Feasibility Study for cooperation with US firms on USB-type connector for Smart Textiles

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**Smart Textiles Alliance proposes a Feasibility Study to understand the potential for creating a standard (a copyrighted industrial specification which can be used by manufacturers under license) for a USB-type connector for smart textiles. To achieve this it will collaborate with specialist researchers in Germany to meet and seek the backing of industry leaders in the USA.****Background**Smart Textiles or e-textiles are cloths or yarns which can sense and respond to stimuli. We spend 98% of our lives in contact with cloth: Smart Textile technology exists and can enable our clothes and furnishings to deliver additional benefits. Key applications for smart textiles include healthcare and wellbeing, fashion, automotive and fitness.Already Smart Textiles offer breakthrough applications: kinetic energy capture to recharge equipment; garments to track health, clothes that light up and change colour. Apple, Microsoft and Samsung have taken out multiple Smart Textiles patents.Smart Textiles as a sector will have grown tenfold 2014-2023 by which time it is forecast to be worth $7.7bn (Transparency Market Research). It will be central to growth of the Internet of Things, forecast by IDC to reach 41.6bn devices by 2025\. It is a fast-growing market._Connectors_ are the critical component that attaches electronics to the fabric so it can communicate with an external device (say, a phone). There is no universal connector component, so developers design their own or use diverse proprietary versions: this holds back development.**The Feasibility Study**The Feasibility Study will evaluate, research and build networks to understand the potential for collaboration between STA and one or more US-based technology companies. STA will undertake its own analysis and planning, and partner with Fraunhofer, a leading German research institute, to prepare the materials needed to meet and seek the backing of other partners.The end-goal is for STA to secure the interest of one or more of the US technology firms which could partner with STA on the development of the connector. The process of seeking their support and contribution is vital, since their backing would be needed to open up the global market.Ultimately STA's aim is to create a global hub for Smart Textiles in the UK, encouraging valuable developments between the UK's fashion and tech sectors, and creating global markets and collaborations. This work represents an early step in an identified series of developments to support the Smart Textile sector to develop to its potential.