includes applications 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 both flexible and wearable.

“Our approach is built on the convergence of micro and nanotechnology, advanced displays, sensors, energy and technical textile manufacturing,” said Professor Jong min Kim, from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “This is a step towards the full exploitation of sustainable, convenient e-fibres and e-textiles in daily applications. And it’s only the beginning.”

Jong co-led the research with Dr Luigi Occhipinti, also from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, and Professor Manish Chhowalla from the university’s Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy.

“By integrating fibre-based electronics, photonic, sensing and energy functionalities, we can achieve a whole new class of smart devices and systems,” Occhipinti added. “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.”

The researchers are working with European collaborators to make the technology sustainable and useable for everyday objects. They are also working to integrate sustainable materials as fibre components, providing a new class of energy textile systems.

It is claimed their flexible and functional smart fabric could eventually be made into batteries, supercapacitors, solar panels and other devices.

The research was funded in part by the European Commission and the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Thanks for taking the time to read this post.

For the price of a cup of coffee you’d not only be showing your appreciation of the writer’s efforts, but also helping to support an indie author in these difficult times.