Noise: sound reactive fashion

Sound and noise have an important influence in our daily lives. They can positively or negatively change our quality of life. Given the idea that it is harder to ignore what we see, rather than what we hear, the team developed a garment that senses environmental noise and shows it through lighting, to make people aware of the noise around them. The garment chosen was a jacket, with a deliberately provocative design. It is the authors’ intention to study the integration of lighting in garments for more subtle ways of expression, in other context, such as health monitoring, sports or social interaction.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, project UID/CTM/00264/2013

Development of dry textile electrodes for electromiography: a comparison between knitted structures and conductive yarns

The paper presents a practical approach concerning the design, implementation and testing of dry textile electrodes for surface electromyography purposes. Several knitted structures were designed and knitted with conductive yarns, in order to compare the influence of the fabric structure in the electrode performance. The effect of the type of conductive yarn was also studied by comparing three different yarns. It was found that the textile electrodes perform well for sEMG acquisition, with a clear depiction of the muscle activity produced. There are significant differences between the structures tested and there is also some influence from the yarn used.This work is supported by Portuguese National Funding, through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in the framework of project EHRPhysio PTDC/DTP-DES/1661/2012 and project UID/CTM/00264/2013

Design and characterization of a textile extension sensor for sports and health applications

Electronic textiles (e-textiles) are a form of textiles that, integrating technology, can add new functionalities or forms of expression. The fabric can, for instance, have sensing properties, emerging as a textile sensor, which is a subfield of the e-textiles, widely reported in literature. One such kind of sensors are the extension sensors, usually studied for breathing monitoring, posture detection or characterization of movements. There are several challenges associated with the production of a textile extension sensor with high precision and repeatability. This paper reports the design and development of a knit-based sensor that uses a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) adhesive and film to either bond or insulate the sensing area (respectively), in order to improve the sensor’s performance. The sensors were found to be appropriate for measuring breathing rate, but not for absolute extension measurements. The use of elastic tape or TPU produced the most stable results.This work is financed by Project “Deus ex Machina”, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000026, funded by CCDRN, through Sistema de Apoio à Investigação Cientifica e Tecnológica (Projetos Estruturados I&D&I) of Programa Operacional Regional do Norte, from Portugal 2020 and by FEDER funds through the Competitivity Factors Operational Programme - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implementação de uma ferramenta informática para gestão da manutenção de um edifício

Esta tese surge na sequência da crescente atenção que é dada às ferramentas informáticas para gestão de manutenção de edifícios, justificada pelos elevados custos associados à exploração e manutenção dos edifícios, pelo que requer uma optimização contínua. A gestão de edifícios e instalações abrange a coordenação e o uso eficiente dos recursos disponíveis, entre os quais se incluem os técnicos, as instalações técnicas e os equipamentos. Desde hà algum tempo que se tem registado um grande progresso e aperfeiçoamento em aplicações informáticas ou software de manutenção de edifícios. Estes possuem um excelente controlo das instalações, do seu funcionamento, da monitorização dos custos previstos em função do desempenho real e da possibilidade de, em simultâneo, registarem informações essenciais, geralmente numa única base de dados. Actualmente encontram-se disponíveis no mercado nacional alguns sistemas de software com diferentes abordagens integradas, funções e graus de êxito. Procura-se ainda evidenciar a utilidade do seu manuseamento na Gestão da Manutenção de Edifícios e chamar a atenção para a necessidade de mais investigação e utilização destas metodologias no nosso país

Smart shirt with embedded vital sign and moisture sensing

This paper presents the development of a smart shirt with embedded electrodes in two-lead configuration for heart rate measurement and a knitted moisture sensor for sweat detection. Signal conditioning for heart rate measurement is based on the Analog Devices AD8232 heart rate monitor front-end. The shirt is part of a fireman interactive Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which monitors information on heart rate and sweat detection, among other variables. Sweat detection is used to avoid skin burns that may occur due to the combination of excessive moisture and heat. Tests have demonstrated that the measurement of heart rate using the shirt is as efficient as conventional solutions, such as heart-rate monitoring straps. Sweat detection through textile moisture sensors has also shown to be effective.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in the framework of project UID/CTM/00264/2013 and project PROTACTICAL - Co-Promoção Nº Projecto: 23267, sponsored by ADI

Textile based electrodes for ECG and EMG measurements

Biopotential signals are an important tool for monitoring our health and thanks to the evolution of technology, they are being increasingly used in several areas. There are however some problems with conventional electrodes such as irritation that need to be surpassed and textile electrodes may represent a good alternative. This paper proposes a design approach for textile based electrodes developed by our research group, in which the construction of the electrodes is based on 3D surface design of weft knitted structures, which increases thickness and allows to improve the permanent contact between electrode and skin, thus contributing for the solution of one of the problems identified by the research community.This work is financed by FEDER funds through the Competitivity Factors Operational Programme - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Health monitoring using textile sensors and electrodes: an overview and integration of technologies

Publicado em "MeMeA 2014 International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications : proceedings", ISBN 978-1-4799-2920-7This paper gives an overview of technologies and results of integration and test of textile integrated sensors and electrodes for monitoring of biosignals (electrocardiographic - ECG and electromyographic - EMG), breathing and moisture. Using a seamless jacquard knitting machine, it is possible to integrate these sensors and electrodes directly into the fabrics, which can then be used in clothing for monitoring of elderly people, in sports or in hazardous occupations. The total integration of the sensing elements and connections into the garment presents great advantages in physical as well as psychological comfort of the user. It has been shown that the measurements are of adequate quality for most of the applications. In some cases, as is the case of ECG and EMG, signals acquired are similar to those obtained using conventional electrodes.The authors wish to thank funding by FCT -Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, projects PEst-C/CTM/UI0264/2011, PTDC/DTP-DES/1661/2012 and project PROTACTICAL - Co-Promoção Nº Projecto: 23267, sponsored by AD

Study and optimization of swimming performance in swimsuit designed with seamless technology

Hydrodynamic resistance, also called water drag, is one of the most discussed issues in swimming sport and recognized as a major factor in terms of swimming performance. Different authors tried to demonstrate that body compression is responsible for a better result in swimming, based on the fact that body modelling improves energy saving and helps to maintain the performance on repetitive movements. In this paper, different weft knitted fabrics, prepared under predefined production parameters, were tested in order to establish which were the most adequate for compressive effect and which parameters contribute most for compression.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PTDC/EEA-ELC/70803/2006

Aquisição de sinais electromiográficos recorrendo a eléctrodos em substratos têxteis

A electromiografia (EMG) constitui um método fundamental para o estudo do comportamento biomecânico de um indivíduo. Este artigo apresenta um estudo realizado na óptica do desenvolvimento de eléctrodos têxteis não invasivos para a realização de electromiografia de superfície. O trabalho apresenta um método de fabrico de eléctrodos, as suas vantagens e limitações e uma comparação entre dois tipos de eléctrodos têxteis e convencionais, utilizados neste tipo de medição. Os resultados obtidos indiciam um comportamento para estes eléctrodos têxteis considerado semelhante ao dos convencionais, podendo deste modo constituir uma alternativa válida, sobretudo quando se tem em consideração as vantagens que estes proporcionam.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PTDC/EEA-ELC/70803/2006Universidade do Minh