Interactive SMART textiles: innovation and collaboration in Japan and South Korea

Citation

Stylios, G.K. (2005), "Interactive SMART textiles: innovation and collaboration in Japan and South Korea", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 17 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijcst.2005.05817aaa.001

Interactive SMART textiles: innovation and collaboration in Japan and South Korea

Introduction

A British delegation has visited Japan and South Korea between 16th and 26th May 2004, under the auspices of the Department of Trade and industry for a so-called Science and Technology mission, which focused on Interactive Smart textiles (Plate 1). We are privileged to report the findings of this report in this issue and to offer readers the opportunity to acquire the actual report, if interested, by contacting the Editor and author of this report through E-mail: G.Stylios@hw.ac.uk

Plate 1 Mission delegates at Shinshu University

Objectives

The mission focused on new technical textile materials with potential applications in a wide range of fields, such as in aerospace developments, automotive industry, healthcare, civil engineering, and telecommunications. The highly technical and performing nature of these new textiles, and their flexibility (as well as being versatile, they can easily be bent, or shaped into any 3D structure) have led to a worldwide interest in such new materials, and a race for research and development to push the limits of technology further.

Academics and industry in Europe and elsewhere are already investing in the study and development of a range of interactive, smart, intelligent, multifunctional and high performance textile-related materials, in projects dealing with wireless interacting textile garments, shape changing materials, nanotechnology, biomedical fibrous assemblies, and so on.

An insight into these advances in high-tech countries with a reputation in textiles, such as Japan and Korea, can help focus and define the directions of R&D.

Findings summary(Stylios, 2004)

Smart, interactive, multifunctional and high performance textiles is an area of industrial technology of huge potential already resulting in new products, new end uses and providing business opportunities to industry and commerce.

Textiles are becoming even broader and they are spreading much beyond their so-called “traditional scope” into medical, aerospace, electronics, civil engineering and automotive sectors and are providing new and exciting opportunities. The idea that we could produce flexible electronics, and the realisation that flexible monitors may not be far away, turns the whole foundation of industrial sectors upside down; if microelectronics can become part of our intimate apparel then do we consider this as the next generation of electronics or as the next generation of textiles?

Both countries visited (Japan and South Korea) are spending huge sums on research and development (R&D) into these new materials; there are widespread R&D budgets within companies as well as from government. Their industrial infrastructure is different from ours, having a much larger critical mass of related industrial corporations working, or competing, with each other. Despite recent reductions of R&D budgets and the starvation of research funding of universities in countries like the UK, the science base in Europe, in similar areas, is relatively healthy and is not lagging behind. Difficulties are being exercised in building and transferring these new ideas from the laboratory into robust business opportunities.

We have seen niche products, highly innovative, in all areas that we were interested in. We have felt the innovation culture within boardrooms. We have realized at the same time that other innovations also exist in non-textile companies, perhaps from small, non-subject-specific companies. So perhaps in a future mission a non-textile company focus for these new materials may also be beneficial, although more difficult to organise. Long-term R&D and company-to-company collaboration, together with science-base collaborations, is the key.

It is an undisputable fact that these new materials will affect our lives and will be the main technological focus for sustainable business development beyond the next decade.

George K. StyliosEditor-in-Chief

ReferenceStylios, G.K. (2004), “Interactive smart textiles: innovation and collaboration in Japan and South Korea”, Global Watch Mission Report, Department of Trade and Industry