Målet med detta projekt var att utveckla en prototyp som kan användas för att mäta vikten av ett Taekwondo slag samt dess lokalisering. Dess syfte är att användas i sparring- och träningssyften som ett hjälpmedel för utövare av kampsporter, mest inom Taekwondo. Prototypen var utvecklad med hjälp av handgjorda textiler som sätts i tre separata kuddar som omringar en Taekwondo kampväst som vanligtvis bärs under träning och på tävlingar. Sensorerna i kudden är placerade jämnt för att öka sannolikheten att sparken upptäcks. Detta då det inte finns någon skillnad på hur poäng tilldelas beroende på var man träffar med sparken på överkroppen.Den färdiga prototypen har förmågan att mäta slagvikten upp till 13 kilogram och fastställa var slaget inträffade baserat på vilken av de tre kuddarna det var som blev träffad. / The goal of this project was to develop a low-cost prototype that could be used to measure the location and weight of a Taekwondo kick. Its purpose being to be used in sparring and training sessions as a helping tool for martial arts practitioners, mainly in Taekwondo. It was constructed using handmade e-textile sensors that were fitted into three matrix pads surrounding an upper body protective gear commonly worn in Taekwondo sparring sessions and competitions. As there is no difference in point awarding based on where the kick is placed in the upper body region, the sensors in the matrix pad are evenly spread to cover more ground and increase impact location detection probability.The finished prototype has the ability to measure impact weight up to 13 kilograms and determine impact location successfully based on which of the three matrix pads was hit.

Electrical impedance is the frequency domain ratio of the voltage to the current. Electrical impedance extends the concept of resistance to AC circuits, describing not only the relative amplitudes of the voltage and current, but also the relative phases. Many new generation impedance measuring instruments measure the real and imaginary part of the impedance vector.Textile sensors are becoming an emerging field in industry. The possibilities that this technology holds seem almost limitless. Currently, textiles are being developed for many applications and markets, including biomedical sensing, wearable computing, large area sensors and large area actuating devices.A novel concept for a textile sensor for detection of moisture surroundings The sensor has been theoretically analysis. The results of the developed sensor shows less resistance drop characteristics against sweat.

This thesis presents a method for estimating the positions of human limbs during motion that can be applied to wearable, textile-based sensors. The method was validated for the elbow and shoulder joints with data from two garments with resistive, thread-based sensors sewn into the garments at multiple locations. The proposed method was able to estimate the elbow joint position with an average error of 2.2 degrees. The method also produced an average difference in Euclidean distance of 3.7 degrees for the estimated shoulder joint position using data from nine sensors placed around the subject's shoulder. The most accurate combination of sensors on the shoulder garment was found to produce an average difference in distance of 3.4 degrees and used only six sensors. The characteristics of the resistive, thread-based sensor used to validate the method are also detailed as some of their behaviors proved to affect the accuracy of the method negatively. / Master of Science / Human motion capture systems gather data on the position of the human body during motion. The data is then used to recreate and analyze the motion digitally. There is a need for motion capture devices capable of measuring long-term data on human motion, especially in physical therapy. However, the currently available motion capture systems have limitations that make long-term or daily use either impossible or uncomfortable. This thesis presents a method that uses data from wearable, textile-based sensors to estimate the positions of human limbs during motion. Two garments were used to validate the method on the elbow and shoulder joints. The proposed method was able to measure the elbow and shoulder joints with an average accuracy that is within the acceptable range for clinical settings.

Textiles of today are materials with applications in almost all our activities. We wear clothes all the time and we are surrounded with textiles in almost all our environments. The integration of multifunctional values in such a common material has become a special area of interest in recent years. Smart Textile represents the next generation of textiles anticipated for use in several fashion, furnishing and technical textile applications. The term smart is used to refer to materials that sense and respond in a pre-defined manner to environmental stimuli. The degree of smartness varies and it is possible to enhance the intelligence further by combining these materials with a controlling unit, for example a microprocessor. As an interdisciplinary area Smart Textile includes design spaces from several areas; the textile design space, the information technology design space and the design space of material science. This thesis addresses how Smart Textiles affect the textile design space; how the introduction of smart materials and information technology affects the creation of future textile products. The aim is to explore the convergence between textiles, smart materials and information technology and to contribute to providing a basis for future research in this area. The research method is based on a series of interlinked experiments designed through the research questions and the research objects. The experiments are separated into two different sections: interactive textile structures and health monitoring. The result is a series of basic methods for how interactive textile structures are created and a general system for health monitoring. Furthermore the result consists of a new design space, advanced textile design. In advanced textile design the focus is set on the relation between the different natures of a textile object: its physical structure and its structure in the context of design and use.

Pressure sensitive insoles are an emerging and promising technology that has always been interesting for gait and planar pressure related applications. This technology can be especially valuable for monitoring, movement, and rehabilitation purposes where the pressure sensing insoles could be utilized to assess for abnormalities in order to treat or prevent complications. This thesis project explores the use of graphene coated resistive textiles based smart insoles with the purpose of constructing a functional, easy to fabricate prototype that is viable for plantar pressure and gait cycle applications. This project follows a double diamond, co-productive approach with multiple stakeholders involved during the discovery, definition, development, and delivery of the project to co-create knowledge of value for society. The results of the thesis project present three functional prototypes with 3, 4 and 6 pressure sensors with the 4-sensor prototype indicating to be the most feasible out of the three. The highlight of the prototypes features is that it is capable of detecting and measuring pressure, operates with durable and thin properties and low accuracy. Through proper calibration with an ADC tool, the prototype was able to detect and measure movement during testing. Furthermore, several areas with a room for improvement have been identified with potential for further automating the production process as well as unlocking barriers for certain applications with a cost effective approach. In conclusion, this thesis project contributes to the advancement of smart insoles by presenting a functional, easy to fabricate method for the production of smart insoles for low accuracy gait cycle and plantar pressure applications.

Graphene is a two-dimensional carbon based material with unique properties, such as electrical and thermal conductivity. When a textile is coated with graphene, it becomes conductive, while remaining low weight, soft, breathable, flexible, and stretchable. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what products are suitable to be made with graphene textiles, by using the method Material Driven Design (MDD). Reflections are also made to determine how this method is affected by being applied to a two-dimensional material. To help with this, three kinds of graphene textiles from the company Grafren AB are investigated; conductive textiles, heatable textiles, and textile sensors. The product goal is to develop a portfolio containing 5-8 conceptual products based on these graphene textiles. The process includes conducting an investigation of the technical properties of the material, a user study, and a benchmarking study. This is done to understand the limitations and opportunities of the material, how it is perceived, and what similar materials there are on the market. After that, the material's characteristics are reflected upon to establish a vision for how it should be used in future applications. Then, to follow that vision, a user study is conducted to investigate how people perceive different materials and products, in order to create design guidelines to ensure that the material and product are perceived as intended. Next, concepts are developed according to the previously determined guidelines. To achieve this, idea generating workshops are conducted, where 14 concepts are selected for further development. The portfolio is then created, meant to inspire further usage of the material. It contains the following seven concepts. A heatable textile meant for cooking on camping trips. A fabric containing sensors that can notify when it is damaged. A keyboard made of fabric, for an easy and comfortable use and transportation. A stroller with sensors and heaters, for a more comfortable and safe user experience. A conductive jacket that can electrocute mosquitoes that come in contact with it. Pressure sensors in a carpet that can keep track of the people inside and provide assistance in emergencies. Gloves with sensors in them that can translate sign language live to text or speech. Since MDD heavily focuses on the sensorial qualities and physical characteristics of the material, the method needs to be adapted to become useful when working with such a versatile two-dimensional material. Fortunately, most adaptations can be made fairly easily. The timing of each step should also be considered, to ensure that the vision and guidelines can be made specific enough to be useful.

Incontinence diapers or disposable absorbent pads provide essential help to people having such a physical difficulty. However, during prolonged used of these products in daily life, the skin inside pad area may get fragile and damaged which are difficult to recover in old ages. Therefore a skin friendly sensor can be added to the inner layer of pad that would monitor the skin condition and signal any abnormalities to the wearer. Smart materials which can change color upon variation of skin pH were incorporated with synthetic nonwoven layers of the pad. Among various incorporation methods of these materials, ‘sol-gel’ coating technique was found to be successfulfor applications on optical sensor and on fewother fabric types. Thus ‘sol-gel’ method with modified recipe for different dye and chemical combinations were experimented in this project.Several developed samples showed color change (e.g. yellow to red) that can be easily detected by wearers’ eyes.Additionally, the methods and materials involved showed no adverse effect on health and environment. Thus this study succeeds to provide with a mean for skin health monitor based on nonwoven textiles by incorporation of color changing materials.

Human body temperature is an important indicator of physical performance and condition in terms of comfort, heat or cold stress. The aim of this research was to develop Temperature Sensing Fabric (TSF) for continuous temperature measurement in healthcare applications. The study covers the development and manufacture of TSF by embedding fine metallic wire into the structure of textile material using a commercial computerised knitting machine. The operational principle of TSF is based on the inherent propensity of a metal wire to respond to changes in temperature with variation in its electrical resistance. Over 60 TSF samples were developed with combinations of different sensing elements, two inlay densities and highly textured polyester yarn as the base material. TSF samples were created using either bare or insulated wires with a range of diameters from 50 to 150 μm and metal wires of nickel, copper, tungsten, and nickel coated copper. In order to investigate the Temperature-Resistance (T-R) relationship of TSF samples for calibration purposes, a customised test rig was developed and monitoring software was created in the LabVIEW environment, to record the temperature and resistance signals simultaneously. TSF samples were tested in various thermal environments, under laboratory conditions and in practical wear trials, to analyse the relationship between the temperature and resistance of the sensing fabric and to develop base line specifications such as sensitivity, resistance ratio, precision, nominal resistance, and response time; the influence of external parameters such as humidity and strain were also monitored. The regression uncertainty was found to be less than in ±0.1°C; the repeatability uncertainty was found to be less than ±0.5°C; the manufacturing uncertainty in terms of nominal resistance was found to be ± 2% from its mean. The experimental T-R relationship of TSF was validated by modelling in the thermo-electrical domain in both steady and transient states. A maximum error of 0.2°C was found between the experimental and modelled T-R relationships. TSF samples made with bare wire sensing elements showed slight variations in their resistance during strain tests, however, samples made with insulated sensing elements did not demonstrate any detectable strain-dependent-resistance error. The overall thermal response of TSF was found to be affected by basal fabric thickness and mass; the effect of RH was not found to be significant. TSF samples with higher-resistance sensing elements performed better than lower-resistance types. Furthermore, TSF samples made using insulated wire were more straightforward to manufacture because of their increased tensile strength and exhibited better sensing performance than samples made with bare wire. In all the human body wear trials, under steady-state and dynamic conditions both sensors followed the same trends and exhibited similar movement artifacts. When layers of clothing were worn over the sensors, the difference between the response of the TSF and a high-precision reference temperature were reduced by the improved isothermal conditions near the measurement site.