Ohmatex, a Denmark based technology and business development company is partnering with Danfoss PolyPower A/S, a designer and manufacturer of PolyPower DEAP smart film and elements, to supply PolyPower®stretch sensors for wearable applications. 

The sensors combine PolyPower stretch sensing technology with an Ohmatex textile cabling and connector. It is a high quality advanced development in stretch sensing technology and one of the most unobtrusive and conformable capacitive sensors available, the company reports.

The combination of the stretch sensor with Ohmatex textile cabling is said to enhance the comfort and ease of integrating it into textile garments and wearable medical devices.

Textile integration of stretch sensors

Ohmatex is currently using PolyPower stretch sensors in the development of a sensor platform for health and fitness applications, part of the FP7 MyWear project.

The company has successfully integrated the stretch sensors into a shirt for monitoring respiration rate to enable self-monitoring for people with chronic lung disease.

“We have worked with the PolyPower stretch sensor to come up with the best way of attaching and encapsulating it in a smart textile garment. Encapsulating the sensor within the textile has several purposes: it protects the sensor to ensure a robust smart textile garment, enhances the comfort and design of the garment and increases washability,” explained Henrik Søgarrd, MyWear Project Manager, Ohmatex.

Stretch sensors

Highly elastic allowing for strain or stretch of up to 80%, sensors are coated in a thin layer of silicone rubber and are said to provide accurate measurements of biomechanics – motion sensing, posture, muscle volume and respiration.

Mechanically robust, they possess an easy electronics interface, are soft, comfortable and easy to integrate. The product is also washable depending on characteristics of garment/application.

Stretch sensors can be used in wearable applications for sport and fitness, medical, gaming and lifestyle to detect motion, volume, posture and gait.

Future plans

The result of this development is a garment which transmits highly accurate data to mobile and web platforms, together with reliable, washable and robust textile integration.

“We are very satisfied with the textile integration we have been able to achieve using PolyPower stretch sensors,” said Henrik . “We look forward to work together with other developers of textile integrated wearables to enable them to incorporate the stretch sensors in their own prototypes and commercial developments.”

www.ohmatex.dk