Proetex project is a $63 million funded project by the European Commission (E.C) to develop the so-called smart fabrics and interactive textiles. Even though the technology was pioneered in the US, the Europeans have surged forward and taken over the reins in a bid to revitalize their textile industry which is facing crushing competition from the Asian competition.

 

This project is a conglomerate partnership between industry giants like Philips and traditional clothing and textile companies together with university researchers from across the EU and Switzerland.

 

Focusing on textile-based MicroNano technologies within a communicating framework, the ProeTEX 6th Framework IST Integrated Project is developing textile and fibre based integrated smart wearables for emergency disaster intervention personnel with a goal of improving their safety, coordination and efficiency and additional systems for injured civilians aimed at optimising their survival management.

 

This focused application area will drive a wide range of key technology developments to create micro-nano-engineered smart textiles - integrated systems (fabrics, wearable garments) using specifically textile-based micro-nano technologies. These developments will feed through to a wide range of other markets from extreme sports, through healthcare to transportation maintenance and building workers.

 

EC funded teams have already produced prototypes with limited commercial availability such as tank top that wirelessly monitors cardiac patients and sports clothes that keep tracking of breathing.

 

Other projects include fabrics that look and feel normal but are embedded with microcomputers, solar panels and energy harvesting systems, as well as fabrics  that measure blood oxygen levels and track biochemical levels in sweat and bed sheets that monitor depression.

 

Currently the main applications for these technologies are in biomedical and safety fields but the real potential in future for this smart technology lies in sports.

 

The traditional textile industry from Europe is racing fast using nanotechnology applications in fabrics to emerge out stronger from the hammering by the Asian textile markets.