Smart fabric for new soldier uniform
Baku, April 7 (AZERTAC). British soldiers` uniforms could soon use electrically conducting yarn woven directly into the clothing, replacing cumbersome batteries and cabling. The "e-textiles" could provide uniforms with a single, central power source. This would allow soldiers to recharge one battery instead of many and cut the number of cables required in their kit. Surrey-based Intelligent Textiles showcased the lightweight uniform at an event organised by the Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE). The company has patented a number of techniques for weaving complex conductive fabrics.
"We have built-in conductive yarns that then take power and data to where it needs to be," Asha Thompson, director of Intelligent Textiles, told BBC News. The company has received £234,000 from the CDE, which wants to find solutions for reducing the physical and the "cognitive" burden placed on soldiers. Currently, separate batteries may be required for each piece of a soldier`s equipment, which adds to their carrying load as well as being costly. This is one reason why a centralised battery pack is so desirable. Soldiers would also be able to recharge or replace one battery instead of many. The "plug-and-play" connectors used in the current uniform prototype are for demonstration and are unlikely to be the ones used in a finished product. This is partly because they have not been environmentally-proofed to stop them rusting or short-circuiting, and also because they will need to work with older equipment still used by armed forces. Also being developed is a fabric keyboard for use with a portable computer that will be integrated with the uniform. The company is planning to carry out field trials in May and the system could see some limited use by the end of the year. But it is likely to be 2014 or 2015 before the lightweight uniforms see more widespread use.
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