Conventional army coaching typically depends on standardized strategies, which has restricted the supply of optimized coaching tailor-made to particular person combatants’ traits or particular fight conditions. To deal with this, a analysis crew has developed an e-textile platform, securing core expertise that may mirror the distinctive traits of particular person combatants and numerous fight situations. This expertise has confirmed strong sufficient for battlefield use and is economical sufficient for widespread distribution to a lot of troops.
On June 25, Professor Steve Park’s analysis crew at KAIST’s Division of Supplies Science and Engineering introduced the event of a versatile, wearable digital textile (E-textile) platform utilizing an modern expertise that “attracts” digital circuits straight onto cloth. The analysis is published within the journal npj Versatile Electronics.
The wearable e-textile platform developed by the analysis crew combines 3D printing expertise with new supplies engineering design to straight print versatile and extremely sturdy sensors and electrodes onto textile substrates. This permits the gathering of exact motion and human physique knowledge from particular person combatants, which might then be used to suggest personalized coaching fashions.
Current e-textile fabrication strategies have been typically advanced or restricted of their means to supply customized customization. To beat these challenges, the analysis crew adopted an additive manufacturing expertise referred to as Direct Ink Writing (DIW) 3D printing.
This expertise includes straight meting out and printing particular ink, which capabilities as sensors and electrodes, onto textile substrates in desired patterns. This enables for versatile implementation of assorted designs with out the advanced technique of masks fabrication. That is anticipated to be an efficient expertise that may be simply provided to a whole bunch of hundreds of army personnel.
The core of this expertise lies within the improvement of high-performance purposeful inks primarily based on superior supplies engineering design. The analysis crew mixed styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) polymer, which gives flexibility, with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) for electrical conductivity.
They developed a tensile/bending sensor ink that may stretch as much as 102% and keep secure efficiency even after 10,000 repetitive assessments. Which means correct knowledge may be persistently obtained even in the course of the strenuous actions of combatants.
Moreover, new materials expertise was utilized to implement “interconnect electrodes” that electrically join the higher and decrease layers of the material. The crew developed an electrode ink combining silver (Ag) flakes with inflexible polystyrene (PS) polymer, exactly controlling the impregnation stage (how a lot the ink penetrates the material) to successfully join each side or a number of layers of the material. This secures the expertise for producing multi-layered wearable digital programs integrating sensors and electrodes.
The analysis crew then proved the platform’s efficiency via precise human motion monitoring experiments. They printed the e-textile on main joint areas of clothes (shoulders, elbows, knees) and measured actions and posture modifications throughout numerous workouts akin to operating, leaping jacks, and push-ups in real-time.
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Experimental outcomes of recognizing unknown objects after machine studying six objects utilizing a wise glove. Credit score: npj Versatile Electronics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41528-025-00414-7
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Experimental outcomes displaying {that a} multi-layered e-textile glove linked with interconnect electrodes can measure tensile/bending alerts and strain alerts at a single level. Credit score: npj Versatile Electronics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41528-025-00414-7
Moreover, they demonstrated the potential for purposes akin to monitoring respiration patterns utilizing a wise masks and recognizing objects via machine studying and perceiving advanced tactile info by printing a number of sensors and electrodes on gloves. These outcomes present that the developed e-textile platform is efficient in exactly understanding the motion dynamics of combatants.
This analysis is a crucial instance demonstrating how cutting-edge new materials expertise can contribute to the development of the protection sector. Main Kyusoon Pak of the Military, who participated on this analysis, thought of required targets akin to army applicability and financial feasibility for sensible distribution from the analysis design stage.
Main Pak said, “Our army is presently going through each a disaster and a possibility because of the lower in army personnel sources attributable to the demographic cliff and the development of science and expertise. Additionally, respect for all times on the battlefield is rising as a big situation.
“This analysis goals to safe unique expertise that may present personalized coaching based on army department/obligation and kind of fight, thereby enhancing the fight energy and guaranteeing the survivability of our troopers.”
He added, “I hope this analysis might be evaluated as a case that achieved each scientific contribution and army applicability.”
Extra info:
Kyusoon Pak et al, Fabrication of multifunctional wearable interconnect E-textile platform utilizing direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing, npj Versatile Electronics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41528-025-00414-7
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Versatile e-textile makes use of 3D-printed sensors to observe and optimize fight coaching routines (2025, June 30)
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