Smart textile lighting/display system with multifunctional fibre devices for large scale smart home and IoT applications

Abstract

Smart textiles consist of discrete devices fabricated from-or incorporated onto-fibres. Despite the tremendous progress in smart textiles for lighting/display applications, a large scale approach for a smart display system with integrated multifunctional devices in traditional textile platforms has yet to be demonstrated. Here we report the realisation of a fully operational 46-inch smart textile lighting/display system consisting of RGB fibrous LEDs coupled with multifunctional fibre devices that are capable of wireless power transmission, touch sensing, photodetection, environmental/biosignal monitoring, and energy storage. The smart textile display system exhibits full freedom of form factors, including flexibility, bendability, and rollability as a vivid RGB lighting/grey-level-controlled full colour display apparatus with embedded fibre devices that are configured to provide external stimuli detection. Our systematic design and integration strategies are transformational and provide the foundation for realising highly functional smart lighting/display textiles over large area for revolutionary applications on smart homes and internet of things (IoT).

Fig. 1. The fabrication protocol and mechanical stability of smart textile system integrated with six F-devices and lighting/display apparatus (F-LED).

Technology convergence between textile engineering and electronic science for smart textile display system fabrication; a Schematics of F-devices and corresponding fabricated F-devices. b Textile technology (weaving). c Smart textile system. d Mechanical stability of smart textile display system under folding, bending, rolling conditions and side view of the wall-mountable system.

Fig. 2. Characteristic of six F-devices.

a F-RF antenna, Output voltage generated from F-RF antenna with a suppressing resistor demonstrates distance-dependent signal classification. b I_light/I_dark as a function of time of F-photodetector under various input voltage under UV on and off. c Touch output signal as a function of touch duration. d Negative resistance changes as a function of temperature of Cu₂O F-temperature sensor. e Amplified (gain ~ 25) heartbeat by F-biosensor module. f Serially connected fibre supercapacitors as power switch of textile lighting/display (on/off).

Fig. 3. Mechanical and electrical stability of F-devices, 1000 cyclic bending test with 10 mm radius.

a F-LED showing no current density change. b Stable current of conductive fibre. c F-photodetector showing clear on/off classification. d Cyclic touch attempts for evaluating surface weariness of F-touch sensor. e Stable resistance value of RF-antenna (Ag-PA conductive fibre). f F-temperature sensor showing stable classification of measured temperature range as a function of electrical current. The error bars on the plot represent the standard deviation of measurements. g Unnoticeable transfer characteristics change of fibre transistor used for F-biosensor module. h Mechanical damage-free from the bending for fibre supercapacitor.

Fig. 4. Design of smart textile display system from material to system level.

a List of F-devices integrated into the smart textile system, materials, device architecture, auxiliary parts, signal processing/coding, and F-LED visualising. Applications displaying on textile system: Real-time operation photos of b Six-signal strengths digitized depending on the distance between F-RF antenna and transmitter. c Programmed image initiated by UV irradiation on F-photodetector. d Real-time temperature monitoring by F-temperature sensor grasped by fingers. e Electrocardiography signal measured by F-biosensor module. f One of 30 IoT functions operated by F-touch sensor. g F-energy as a power supply to the switch of textile display.