Description du projet
L’avenir de la mode est haptique
Et si votre chemise préférée pouvait aussi créer des stimulations tactiles? Le projet WEAFING, financé par l’UE, fera progresser la technologie des tissus électroactifs pour concevoir des actionneurs textiles légers et flexibles. Plus précisément, il s’agira de développer des vêtements innovants intégrant des actionneurs textiles, des capteurs et des composants électroniques pour la stimulation haptique. Les vêtements développés seront très faciles à porter, sachant que c’est le vêtement lui-même qui fera office d’actionneur et que la technologie est silencieuse et légère. Le projet prévoit un large éventail d’applications possibles dans le domaine de l’haptique, de l’ergonomie aux jeux, en passant par la communication sociale. Les polymères électromécaniques actifs constituent la base des muscles textiles. Le projet mettra en œuvre une approche de co-conception impliquant les utilisateurs finaux.
Objectif
WEAFING will develop innovative garments with integrated textile actuators, sensors, and electronics for haptic stimulation. We will advance the technology and manufacturability of electroactive fabrics resulting in lightweight and flexible textile actuators. Integration of the actuators in wearables takes into account different textile morphologies, soft mechatronics, producibility, and human perception. The garments developed will have a high level of wearability as the actuator is the garment itself and the technology is silent. These wearables are based on a new kind of textile muscles that are also enhanced within the project. In wearable technology, most R&D comprises sensors and only very little concerns wearable actuator technology. There is a limited set of actuators for wearables and 95% of the applications for haptic feedback are based on vibration motors. Textile muscles offer a completely novel and different quality of haptic sensation. Furthermore, being textiles they offer a new way of designing and fabricating wearable haptics and can be seamlessly integrated into garments. They are silent, use low driving voltages, lightweight, soft and pliable, in contrast to other solutions that most often are hard, bulky and noisy. For these novel form of textile muscles we foresee a huge range of possible applications in haptics: for ergonomics, wellness, gaming, inclusion, or social communication. Electromechanically active polymers form a basis for the textile muscles. When low voltage is applied to the coated yarns, they contract. Processing the yarns into textiles multiplies the effect of the contraction and/or delivered force, depending on the textile construction. In a co-design approach involving end-users we will develop demonstrator garments for haptic stimulation and investigate their properties in a multidisciplinary team with members from chemistry, physics, soft mechatronics, textile technology, human perception and cognition, and wearable design.
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesinternetinternet of things
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringtextiles
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringmechatronics
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- social sciencespsychologyergonomics
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinateur
7522 NB Enschede
Pays-Bas