Tapio Karinsalo

Smart Clothing Prototype for the Arctic Environment

Abstract: Continuous miniaturisation of electronic components has made it possible to create smaller and smaller electrical devices which can be worn and carried all the time. Together with developing fibre and textile technologies, this has enabled the creation of truly usable smart clothes that resemble clothes more than wearable computing equipment. These intelligent clothes are worn like ordinary clothing and provide help in various situations according to the application area. This paper describes the design and implementation of a survival smart clothing prototype for the arctic environment. Concept development, electrical design, and non-electrical features are discussed. The suit provides communication, positioning, and navigation aids for the user. Depending on the measurements of the human and the environment, the suit decides whether an emergency message should be sent. The user can control the system with a user interface called a Yo-Yo. The functionality of the suit has been tested in an arctic environment.

Smart clothing for the arctic environment

New fiber and textile materials and miniaturized electronic components make it possible to create truly usable smart clothes. These intelligent clothes are worn like ordinary clothing providing help in various situations according to the designed application. This paper describes the design and implementation of a survival smart clothing prototype for the arctic environment. Concept development, electrical design, non-electrical features, textile material selection, and clothing design are discussed. Communication and positioning aids have been provided to the suits user. Several human and the environment measurements decide whether an emergency message should be sent. The functionality of the suit has been tested in the arctic environment.

Dynamic bending test analysis of inkjet-printed conductors on flexible substrates

The need to optimize space in electronic devices has made flexible electronics an attractive option for manufacturing electronics. Techniques to fabricate flexible circuits have become more and more common and the processes increasingly more efficient. Printed electronics is a potential technique for manufacturing electronic patterns on flexible substrates. In particular, inkjet printing is an effective way to produce fine, thin, conductive structures without touching the substrate material. This study concentrated on dynamic bending analysis of inkjet-printed silver conductors on a polymer substrate. Because printed electronics is a relatively new manufacturing method, not much research is yet available on mechanical endurance of printed structures. By default, thin layers of inkjet-printed traces may just prove to have good tolerance against bending. However, factors such as adhesion between ink layer and substrate and the effect of the porous structure of sintered nanoparticle ink must be studied. This paper evaluates the capability of the inkjet technique on a flexible substrate and benchmarks the results on conventional flexible copper circuit boards. Measurements were made in real time of the resistance of conductors while bending the sample along two different radii. Results showed that printed conductors were superior in endurance over etched copper circuits.

Development of a Lower Extremity Rehabilitation Aid Utilizing an Insole-Integrated Load Sensor Matrix and a Sole-Embedded Measurement Node

Following an individual exercise program after a hip or a knee operation is crucially important as it enables the muscles of the operated leg to regain their strength and thereby support the recovery of the operated joint. Usually the patients have no assisting devices at home to help determine how much weight they put on the operated leg. Training with a scale helps, but in general, humans can not accurately estimate the amount of weight they put on the leg. To address this problem we have designed a lower extremity rehabilitation aid, which utilizes an insole-integrated capacitive load sensor matrix and a sole-embedded read-out electronics with wireless communication link. In this paper we present in detail the manufacturing process of the insole sensor. The placement of the electrodes, calibration, and user interfaces are also discussed. The system is found to be suitable for detecting too light and too heavy steps.

Monitoring of the User’s Vital Functions and Environment in Reima Smart Clothing Prototype

This paper presents the architecture of the developed suit prototype, concentrating on the sensor system used for monitoring the users vital functions and users environment. The wearable computing destines to aid a human user to manage in different situations and environments by providing automated data processing functions and a personalized (even transparent) user interface. Smart clothing consists of multimedia, wireless communication, and wearable computing has become a potential alternative for a wide range of personal applications, including safety and entertainment The main focus has been the creation of a truly functional concept that helps a suits user to survive in harsh and demanding weather conditions. Communication, positioning, and several monitoring aids have been provided to the user. The monitoring system of the suit consists of temperature and acceleration sensors, a heart rate sensor, and an electric conductivity sensor measuring both the human user and the environment. Although the implemented prototype was designed for a special application environment, it still convinced us that because of potential advantages provided by smart clothing, the demand for various kinds of applications would appear in the near future.

Dry electrode sizes in recording ECG and heart rate in wearable applications

The rise of wearable electronics is paving the way for textile integrated sensor applications. ECG and heart rate monitoring are common in health care and consumer applications, respectively. In short term monitoring Ag/AgCl, conductive polymer or fabric electrodes can be used. In long term monitoring the electrolyte and adhesives may cause skin irritation, therefore textile integrated skin friendly dry electrodes may be a solution. The electrodes need to be cost-effective, easy to integrate, need no special care from the user and perform well. Conductive polymer and textile used in sports applications perform poorly when used without electrolyte. Stainless steel is common, affordable, easy to process, biocompatible (selected alloys), and provides adequate ECG quality. In this paper, we study different size stainless steel dry electrodes in ECG and heart rate monitoring and compare those with commercial disposable Ag/AgCl electrodes. The results show that stainless steel dry electrodes performed well throughout the tested activities if the circular electrode diameter was 20 mm or larger.