Delivering next-generation smart clothing: Developing safe, sustainable, smart life jacket

智能服装将可穿戴技术（传感器、无线连接、柔性电池）集成到服装中。智能服装在很大程度上是由监测运动和健身用户数据的需求不断增长推动的；然而，与更广泛的纺织和服装行业（全球污染最严重的行业之一）一样，智能服装尚未将可持续性纳入其核心设计原则。此外，智能服装仅在相对简单的产品（例如电热服装）中达到成熟。在智能外套/个人防护装备方面，已经开发了多种集成安全功能的产品概念，包括实时定位传感器。突出的原型概念包括带有集成GPS的夹克，如O'Neill的NavJacket（2008）和Byborre的BB。西装(2014)。然而，最终，这些智能服装的概念和原型在商业化方面面临挑战，因为它们在实际应用中的耐久性很差。迄今为止，大规模生产这些集成产品也被证明是困难的。该项目结合了两种接近市场的技术——英国Amphibio公司开发的单材料防水透气纺织品和日本AZUL能源公司开发的金属空气电池——以提供耐用、安全和可持续的下一代智能服装/个人防护装备，这些服装/个人防护装备在使用中具有良好的性能，并且在使用寿命结束时可以回收利用。Amphibio正在开发可回收的防水透气纺织品和服装，这些纺织品和服装可以使用零浪费的自动化数字3D编织进行大规模生产。数字3D针织已经商业化——优衣库在2017年推出了3D针织系列，现在正在使用3D针织生产无缝棉质套头衫。然而，由于传统的防水透气纺织品依赖于层压多层结构，需要传统的裁剪和缝纫生产，因此3D针织尚未应用于生产防水服装。通过使用单一材料生产防水透气纺织品，我们可以使用数字3D编织来生产高性能无缝服装。这一点很重要，因为接缝是任何防水服装最常见的失效点。金属-空气电池正受到越来越多的研究关注，因为它们具有较高的理论能量密度，是锂金属/离子电池的一种更安全、更可持续、更容易回收的替代品。AZUL能源公司为金属-空气电池开发了一种绿色催化剂材料，具有行业领先的耐用性和效率。由于金属-空气电池具有很长的电池寿命，并且可以制成薄膜和灵活的外形，因此它们是集成到智能服装中的理想选择。在EUREKA GlobalStars Japan的支持下，我们将把可回收纺织品和创新的可穿戴技术整合到一个安全、可持续、智能的服装/个人防护用品演示品中，实现人、地球和利润的三重底线。

Smart clothing integrates wearable technology (sensors, wireless connectivity, flexible batteries) into garments. Smart clothing is driven largely by increasing demand to monitor user data in sports and fitness; however, like the broader textile and clothing industry (one of the most polluting global industries), smart clothing has not yet integrated sustainability into its core design principles.Furthermore, smart clothing has only reached maturity in relatively simple products (e.g., electrically heated garments). When it comes to smart outerwear/PPE, multiple product concepts have been developed integrating safety features including real-time localisation sensors. Prominent prototype concepts include jackets with integrated GPS such as O'Neill's NavJacket (2008) and Byborre's BB.Suit (2014). However, ultimately, these smart clothing concepts and prototypes are challenging to commercialise since they offer poor durability in real-world applications. To date, it has also proved difficult to manufacture these integrated products at scale.This project unites two close-to-market technologies - mono-material waterproof breathable textiles developed by Amphibio (UK) and metal-air batteries developed by AZUL Energy (Japan) - to deliver durable, safe, and sustainable next-generation smart clothing/PPE, which delivers performance in use and can be recycled at end-of-life.Amphibio is developing recyclable waterproof breathable textiles and clothing, which are manufacturable at scale using zero-waste, automated digital 3D knitting. Digital 3D knitting is already commercialised - Uniqlo launched a 3D knitted collection in 2017 and is now using 3D knitting to produce seamless cotton jumpers. However, 3D knitting has not yet been applied to produce waterproof garments since conventional waterproof breathable textiles rely on laminated multi-layer construction, which requires traditional cut-and-sew production. By producing our waterproof breathable textile from a single material, we can use digital 3D knitting to produce high-performance seamless garments. This is important since seams are the most common failure point of any waterproof garment.Metal-air batteries are receiving significant research attention because they have a high theoretical energy density and are a safer, more sustainable, and readily recyclable alternative to lithium metal/ion batteries. AZUL Energy has developed a green catalyst material for metal-air batteries that offers industry-leading durability and efficiency. Since metal-air batteries have a long battery life and can be produced in a thin-film and flexible form factor, they are ideal candidates for integrating into smart clothing.With EUREKA GlobalStars Japan support, we will integrate recyclable textiles and innovative wearable technology into a safe, sustainable, smart clothing/PPE demonstrator that delivers on the triple bottom line of People, Planet, and Profit.