Our field trip to the Materials ConneXion library was really interesting. I found a few items particularly exciting:
1) Veilshield (link)
Veilshield is a mesh conductive fabric with stated applications for electromagnetic interference and field shielding. I’m very curious to understand how these fabrics maybe be layed with clothing, and how to test its shielding capabilities. In previous wearable projects that involved a capacitive touch sensing over conductive fabric, I ran into some EMF interference issues. I’m curious how layering this fabric with non-conductive layers would better my previous designs. The fabric itself is quite flexible, but not very stretchy. The manufacturer is apt named Less EMF Inc, and the material can be bought from directly from them.
2) Textile-based Conductors (link)
This is a conductive silver-ink that can be inkjet-printed onto fabric to create highly conductive traces. The limitations of this product seems only to be the imagination of the designer. Applications noted by the manufacturer include: ECG monitoring and other medical/fitness sensing, interconnects, proximity sensors, and capacitive touch sensors. The manufacturer is Liquid X Printed Metals, and the ink can be purchased directly from them.
I’m most interesting in creating subtly “smart” wearables, and these items fit that bill.