Smart textiles as an opportunity for the textile industry

It may be hard to believe today - but the textile industry was once the largest industrial sector in Austria with the most employees. The companies were always highly innovative and developed most splendidly in Vorarlberg and in Upper Austria, but also in the Waldviertel or in Styria. Globalization has changed this fundamentally in recent decades: Whereas in 1955 88 percent of textiles sold in this country were "made in Austria", in 2004 this figure was only 18 percent. The trend is still downward.

In 1960, the Austrian textile and clothing industry still had around 100,000 employees; in 2018, it had fewer than 15,000. The companies that remain have focused on niches - for example, on technical textiles, as suppliers for automotive manufacturers, in the direction of functional sportswear or on highly specialized fibers - in which they are also quite successful. The gross value added of the sector has stabilized at around 700 million euros in recent years.

Now a new future field is appearing on the horizon: so-called "smart textiles". These are textiles that are made "intelligent" by integrating information technology: They react to changes and adapt to them. These textiles contain sensors that sense environmental changes, they exchange data with cell phone apps or the cloud, for example, and in some cases they have actuators that cause a desired change in the textile.

An example might be a T-shirt that registers pulse, respiration rate, heart rate, and geodata without requiring any additional device, such as a smartwatch or chest strap; this could be very interesting for sports or occupational safety, for example. Another possible application is bedding that detects body fluids (such as blood or urine) and, if necessary, sends an automatic alarm to caregivers; in elderly care or nursing, this could be very helpful.

Many areas of application are conceivable, such as automatically cooling mattresses. Or innovative building technology such as measuring moisture on flat roofs, heating or illuminating wall textiles, and measuring snow loads on roofs. Furthermore, gas sensors can be integrated into work clothing to warn of hazards. Leisurewear can be fitted with control elements, e.g. for smartphones. And jackets for schoolchildren or emergency services could light up automatically at night. An item of clothing thus becomes a "wearable" in the truest sense of the word.

Ideally, all the necessary functionalities are integrated directly into the fibers or fabrics. This starts with piezoelectric sensor threads that convert mechanical energy (such as stretching) into electricity, and extends to soft, flexible batteries or energy storage in yarns that act like capacitors, through to fabrics on which electronic circuits or antennas are printed or embroidered. The particular challenge here is that the smart textiles must also be able to keep up with conventional fabrics in terms of flexibility, wearing comfort, washability and durability - and that they do not cause any problems when recycled or disposed of at the end of their service life.

The global market volume of "smart textiles" is estimated to be in the order of 40 billion dollars by 2030. In terms of Austria, this could mean an annual gross value added of 475 million euros, according to a study just published by researchers at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. So the question arises as to whether the domestic textile and apparel industry could also leverage this potential? In several workshops, the status quo, opportunities, expectations and possible barriers were systematically examined together with industry representatives and experts. As a result of the project, prerequisites and measures were listed so that Austria could take on a pioneering role in the field of "Smart Textiles".

The study was commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) and funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG); support was provided by the "Smart Textiles" platform.

Basically, the experts see the greatest potential in the areas of protective and emergency clothing, medical and care textiles (including bandages and orthotics), and sports and outdoor clothing. The analysis of several scenarios showed that many existing companies could benefit from "smart textiles" if they invest in research and development at an early stage, if they network with relevant players to supplement their own missing competencies, and if they can differentiate themselves from competitors as a result. In less optimistic scenarios, traditional companies only manage to tap the new technological potential for themselves to a limited extent; instead, new companies could enter the market to serve the smart textiles market.

A key issue here is research and development: On the one hand, research spending and research capacity in the textile industry are comparatively low. "But companies need to invest now, at a time when these technologies are still in their infancy," says project manager Beatrix Wepner from the AIT Center for Innovation Systems & Policy. On the other hand, know-how needs to be built up in a completely different area. So far, it has not been sufficiently successful to bring together the competencies for the development of smart textiles, is a central conclusion of the study. "Many of the identified topics can only be addressed in close cooperation between the textile industry and the electrical industry," says Wepner. From the textile industry's point of view, there is currently a lack of suppliers and development partners, especially from the electronics and software sectors, he said.

The establishment of a cross-industry "Smart Textile Innovation Ecosystem" is therefore necessary. Suggestions include targeted research funding programs and the development of "lighthouse applications" that publicize the possibilities of the new technologies, for example in the care or medical sectors. Networking and persuasion are considered essential in order to win over not only textile companies but also players from other relevant sectors for the topic. The participatory development of a "Smart Textiles Roadmap" with the involvement of customers and users is also considered to be useful. In addition, training courses in the field of "electronic textiles" could be set up at technical universities, technical colleges and vocational schools - with the aim of creating a separate occupational profile of "textronics engineer".

Ultimately, all these measures should lead to a stimulation of entrepreneurial investments and activities in the field of smart textiles. "Due to the Corona crisis, the textile industry has regained importance locally. In Vorarlberg, for example, ad hoc certified reusable medical masks were developed to minimize dependence on other countries," Wepner said. "This shows the great potential that exists in Austria. Now it's a matter of linking and promoting this."