MUNICH, Germany, May 5--Infineon Technologies today announced that the research team that demonstrated the practical integration of electronics into clothing about a year ago with "Wearable Electronics" has now presented a further concept, thereby greatly expanding the scope of applications for "smart" textiles. The Emerging Technology Labs team has developed a fault-tolerant, self-organizing embedded microcontroller network, which, coupled with sensors and LEDs, can be integrated into industrial or commercial textiles.
As a proof-of-concept, Infineon created a small section of "smart" carpet. This carpet appears just like conventional carpet; all of the microcontroller and sensor functions are arranged beneath the fiber surface. Depending on the particular requirements, the distance between the microcontrollers can be freely defined.
The demonstrator developed by Infineon incorporates robust encapsulated integrated capacitive sensors that act as touch detectors and LEDs as display elements. A carpet equipped with these chips and with this electronic architecture could thus be used as a motion or fire detector. The more densely the sensor elements are arranged, the more precise the results of measurement. At the same time, the integrated LEDs support use of the high-tech carpet as a control system that can be used in public buildings to mark walking routes and control the flow of visitors or to mark escape routes in an emergency.
In order to evaluate the information supplied by the microcontrollers, individually adapted programs can be written. Thanks to this flexible solution, the possible fields of application are virtually limitless.
The chips are interconnected by means of extremely fine signal and data conductors that are woven into a braided material that acts as the carrier. This interconnecting woven material can be the base layer or an intermediate layer of a carpet or of any other textile material. Each chip communicates via a self-learning, "neural network" with its immediate neighbor and uses a software algorithm to ascertain its own position. If an element within the network is faulty, the chips automatically search for new ways in order to maintain the communication. Since the coordinates are stored in the chip and the entire carpet network is self-organizing, a faulty semiconductor element or a damaged connection does not impair the network's ability to function. The self-organizing nature of the material allows it to be cut to size in order to fit a specific area or a desired shape. Once it is cut and installed, the information network is connected via a data interface to existing systems, such as the alarm, air-conditioning or IT system.
"To use these textiles in practice, you only need a power and data connection," explained Dr. Werner Weber, senior director of the Emerging Technologies Lab at Infineon. "This innovative technology for integrating microelectronics into textile surfaces will be further developed in conjunction with cooperation partners from the textile industry within two years to produce a fully functional and intelligent woven material that could be used to cover a wide area."
