Source prnewswire
The E-textiles Journey from Heated Clothing to Monitoring Astronauts: IDTechEx Asks, What’s Next?
In almost all aspects of life, we come into contact with textiles on a daily basis, from blankets to towels to clothing to upholstery. A combination of textiles and electronics can be used to gain exciting new functionalities for textiles, which are used for warmth, comfort, and aesthetic purposes. In the last few decades, electronic textiles, or e-textiles, have advanced tremendously from heated blankets that dominated the market in the 1960s and 70s to state-of-the-art smart shirts that include sensors for monitoring astronauts aboard the International Space Station today.. It must be admitted, however, that the road to adopting e-textiles has not always been smooth, and companies in the field have yet to develop an application that can match the success of textile heating. It must be admitted, however, that the road to adopting e-textiles has not always been smooth, and companies in the field have yet to develop an application that can match the success of textile heating.Keeping warm has never been easier thanks to heated textilesHeating is still the most popular application for e-textiles in the world today, accounting for over 80% of the market value in 2023 for e-textiles. Motorcycle riders, outdoor workers, and people who enjoy snow sports are all in need of heated clothing during the cold winter months, as heated clothing provides much-needed warmth. There has also been a growing interest in heated blankets for several decades, and the dramatic rise in energy costs in recent years has contributed to this resurgence in popularity. It is important to note that e-textiles' success as an application of heating owes its success to the technology's ability to provide local heating to the individual with a form factor that is convenient and comfortable. The advantages of heated textiles, compared to alternatives, such as heating the entire room (costly), hand warmers (only heats a small area), and simply wearing more clothing (bulky), are that heated textiles take advantage of both the textiles and electronics strengths. The advantages of heated textiles, compared to alternatives, such as heating the entire room (costly), hand warmers (only heats a small area), and simply wearing more clothing (bulky), are that heated textiles take advantage of both the textiles and electronics strengths.
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