Changing the fabric of society : an exploration of smart textiles in product design

There has been a flurry of activity in the area of smart textiles over the past decade or so [Baurley (Per Ubiquit Comput 8:274-281, 2004); Eves et al. (New nomads: an exploration of wearable electronics. 010 Publishers, 2010); Garcia (ed) (Architextiles. Wiley-Academic, 2006); Lupton (Skin: surface, substance, design. Princeton Architectural Press, 2002)], and we are now beginning to see the transition from protypical items, to commercial applications. Yet the uptake of textiles in product design is relatively poor. Whilst there are some notable exceptions [Baurley (Per Ubiquit Comput 8:274-281, 2004); ElekTex (http://www.elektex.com, 2009); Philips (http://www.lumalive.philips.com, 2011)] the majority of applications remain prototypical. Yet why is this, and what can smart textiles offer the field of product design? This paper interweaves some of the developments and applications of smart textiles, drawing examples from other domains, such as art, architecture, engineering and bio-medical fields, as well as materials science, in the process, exploring future applications of smart textiles in industrial and product design.