Introduction to Smart

Textiles
Defining smart textiles
Smart textiles can be defined as textiles that have the ability to sense and respond
to changes in the environment from chemical, mechanical, electrical and thermal
sources
Passive vs. active smart textiles

There are two main types of smart textile technology; passive and active. Often
deemed the “first generation” of smart textiles, passive smart textiles are those that
have functionality beyond that of a traditional woven textile. However, let it be known
that passive textiles generally do not adapt as a result of the information they sense.
In other words, the textile is not altered when environmental conditions change. Take
for example, a cooling fabric that can help to regulate your temperature; but it does
not actively provide coolness. The fabric simply helps you to evaporate liquid more
quickly due to the construction of the textile. The same goes for apparel and other
goods with UV protective, antimicrobial, and conductive/anti-static nanotechnologies.
Here are some examples of passive smart textile products:
Cosmo - A leader in fabrics for footwear, Cosmo utilizes Microban technology to add
antimicrobial properties to their textiles; resulting in less odor.
Sunbrella - Sunbrella’s outdoor performance fabrics are treated with UV-stabilized
pigments to help maintain lasting color and durability under the harsh rays of the sun.
Herculite - A manufacturer of PVC composite textiles, Herculite fabrics are made for
applications that require a high level of durability, such as military, healthcare, and
marine, using their unique weaving technology.
Active smart textiles are those that adapt and change their functionality in response to changes in the
external environment or in response to a user input.
These materials may change shape, store and regulate heat, and be applied to a wide range of flexible
applications. While passive textiles generally rely on their structure to function, active textiles generally
utilize electricity, which can support actuators and sensors. These electronic components allow the smart
fabric to sense touch and temperature, as well as process and interpret a myriad of information pertaining
to the external environment. They are a crucial part of smart textile manufacturing.
Here are some examples:
Loomia Electronic Layer - The Loomia Electronic Layer is a soft, flexible circuit that can enable next-
generation products in wearables, automotive, and beyond.
HeiQ Smart Temp - HeiQ’s Smart Temp fabric features intelligent thermoregulation technology that is
triggered by the body’s temperature, and cools the user down as a result.
Gentherm - Gentherm manufactures a few different technologies, each with a different purpose. Their
ClimateSense® technology is built on an algorithm that changes the temperature in a vehicle or
medical wearable depending on the user’s unique preferences.
Chromic Textiles
Color change textiles, otherwise known as chromic or chameleon textiles in the
medical textile industry, are fabrics that change color when influenced by external
stimuli.
To create the transformative textile, the fabric is soaked in chromic dyes, pigments, or
covered in a chromic coating. There are different kinds of chromic colorants that are
each designed to react to different stimulus and act in different ways.
These textiles can be used to visualize a change in environmental conditions or
biological forms and can make it easier to visually recognize when a change is
occurring.
The four main types of chromic textiles are:

Photochromic Textiles: These textiles are used to measure UV radiation. When the
colorless textiles are exposed to radiation, the chemical structure of the chromic colorant
changes, and the electromagnetic waves appear as color. These textiles were popularized
in the fashion world in the 1980s, but other applications include military camouflage and
window dressings that change color in order to improve light coverage. While these
textiles have not become universal due to the complex make-up of the chromic coatings,
they have had more widespread integrations in other markets, mainly in eyeglasses and
windows. The stimulus causes the color to develop in the textiles.

Thermochromic Textiles: These fabrics change their molecular makeup to show a different
color when there is a change in temperature. Organic thermochromic colorants are ideal
for treating textiles due to the fact that organic temperatures are often close to ambient
body temperatures; this will show the most accurate color change when there is a spike in
temperature. Unlike photochromic textiles, it causes the color to fade from the textiles. This
textile could have a universal integration in the athletic wear field, or even in the medical
field as a patient monitoring tool for someone who is prone to spikes and drops in
temperature.
Electrochromic Textiles: Electrochromic materials change color based on electron
concentrations. The color change occurs when a weak electric current is sent through
the conductive fabric, in turn leading to a color reversal. Electrochromic textiles can be
used during EEG, EKG, or EMG treatments to monitor the electrical currents. Depending
on how these fabrics are treated, they can show pulses in the fabric. Ebb, a side project
of Google Project Jacquard, is working towards the universal integration of textiles that
rapidly change color when introduced to electrical stimuli. This sort of technology will
have the ability to not only change the color of a textile, but also introduce a changing
design and pattern into the garment.

Halochromic Textiles: Halochromic textiles are materials that change based on pH levels.
The colorant used on these textiles is the same used in the creation of pH sensors. A
beneficial application of this textile would be as a wound dressing for a burn patient. The
pH levels of the skin change drastically during the healing process of the wound, and
could result in infection and further treatment without any knowledge of a pH imbalance.
This textile could also have applications in the protective wear while working in a field
with product that is of varying pH levels
LIST OF RESOURCES FOR REFERNCE

https://fieldtexcases.com/blog/color-change-textiles/
https://etrc.umn.edu/color-changing-fabrics
https://www.journal-aquaticscience.com/article_136050_4222fec8f416a5b768a150e13664d4fc.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340413539_Insights_of_Colour_Changing_Textile_Materials
What Exactly is Color
Changing Fabric?
Color changing fabric is a textile composed of a basic woven material that has either been
integrated with fibers that emit light or process light to change the color of the fabric or the
fabric has been treated with some form of liquid crystal ink. With the application of either
process, the fabric is able to temporarily change of color to suit whatever the wearer needs
and therefore, increase the functionality of the garment.
How Does Color
Changing Fabric Work?
How Does Color Changing Fabric Work?
Color changing technology in fabric can vastly vary based on the process used. In the
following paragraphs, this paper will discuss three main ways to implement the color changing
process into fabrics; Photonic Crystal Fibers, Liquid Crystal Ink, and Fabcell.
Photonic Crystal
Fibers
f you were to look a Photonic Crystal Fiber’s cross section, you would see
that this fiber contains either very very small air voids (See figure 1) that are
spaced periodically, or a sequence of layer of different materials. Because
the fibers are transparent, when illuminated, the fibers seem to be colored
due to an optical displacement of light from the center of the fiber. If the
size or position of the structural elements in the center of the fiber are
changed, the appearance changes in vast number of ways. Because no dyes
are used, this fiber is completely colorfast and that means that the garment
will never fade, therefore extending the life. If there is an external stimulant,
such as an electrical surge, the refraction index, or the center of the fiber’s
structure, will change temporarily. This temporary change will cause the
refraction of the light to differ and therefore the color will change
Photonic Crystal
Fibers
Liquid crystal ink is a type of ink that is coated over the fabric and will
change color with the change of temperature. Because our body heat
affects the liquid crystal ink and will change the color even if we do not
want it to, the liquid crystal ink is not effective to be used on its own.
Fabcell
Fabcell is the combination of two processes. The
first process is a woven textile that contains a
normal thread such as polyester or cotton and a
conductive yard. The second process is using
Liquid Crystal Ink. First, the fabric is woven with
the two different yarns, then it is coated with the
Liquid Crystal Ink (See Figure 2). Because there is
a conductive yarn in the textile, the temperature
can be controlled to create the change in the
color of the Liquid Crystal Ink.
Fabric with Integrated
Electrically Conductive Fibers

This product works much like the Fabcell, but it doesn’t use the Liquid
Crystal Ink to get the color. Instead, it relies on conductive and optical fibers
and electricity and stays away from heat being a factor for the color. With
the use of optical fibers, the color would be controlled using electricity and
would be emitted through the optical fiber.
UNDERSTANDING THE SCIENCE OF COLOUR CHANGING TEXTILES
Dr. S. Aishwariya

DEVELOPMENT OF COLOUR CHANGING FABRIC

REVERSIBLE DUAL-RESPONSIVE COLOR-CHANGING FABRIC BASED ON

Lu Yang , Jiaguang Meng , Lingjie Yu , Xingyun Gao