Smart Textile Alliance had a chat with Sigrid Rotzler, an e-textile researcher at Fraunhofer IZM who is chairing the E-Textiles Networks 6th annual conference from 19th – 21st November in Berlin along with her colleague, group leader Malte von Krshiwoblozki, to bring you a heads up on what to expect.
Forward looking network for e-textiles specialists
Around the time when the Smart Textile Alliance (STA) was founded, others in the field identified a similar need for a platform to share the latest academic developments with industry and to promote the development of E-Textiles. Led by Dr. Steve Beeby of the University of Southampton and Dr. Yang Wei at Nottingham Trent University, the E-Textiles Network was formed.
This year’s international network conference is hosted by STA’s ambassador, Fraunhofer IZM and for the first time it is supported by a technical sponsorship from IEEE and the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society.
Q: What inspired the creation of the E-Textiles Annual Conference?
A: Smart textiles is still a small community. The E-Textiles Annual Conference was created to bring together researchers and industry from the entire community and to give them the chance to discuss the innovations and challenges facing this emerging field.
Q: What are some of the highlights attendees can look forward to this year?
A: This year we are excited to welcome Helena Almqvist, from Protex Balti AS, as our keynote speaker from industry. Protex Balti is a leading manufacturer of advanced textile solutions for the Northern European market where their technical/ e-textile portfolio now accounts for over 80% of their total turnover.
Of course, we also have an impressive lineup of speakers from among leading researchers. This year our academic keynote speaker is Professor Xiaoming Tao, who is the founding Director of the Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She is internationally known for her leading research work on intelligent fibrous materials, photonic fibres and fibre-based electronic and photonic devices. There will also be lectures from researchers at the University of Southampton, Fraunhofer, IMEC and the University of Boras, as well as industry speakers from the German Military or Meta so there is plenty for attendees to look forward to. There will also be panel discussions on industry relevant topics.
Q: What is the focus for this year’s lectures?
A: Amongst the latest research, topics will include developments on sensors and actuators, innovative materials, functionalisation of fibres, yarns and textiles, but this year we also have a strong focus on sustainability, recycling and circularity as well. On the application side, focus is on health and medical applications, sports and outdoor as well as PPE and innovative fashion solutions. We do our best to cover the entire e-textiles supply chain, so topics range from developments in the technological building blocks to manufacturing solutions and integration methods, test methods, end-use applications and recycling.
Last years E-Textiles Conference took place on the 14-16th November 2023 in Ghent, Belgium with 300 participants
Q: What advice would you give someone attending the conference for the first time?
A: I would recommend that you register early and start planning your visit. Keep an eye on updates on the website, so you can identify the sessions that are most relevant and interesting for you. And don’t be shy to reach out to other attendees and speakers, that is the whole idea behind the network!
More Info
Website: E-Textiles Conference 2024 in Berlin
Contact details: sigrid.rotzler@izm.fraunhofer.de
