Abstract
In this paper we report the successful development of pressure sensitive textile prototypes based on flexible optical fibers technology. Our approach is based on thermoplastic silicone fibers, which can be integrated into woven textiles. As soon as pressure at a certain area of the textile is applied to these fibers they change their cross section reversibly, due to their elastomeric character, and a simultaneous change in transmitted light intensity can be detected. We have successfully manufactured two different woven samples with fibers of 0.51 and 0.98 mm diameter in warp and weft direction, forming a pressure sensitive matrix. Determining their physical behavior when a force is applied shows that pressure measurements are feasible. Their usable working range is between 0 and 30 N. Small drifts in the range of 0.2 to 4.6%, over 25 load cycles, could be measured. Finally, a sensor array of 2 × 2 optical fibers was tested for sensitivity, spatial resolution and light coupling between fibers at intersections.
Highlights
New applications in the field of so-called smart textiles for health monitoring are having a high demand of new techniques to successfully miniaturize and embed electronics, optics and sensors into fabrics and garments [1-4]
In this paper we report the successful development of pressure sensitive textile prototypes based on flexible optical fibers technology
Most of these sensors are based on microelectronic devices or conductive polymers which are integrated into the fabric structure, or are part of the fibrous structure themselves
Summary
New applications in the field of so-called smart textiles for health monitoring are having a high demand of new techniques to successfully miniaturize and embed electronics, optics and sensors into fabrics and garments [1-4]. Textile integrated sensors could measure a large variety of variables, e.g. physical dimensions like pressure, stress and strain [5-10] applied to the textile or biomedical dimensions such as heart rate, electrocardiogram (ECG), sweat rate and sweat composition (salts, pH), respiration rate or arterial oxygenation (SpO2) of the monitored subject [11-16]. Most of these sensors are based on microelectronic devices or conductive polymers which are integrated into the fabric structure, or are part of the fibrous structure themselves. Several types of textile sensors already have been developed using optical fibers based on grating or microbend principles [13, 15, 17-21]
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