In the not so distant past, the term wearables had more to do with sweaters than electronics. Now wearables are a hot topic across industries. These electronic devices have burst onto the scene, delivering solutions in the apparel, medical device, activity tracking, and other industries.
By merging clothing or accessories with electronics, wearables deliver powerful benefits. Their ability to communicate with the internet enables companies to collect, analyze, and apply important data. This connection to the internet is what the industry refers to as IoT (the internet of things).
If you’re wondering whether it’s worth your time to find out how wearables might benefit your business, ask yourself if cost savings is a good enough incentive.
How Wearables Work
The technology that drives the wearables market is, in part, an extension of printed electronics technology that has existed for decades. The earliest wearables applications were limited to products such as digital watches and fitness trackers. The past few years, however, have seen a product revolution that is opening doors for a much broader array of industries. The development and processing of stretchable inks and flexible substrates has led to the rapid growth of user-friendly, apparel-related printed electronic products. Because of their flexibility, these printed electronic assemblies can be transferred to the fabric of garments (hence the term “wearables.”)
These advances have eliminated many of the limitations previously faced by designers who had to design around less comfortable traditional (polymer film) flex circuits. Now companies can incorporate printed electronic assemblies that are more comfortable and better functioning. Advances have also translated into products that can be produced in less time than ever before.
One industry that has developed alongside wearables is Data Analytics. The data gathered by wearables is not only useful to the consumer who wears the device but also to many OEMs who pay top dollar for data that will help them make better business decisions and reach their audiences through targeted marketing campaigns.
Creative Applications
Butler Technologies has had the opportunity to assist a number of companies with the development and manufacturing of wearable circuitry that uses printed sensor systems produced with flexible and stretchable materials. When transferred onto fabric panels, this wearable circuitry results in “smart” garments, a specific example of which is athletic apparel. These “smart” garments work in conjunction with hardware and software to monitor and report on biometrics such as breathing, heart rate, and muscle activity. Other applications include wearable EEG and ECG sensor arrays, energy harvesting and storage devices.
Your Competitive Advantage
Remaining competitive in today’s market is a challenge. One consideration is to investigate the benefits of incorporating wearable printed electronics into your products. Otherwise, you could be overlooking opportunities to expand your product line or increase manufacturing efficiency and productivity.
Working with manufacturing partners that remain heavily involved in the ongoing research and development in this field is important, so that your business can benefit from advances in wearables technology as quickly as they appear.
Michael Wagner is Engineering Manager, New Product Development for Butler Technologies, Inc, located just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Butler Technologies is heavily involved in the research and development of conductive inks, flexible substrates and printed electronics design and production. Butler Technologies helps companies develop their Printed Electronic applications as well as alternatives to traditional circuitry for medical diagnostics, automotive instrumentation, safety applications, textiles and a number of other industry sectors. Contact Michael Wagner.