A Synopsis of Smart Textiles for Sportswear

Abstract

Engaging in sports during hot and muggy weather can lead to a variety of heat-related illnesses that can have either mild or fatal consequences. The creation and manufacture of sportswear has become increasingly important with the growth of contemporary sports, particularly in many challenging and hazardous sports.
The most crucial element is the choice of fiber fabrics since it affects efficiency and performance while guaranteeing safety and physical comfort. Globally, there has been a surge in demand for smart textiles and materials in recent years. E-textiles and smart clothing can serve as a second skin to help track activity beneath the surface of the body. These days, smart textiles use sensors extensively. So, in order to become a good textile engineer, we must be knowledgeable about sensor technology and how it operates. People’s changes in body composition and the environment around them can be monitored by electronic or digital sensors painted or woven into clothing. Here are several textile-based sensors that have been incorporated into clothing for a range of sports applications. It is the hope of some researchers that smart clothes will be powered by the body’s natural energy. Since the sensors are integrated into the garment, they can come into close contact with the skin of the wearer and pick up a remarkably wide range of personal data. Sensors from various production-method levels are combined in one system, depending on the application area. To ensure the correct operation of the system, the textiles used for textile-based sensors must be carefully tailored to the specific application. A literature search shows that a small number of studies have been published on the development of smart clothing for monitoring, the features of textile sensors are, Longer functional life, High performance, Easy maintenance and Reliable operations. There are various sensor technologies employed in the textile sector like, Humidity and moisture monitoring, Pressure-mapping systems, Fiber-coated sensors, Printed sensors etc.