SoftIE - E-Textile Connectivity Interview

SoftIE Project E-Textile Survey

Please click on the green button to complete the questionnaire

Project Context: SoftIE

SoftIE is an EU-funded project working towards a common industry standard for e-textile connectivity. The project aim is to map the needs of commercial e-textile products and to develop the soft and flexible conductive and insulating materials, and adhesives, that will allow attachment of interchangeable bonding layers facilitating interconnection to integrated circuitry and mounting of external connectors on a broad range of textiles and e-textile substrates. Focus on sustainability and future requirements means that interconnects, encapsulation materials and adhesives will be designed to be removed for repair/replacement and re-use at the end of product life. That’s why we are interested in hearing about the connectivity solutions and fabrics used in current products, but also about any challenges currently faced and what future needs might look like.

Data Confidentiality

We record the company name only in case we have subsequent questions, and we treat all data from this meeting confidentially. We are the only people who will have access to your responses. Nothing attributable to your company will be published, only anonymised, collated findings from across all interviews.

Estimated time: 20 – 30 minutes

Respondent's Email Address

0.1 Company / Organisation Name

0.2 Application Sectors (Select all that apply)

Healthcare & Medical Sports & Fitness Occupational Safety & Industrial Workwear Military, Defence & Space Consumer & Lifestyle Fashion & Entertainment Automotive & Transport Other

0.3 Role / Position in the Value Chain (Select all that apply)

Electronics Component Manufacturer Fabric / Textile Solution Provider System Integrator E-textile Product Manufacturer Retailer End-user

1. How satisfied are you with the adequacy of your current e-textile connectivity solution(s)?

2. Can you tell us a little about your e-textile product(s)? What type of electrical functions have you integrated, and what technologies do you use to achieve them?

Q2.1 Conductor Technology Type (Select the most appropriate)

Q2.2 Type(s) of Signal Transmitted (Select all that apply)

Analogue sensor signals Digital signals Power only Power and data High-frequency communication

3. Can you share some more detail about your conductor technology?

4. How is power supplied? And what are power/operating requirements?

Describe on external connections, single/multiple traces, detachable electronics, voltage, and power needed etc.

5. What type of fabric is used, and what are its most critical characteristics?

Describe stretch/elongation, air permeability, moisture wicking, topography, abrasion resistance, tensile properties, bending stiffness.

6. What environmental conditions must the product withstand for its intended use?

Q6.1 Conditions products must withstand (Select all that apply)

High temperatures Low temperatures Outdoor: dust / rain / salt water Wearable: sweat / sterilisation Machine washing Hand washing

Q6.2 Detailed Laundering Requirements

A. Number of wash cycles over product lifetime

B. What type of wash cycles are expected?

Household, gentle (e.g. delicates) Household, medium (e.g. easy-care) Household, strong (e.g. cotton) Industrial Handwashing Dry cleaning

C. Washing temperatures (Celsius)

30°C 40°C 60°C >60°C

D. Detergent types

Powder Liquid No bleach With bleach

E. Drying method

Line dry (drip dry) Dryer

7. What are the most common end-user challenges and potential barriers to wider adoption?

Q7.1 Common end-user challenges (Select all that apply)

Comfort Robustness / electrical failure Ease of use Washing / laundry damage Corrosion Product lifetime Cleaning limitations Robustness (Integrity failure e.g. delamination) Use case related damages

Q7.2 Barriers to wider adoption (Select all that apply)

Semi-manual assembly / scale-up limits Cost Waste Repairability Reusability / recyclability Other

8. What should be prioritized in a future industry standard?

9. Is there anything else you would like to add?