PROETEX

ProeTEX will develop integrated smart wearables for emergency disaster intervention personnel, improving their safety, coordination and efficiency and for injured civilians, optimising their survival management. This core application area, which is of significant societal importance in itself, will drive a wide range of key technology developments, building on current and past EU and national projects and the commercial activities of partners, to create micro-nano-engineering smart textile systems – integrated systems (fabrics, wearable garments) using specifically fibre-based micronano technologies. These are capable of being combined into diverse products addressing this core application area but also a wide range of other markets from extreme sports, through healthcare to transportation maintenance and building workers. The industrial partners can address these markets.
Fiber systems can integrate sensors, actuators, conductors, power management, and the emergency disaster personnel smart garment will, within a wireless ambient planning and managing environment, progressively enhance and integrate fiber systems for:
– continuous monitoring of life signs (biopotentials, breathing movement, cardiac sounds)
– continuous monitoring biosensors (sweat, dehydration, electrolytes, stress indicators)
– pose and activity monitoring,
– low power local wireless communications, including integrated fiber antennae
– active visibility enhancement, light emitting fibers
– internal temperature monitoring using fiber sensors
– external chemical detection, including toxic gases and vapours
– power generation – photovoltaic and thermoelectric and power storage.
The technological base developed will concentrate on smart fibers/e-textiles, but the IP will combine these where appropriate with ‘conventional’ microsystems (such as accelerometers, gyros, microcontrollers and wireless chips).