Sensors & Smart Textiles

zafar@NTU

Signal/Stimuli

Detect
Respond

Physical parameter

(temperature, blood pressure, humidity, speed, etc.)

signal which can be measured electrically

A simple sensor?

Detectable Phenomenon
Stimulus
Acoustic

Biological & Chemical

Electric

Magnetic

Quantity
Wave (amplitude, phase, polarization), Spectrum, Wave
Velocity

Fluid Concentrations (Gas or Liquid)

Charge, Voltage, Current, Electric Field (amplitude,

phase,
polarization), Conductivity, Permittivity

Magnetic Field (amplitude, phase, polarization), Flux,

Permeability

Optical

Refractive Index, Reflectivity, Absorption

Thermal

Temperature, Flux, Specific Heat, Thermal Conductivity

Mechanical

Position, Velocity, Acceleration, Force, Strain, Stress,

Pressure, Torque

How to choose a Sensor

Accuracy

Environmental condition - limits for temperature/ humidity

Range - Measurement limit of sensor
Calibration - the readings changes with time
Resolution - Smallest increment detected by the sensor
Cost
Repeatability - reading that varies is repeatedly measured under the
same environment

5 Criterions of classifications
Primary Input quantity
Transduction principles (Using physical and chemical effects)
Material and Technology
Property
Application

Where Do You Find Them?

Sensors are omnipresent.
embedded in our bodies, automobiles, airplanes,
cellular telephones, radios, industrial plants etc etc

Without the use of sensors, there

would be no automation !!

HUMAN SENSES
[Vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch]

Human senses help detect change

Our senses consist of a very narrow band of what is possible,
Sensors are devices that help us sense things beyond our
capabilities or limitations

Examples:
Each of our senses need a certain amount of energy to work properly
Light must be a certain brightness to see
sound must be loud enough to hear
The pressure on our skin must be great enough to feel. The skin must be sensitive
enough to detect the difference in temperature--hot or cold.

HUMAN VISION

VISION SENSORS

Importance: Sight is limited to the visible light spectrum

Devices are used to detect waves beyond the human range

Night vision goggles creates images in the infra-red range

X-ray machines creates images with the very short x-ray
wavelengths
There are environmental parameters that are important to our
welfare and survival that cannot be sensed by the human senses
An example: radioactivity, UV exposure, etc.

SOUND SENSORS
Importance: human hearing is limited
Microphones can detect sound at extremely low
volumes
Ultrasound devices detect sounds at very high
frequencies
Communication
Whales, submarines

Sound Navigation And Ranging

(SONAR)
Radio Detection And Ranging
(RADAR) ELECTROMAGNETIC
WAVES !!

SMELL SENSORS
Human smell is limited to a certain number of chemical
compounds in the air
Smoke detectors
There are environmental parameters that are important to our
survival that cannot be sensed by the human senses examples:
carbon monoxide, radon, etc.

HUMAN BODY
-TASTE Four tastes that can be recognized by the tongue:
sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

Most of what we experience as taste is actually from

our sense of smell.
Particular scents and tastes are due to different
molecules that bind to smell and taste receptors.
Our smell receptors can recognize thousands of
different scent molecules.

TASTE SENSORS
Human taste requires direct contact with the compound
Taste sensor
Example: Litmus paper can tell if a compound is acidic or a base

Water quality (sensors that sample the water)

-pollution, ecoli, etc.
Taste is the weakest of the five senses

FEEL SENSORS
Humans can detect change in temperature relative to
the environment

A human or a sensor needs to be

"calibrated." There are differences
between people and between cultures in
the way the human "sensors" are
"calibrated." For example, a person from
Gilgit might call a room "too hot" that a
person from Sibbi calls "just right."

Basic Sensors: Magnetic Field

Simplest: Reed Switch

Basic Sensors: Magnetic Field

Hall Sensors
Semiconductors
Switches
Analog

Encoders For Position Sensing

Combine the Transmissive
Optical Sensor
With a rotating Mask

Encoder: How it works

Quadrature

Printers
Disk Drives

Temperature
Thermistors
Temperature Sensitive Resistor

Large DR for DT

Basic Sensors: Temperature

Resistive Temperature Devices
RTDs
Wide Temperature Range

Very Stable
Not Very Sensitive

Basic Sensors: Light

Photo-Diodes
Spectral Sensitivity
Speed
Light Sensitivity

Conventional Textiles

Design
Durability
Tactility

Smart Textiles

Design
Durability
Tactility
Functionality

Signal/Stimuli

Detect
Respond

ow to make Textiles intelligent?

Sensors + Textile + Actuators

Physical parameter

(temperature, blood pressure, humidity, speed, etc.)

Sensor

signal which can be measured electrically

Electronics + Textiles

What is the objective?

can interact with their environment
have a high level of functions and
intelligence

What are the issues

Scale of the components

Flexibility of components

Subgroups
Passive smart textiles :
only sense the environment, they are sensors

Active smart textiles:

sense stimuli from the environment, so they are sensor and

react to

them, so they have an actuator function

Very smart textiles:

sense
react
adapt their behavior to the given circumstances

Material Developments

conductive materials
color change materials
optical fibers
phase change materials
shape memory
stimuli sensitive polymers
piezoelectric

Conductive Materials

Flexibility & Mass

Possibilities