Invited Speaker: Alexander Haag

Alexander Hagg is Head of Forster Rohner Textile Innovations (FRTI) Team Lead and Business Development. Prior to that Alexander was Innovation Project Lead at SEFAR AG Heating Fabrics and Co-founder of Nahtlos.

Alexander has a M. ENG Textile Composites from the University of Applied Science Hof and a B. Eng. Textile Engineering from the University of Applied Science Reutlingen.

Title of Presentation: Automated LED Application on Conductive Textiles

Introduction to FRTI; Introduction to the Innosuisse Project; Outcome Quality Control; Next Steps

Further Presentations

Overcoming Manufacturing Challenges in Smart Insole Development Michael John Lynch, Kate Lynch, Steve Beeby – University of Southampton

E-textiles offer a transformative opportunity in the field of wearable health monitoring, enabling the integration of sensing, communication, and power systems directly into textile based substrates. One particularly impactful application is in diabetic foot care, where early detection of pressure related injuries can prevent severe complications such as foot ulceration and lower limb amputations. In the UK alone, diabetic foot ulcers cost the NHS an estimated £837 million to £962 million annually, much of which could be mitigated through proactive pressure management and longitudinal patient monitoring.

Assembly Method of Components for the Textile Electronics Realized by Printing Martin Janda, Silvan Pretl, Jan Reboun – University of West Bohemia

In this article, a novel approach for the assembly of surface mount technology components onto printed stretchable interconnections for electronics textiles applications is presented. The whole electronics circuit is realized on carrier foil and then thermo-transferred to the textile. Instead of using conductive glues and similar methods, components are placed directly into the uncured material of the printed structure. This approach reduces the number of technological steps needed to realize such circuits with assembled components. Technology is compared with standard assembly using conductive gluing in terms of cyclic stress testing. Also, the whole manufacturing process and its effect on the electrical parameters are examined. Results clearly show usability of the presented method for the assembly of components with high endurance during the mechanical load and low contact resistance around 100 mΩ.

Sprayed graphene for wearable textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators and biomechanical sensors Hongyang Dang, Benji Fenech-Salerno, Antonio Alessio Leonardi, Federico La Barbera, Felice Torrisi – Università di Catania

Wearable textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators (T-TENGs) offer a promising platform for wearable energy harvesting and self-powered sensing. In this work, we present a wearable graphene-based T-TENG fabricated via a spray coating technique, where a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) adhesion layer works to enhance interfacial performance. The graphene/PVA electrode exhibits significantly low sheet resistance of 479.3 Ω/□, over four orders of magnitude lower than that of a pure graphene electrode (5.4 MΩ/□) maintaining stable electrical performance after more than 300 bending cycles. This graphene/PVA composite layer functions as both the induction electrode and triboelectric layer, combining mechanical robustness and wearability to ensure stable and durable operation of the final T-TENG device. This device also demonstrates strong responsiveness to external pressure and effective signal generation under biomechanical motion. Its conformability and fast response make it well-suited for applications such as rehabilitation monitoring, activity tracking, and emergency response. This work presents a scalable, low-cost fabrication strategy for textile-based TENG and highlights the functional advantages of sprayed graphene/PVA for next-generation wearable electronics.

Flexible Printed Piezoresistive Strain Sensors for Parachute Canopy Measurement – Design, Characterisation and Durability Assessment Thibault Dormois, Cédric Cochrane, Vladan Koncar – ENSAIT, Université de Lille

Canopies and parachute lines experience high stresses during the opening phase. The study aims to measure the strain on these components to enhance our understanding of these materials and their lifespan. To avoid altering the parachute structure and affecting data accuracy, measurements are conducted non-intrusively. This necessitates designing and implementing a discreet and robust interface between sensors and textiles. This study aims to develop flexible printed piezoresistive strain sensors at the surface of the textile components of a parachute canopy, with a focus on the meridional ribbons (textile elements that link two parachute canopy panels) since they bear the most intense strain. The characterisation of the sensors is performed under static strain to understand the sensing capabilities of the system (sensor + substrate + connections) and to adapt the data processing and analysis based on the sensing system’s gauge factor (GF). The GF represents the ratio of the relative change in electrical resistance to the mechanical strain, quantifying the sensitivity of a strain sensor. The durability of the printed piezoresistive sensors is assessed through different aspects of the sensors’ potential use, with the characterisation of their electrical properties through multiple cycles of strain, folding and abrasion ageing.