Smart Nano Textiles for Baby Clothing

SMART NANOTEXTILES FOR BABY CLOTHING

Abstract

The development of smart nanotextiles has the potential to revolutionize the functionality of our clothing

and the fabrics in our surroundings Nanoscale manipulation results in new functionalities for intelligent

textiles including self-cleaning sensing actuating and communicating This is made possible by such

developments as new materials fibers and finishings inherently conducting polymers carbon nanotubes

and antimicrobial nanocoatings These additional functionalities have numerous applications

encompassing healthcare sports military applications and fashion The wearer and the surrounding

environment may be monitored in an innocuous manner giving continuous updates of individual health

status or environmental hazards More generally smart textiles become a critical part of the emerging

area of body sensor networks incorporating sensing actuation control and wireless data transmission

The last decade has witnessed a rapid increase of interest in new sensing and monitoring devices

including wearable wireless devices and sensor networks for several personal applications such as

healthcare well being amp lifestyle protection and safety Smart Wearable Systems (SWS) are sensor-

based integrated systems on body-worn platforms offering pervasive personalized solutions for

continuous non-invasive monitoring of body and external parameters including feedback to the user

Several wearable solutions based on perimetric fixing using the body segments and the circular body part

(eg head arm wrist and leg) are available today either in RampD prototype (the majority) or commercial

products Furthermore new developments emerging from the miniaturization of electronics and materials

processing have being leading to the integration of multiple smart functions into textiles without being a

burden The paper presents and discusses the main issues involved in the development of the area ie user

requirements technologies research and development of integrated systems as well as future challenges

to be met in order to reach a market with reliable and high value-added products

INTRODUCTION

The Textile industry occupies an important place in the Economy of the country because of its

contribution to the industrial output employment generation and foreign exchange earnings The textile

industry encompasses a range of industrial units which use a wide variety of natural and synthetic fibres

to produce fabrics The textile industry can be broadly classified into two categories the organized mill

sector and the unorganized mill sector Considering the significance and contribution of textile sector in

national economy initiative and efforts are being made to take urgent and adequate steps to attract

investment and encourage wide spread development and growth in this sector

Natural fibres can be defined as bio-based fibres or fibres from vegetable and animal origin Based

on their origin natural fibres can also be classified as cellulosic (from plants) and protein (from animals)

Excluded here are mineral fibres such as asbestos that occur naturally but are not bio -based Other

natural fibres as defined for this policy are of plant origin cellulosic and renewable These other

natural fibres are produced in considerably smaller volumes compared to cotton the largest natural

fibre (average 25 million tones per year) and are als o much lower than production of wool and jute

(2-3 million tones) Globally the natural fibres industry provides employment to millions of

people largely small scale marginal) farmers and proces sors Natural fibres are more environment

friendly than synthetic fibres both in terms of production and their disposal Natural fibres are

completely bio-degradable Natural fibre can thus play a key role in the emerging ldquogreenrdquo economy

Technology is becoming increasingly prominent in our daily lives in many ways alleviating and

in other ways fueling the demands of modern living Huge opportunities exist in the textile market to

extend the functionality and performance of textiles to meet these demands Intelligent textiles represent

the next generation of fibres fabrics and articles produced from them They can be described as textile

materials that think for themselves for example through the incorporation of electronic devices or smart

materials Many intelligent textiles already feature in advanced types of clothing principally for

protection and safety and for added fashion or convenience

The fashion industry is facing new challenges ldquointelligent textilesrdquo ldquosmart clothesrdquoldquoi-wearrdquo and

ldquofashion engineeringrdquo are only a few of the keywords which will revolutionize new and old industry

within the next 5 to 10 years The integration of high-technology into textiles eg modern

communication or monitoring systems or the development of new materials with new functions has just

started with timidity but the branch already propagates an enormous boom for this sector Especially

applications for the health sector eg clothes with extern monitoring systems are already today

anticipating a great demand Developments in telecommunication information technology and

computers are the main technical tools for Telemedicine (Telecare Telehealth e-health) now being

introduced in health care Telemedicine - medicine at a distance - provides among the many possibilities

offered the tools for doctors to more easily consult each other For individuals eg with chronic diseases

ldquoTelemedicinerdquo means the possibility to stay in contact with their health care provider for medical advice

or even to be alerted if something begins to go wrong with their health This opens up new possibilities

for personalized health and health care In line with this ongoing cutting edge research in fields such as

textiles medical sensors and mobile communication could pave the way to a better life for a large number

of patients The results of the researches will indeed make a positive impact on the quality of life for

individuals in the real world

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

i) To extract the fibre from Aloe vera Plant

ii) To make fabric and evaluate the properties

iii) To construct baby clothing

iv) To incorporate smartness into the clothing

v) To evaluate the smart textiles

METHODOLOGY

1 ALOE VERA

Aloe vera also known as the true or medicinal aloe is a species of succulent plant in the genus

Aloe that is believed to have originated in the Sudan Aloe vera is a stemless or very short-

stemmed succulent plant growing to 60ndash100 cm (24ndash39 in) tallspreading by offsets The leaves

are thick and fleshy green to grey-green with some varieties showing white flecks on the upper

and lower stem surfaces The margin of the leaf is serrated and has small white teeth The

flowers are produced in summer on a spike up to 90 cm (35 in) tall each flower pendulous with

a yellow tubular corolla 2ndash3 cm (08ndash12 in) long Like other Aloe species Aloe vera forms

arbuscular mycorrhiza a symbiosis that allows the plant better access to mineral nutrients in

Aloe vera grows in arid climates and is widely distributed in Africa India and other arid

areas The species is frequently cited as being used in herbal medicine Many scientific studies

of the use of aloe vera have been undertaken some of them conflicting Despite these limitations

there is some preliminary evidence that Aloe vera extracts may be useful in the treatment of

wound and burn healing minor skin infections Sebaceous cyst diabetes and elevated blood

lipids in humans

Aloe Vera contains 160 important biologic compounds to protect and regenerates the

skin and it gives a very soft sensation Aloe Vera a plant having good medicinal values which

also has been extensively used in cosmetics and medicines is now being experimented by the

weavers in Tamil Nadu to manufacture textile and apparel products

Hence with this fact the investigator selected Aloe Vera fibre for the study

2 SMART AND INTELLIGENT TEXTILE

There is a substantive difference between the terms Smart and Intelligent Smart materials or textiles can

be defined as the materials and structures which have sense or can sense the environmental conditions or

stimuli whereas intelligent textiles can be defined as textile structures which not only can sense but can

also react and respond to environmental conditions or stimuli These stimuli as well as response could be

thermal chemical mechanical electric magnetic or from other source

21 Definition and Classification of Smart Textiles

Smart textiles are defined as textiles that interact with their surroundings Smart textiles are also

defined as textiles that can sense and react to environmental conditions or stimuli from mechanical

thermal chemical electrical or magnetic sources

211 Components in smart textiles

Three components may be present in smart textiles (materials)

Sensors

Actuators

Controlling units

The sensors provide a nerve system to detect signals Some of the materials act only as sensors and some

as both sensors and actuators Actuators act upon the signals and work in coordination with the

controlling unit to produce an appropriate output

212 Types of smart textiles

According to functional activity smart textiles can be classified in three categories

a Passive Smart Textiles The first generations of smart textiles which can only sense the

environmental conditions or stimulus are called Passive Smart Textiles

b Active Smart Textiles The second generation has both actuators and sensors The actuators act

upon the detected signal either directly or from a central control unit Active Smart textiles are

shape memory chameleonic water-resistant and vapour permeable (hydrophilicnon porous)

heat storage thermo regulated vapour absorbing heat evolving fabric and electrically heated

c Ultra Smart Textiles Very smart textiles are the third generation of smart textiles which can

sense react and adopt themselves to environmental conditions or stimuli A very smart or

intelligent textile essentially consists of a unit which works like the brain with cognition

reasoning and activating capacities The production of very smart textiles is now a reality after a

successful marriage of traditional textiles and clothing technology with other branches of science

like material science structural mechanics sensor and actuator technology advance processing

technology communication artificial intelligence biology etc

New fibre and textile materials and miniaturized electronic components make the preparation of smart

textiles possible in order to create truly usable smart clothes These intelligent clothes are worn like

ordinary clothing providing help in various situations according to the designed applications

213 General methods of incorporating smartness into textiles

Textile to behave smartly it must have a sensor an actuator (for active smart textiles) and a controlling

unit (for very smart textiles) These components may be fiber optics phase change materials shape

memory materials thermo chromic dyes miniaturized electronic items etc These components form an

integrated part of the textile structure and can be incorporated into the substrate at any of the following

levels

Fiber spinning level

Yarnfabric formation level

Finishing level

The active (smart) material can be incorporated into the spinning dope or polymer chips prior to spinning

eg lyocell fiber can be modified by admixtures of electrically conductive components during production

to make an electrically conductive cellulosic fiber Sensors and activators can also be embedded into the

textile structure during fabric formation eg during weaving Many active finishes have been developed

which are imparted to the fabric during finishing The electronic control units can be synchronized with

each other during finishing Techniques such as micro encapsulation are generally preferred for

incorporation of ldquosmartness imparting materialrdquo in the textile substrate However the correct material and

the correct method must be selected based on a variety of considerations

Micro-encapsulation is a process in which tiny particles or droplets are surrounded by a

coating to give small capsules many useful properties In a relatively simplistic form a

microcapsule is a small sphere with a uniform wall around it The material inside the

microcapsule is referred to as the core internal phase or fill whereas the wall is sometimes

called a shell coating or membrane Most microcapsules have diameters between a few

micrometers and a few millimeters

The definition has been expanded and includes most foods Every class of food ingredient has

been encapsulated flavors are the most common The technique of microencapsulation depends

on the physical and chemical properties of the material to be encapsulated

Without citations this article may be argumentative It is cautioned that the information below

may not be correct as the current definitions and processes in this article can allow most

powders mixed with other liquids to be considered microencapsulated if the liquid serves to

protect it in any way The data below needs citations to be considered factual These citations do

not currently exist

Many microcapsules however bear little resemblance to these simple spheres The core may be a

crystal a jagged adsorbent particle an emulsion a suspension of solids or a suspension of

smaller microcapsules The microcapsule even may have multiple walls

22 Smart materials

A smart polymer or material can be described as a material that will change its characteristics according

to outside conditions or stimuli The following table shows the fundamental characteristics of any

difference in traditional high performance and smart materials

Category Fundamental material

characteristics

Fundamental system behaviors

Natural materials (stone wood)

fabricated materials (steel

aluminum concrete

Materials have given

properties and are acted upon

Materials have no or limited

intrinsic active response capability

but can have good performance

properties

High performance materials

polymers composites

Material properties are

designed for specific purposes

Very good performance properties

Smart materials Property-

changing and energy exchanging

materials

Properties are designed to

respond intelligently to

varying external conditions or

stimuli

Smart materials have active

responses to external stimuli and

can serve as sensors and actuators

The input can be temperature pH or magnetic or electric field The output can be change in length

viscosity color or conductivity

Input (stimulus) rarr Active material rarr Output (response)

E-textiles also known as electronic textiles are fabrics that enable computing digital

components and electronics to be embedded in them Part of the development of wearable

technology they are known as intelligent clothing or smart clothing because they allow for the

incorporation of built-in technological elements in everyday textiles and clothes Electronic

textiles do not strictly encompass wearable computing because emphasis is placed on the

seamless integration between the fabric and the electronic elements such as cables

microcontrollers sensors and actuators

RECENT UPDATE

Mamagoose Baby Pyjamas

Smart clothes technologies could help to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) commonly

known lsquocot deathrsquo The Belgian company Verhaerth Design and Development and the University of

Brussels (VUB) have developed a new type of pyjamas which is shown on Figure 7 that monitor babies

during the sleep The new pyjamas are very aptly called ldquoMamagooserdquo and they draw on technology

used in two specific applications The analogue biomechanics recorder experiment and the respiratory

inductive plethysmograhph suit The Mamagoose pyjamas have five special sensors positioned over the

chest and stomach three to monitor the infantrsquos heart beat and two to monitor respiration This double

sensor system guarantees a high level of

measuring precision The special sensors are actually built into the cloth and have no direct contact with

the body thus creating no discomfort for the baby The pyjamas are made of two parts the first which

comes into direct contact with the baby can be machine-washed and the second which contains the

sensor system can be washed by hand The pyjamas come in three sizes are made of non-allergic

material and have been especially designed to keep the sensors in place during in use The control unit

with alarm system is connected to the pyjamas and continuously monitors and processes the signals

received from five sensors It is programmed with an alarm algorithm which scans the respiration

pattern to detect unexpected and possibly dangerous situations Mamagoose prototypes have been

tested on many babies in different hospitals environments and conditions These include babies of

various weights and sizes when they are different lsquomoodsrsquo such as calm nervous or upset and when

they are sleeping in different positions To date the results have been extremely promising

CONCLUSION

1048715 Smart textiles are making their way to the market

1048715 Standardization helps in gaining market acceptance for a new product and increases

confidence in product quality (Euratex survey)

1048715 There will soon be a need for standards (definitions test methods product specifications) for

smart textile products

1048715 Knowledge is among manufacturers researchers users etc a joint effort is necessary

1048715 Help us to inventorize the situation and the needs

REFERENCSE

httpelmduedutwdatacos09610221038ASmart20Nanotextiles-20A20Review20of

20Materials20and20Applicationspdf

httpwwwspringerlinkcomcontentrt0634g103m0615t

httpwwwsciencedailycomreleases200810081018191929htm

httpwwwualbertaca~jag3smart_textilesPage_3html

httpenwikipediaorgwikiE-textiles

httptectexntuwordpresscom20100211introduction

httpenwikipediaorgwikiTextile

httpsmartgarmentsblogspotcom200712intelligent-textiles-in-medicalhtml

httpwwwfibre2fashioncomindustry-article121172wearable-electronic-clothes1asp

httpenwikipediaorgwikiUS_standard_clothing_size