Screen Printing - October/November 2019 - 26

E-TEXTILES - SMART CLOTHING

At CES 2019, Xenoma wearHealth, and DFKI showed how smart apparel could be combined with
camera-free motion-sensing technology to help occupational and physical therapists and sports trainers
and injury rehabilitation experts evaluate the movements of patients. Xenoma developed smart pants
that integrated seven six-axis Inertial measurement units (IMUs) that can continuously track the user's
quick, repetitive movements. The software for visualizing and analyzing the movement data was developed
by the wearHealth research group at Technische Universitat Kaiserslautern (TUK) and the German
Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). The smart pants don't restrict the wearer's movements
and are not affected by magnetic environments in industrial facilities.

to others and to the world around us by providing access to
24-hour connectivity, through the different stages of life. SMK
joins the Mayo Clinic, Proteus Digital Health, the Zoll Medical
Group, and others to provide advanced components for Myant's Skiin Textile Computing platform."
Xenoma and its R&D partners have incorporated virtual
reality and artificial intelligence technology into fabrics that
can measure sport and exercise activities.

WRIST-WORN DEVICES
Like hearing aids, wrist-worn devices have become increasingly
powerful. Smartwatches and fitness trackers can include NFC
capabilities for mobile payments, QR-code scanning features,
GPS systems, heart-rate monitors, and activity tracking systems
for swimming, running, and weightlifting. Some smartwatches,
including the Fitbit Ionic, also let you store and listen to music
and watch exercise videos.
Rufus industrial wearables include wrist-mounted
computers and bar-code scanners built into rings and
gloves. With these mobile information-gathering and sharing
devices, personnel in warehouses, manufacturing plants,
and battlefields can keep their hands free for other tasks.
The Omron HeartGuide looks like a smartwatch but has
a built-in inflatable blood pressure cuff. This allows you to
measure your blood pressure whenever you'd like, along with
daily activity, pulse rate, and sleep quality.

WHAT'S NEXT?
At the Wearable USA Conference November 20-21 at the
Santa Clara Convention Center in California, you can see
demonstrations of wearables in development and learn about
emerging advancements in sensors, printed electronics,
26

SCREENPRINTING

Printed circuits in smart clothing should
be as stretchable and as washable as
the fabrics they are fused to. (Courtesy
of Xenoma.)

e-textiles and components, electronic skin patches,
VR/AR devices, and hearables.
During the keynote "Market Overview and Outlook"
presentation, IDTechEx analyst James Hayward will
present findings from the 2019-2029 Wearables forecast.
"The main facts we will emphasize are the continuing strong
growth in the sector despite the dwindling hype," says
Hayward. He confirms that many wearable technologies
developed over the last decade are using screen printing,
particularly to develop flexible and stretchable electronic
solutions that can improve the properties at the interface
between the device and the wearer.
The Expo area will feature innovations in screen-printing
equipment, conductive inks, stretchable electronics, and
systems integration and prototyping services. For more
information, visit idtechex.com/wearable-usa/show.
As enterprising companies continue to bring new
wearable products to market, the screen-printing companies
that helped them develop the products are no longer bound
by NDA restrictions.
For example, the Butler Technologies blog shares some
high-profile projects they've worked on in the past and calls
attention to new products to watch for in 2019.
Some of these products include smart insoles for running
shoes, self-guiding yoga pants that monitor the wearer's posture,
and biosensors in compression shorts that help athletes and
coaches better understand muscle movements during training.
Keith McMillen, the serial entrepreneur who founded
BeBop Sensors, notes: "There are dozens of applications
that have successfully deployed millions of sensors. We are
always pleasantly surprised by the new applications that
crop up."

http://www.idtechex.com/wearable-usa/show

Screen Printing - October/November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Screen Printing - October/November 2019