Traditional and Fiber-Based Components: Challenges and Opportunities for E-Textile Garments

Garment-scale applications are increasingly attractive for medical wearables, as they afford a far greater scope of monitoring and intervention capabilities than localized devices. However, integrating electronics into fabric-based garments is a perennial challenge. Further, maintaining adequate system function under design and production constraints introduces additional complexity. This talk will explore the intersection of traditional fabrication techniques and component packages with fiber- and textile-based components and structures, as well as their implications for garment-scale medical applications.

Bio: Lucy E. Dunne is a Professor at the University of Minnesota, where she directs the Apparel Design program and is the founder and co-director of the Wearable Technology Lab. She is a co-author (with Susan Watkins) of "Functional Apparel Design: From Sportswear to Space Suits" (Bloomsbury, 2015), and her academic background includes degrees in Apparel Design (Cornell University, BS and MA), Electronic Engineering (Tompkins-Cortland Community College, AAS), and Computer Science (University College Dublin, PhD). Her research is focused on pursuing the vision of scalable, wearable garment-integrated technology, and explores new functionality in apparel, human-device interface, production and manufacture, and human factors of wearable products. Dr. Dunne has received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award and the NASA Silver Achievement Medal for her work with functional clothing and wearable technology.