Radial Compressive Properties of the Biodegradable Braided Regeneration Tubes for Peripheral Nerve Repair

LEDs have been included by way of a demonstrator but numerous other devices could be incorporated, particularly as chips become smaller and smaller. The technology could be used for existing applications of electronic textiles with additional applications on the horizon. It is also possible the main future application has not yet been envisioned. In particular, there are potential applications in social interactions. For example will your clothing light up when you pass someone who supports the same football team, or is a distant relation or has a similar profile on social media? Major applications are in medicine, sports and defence. Some possibilities are highlighted in Table I.

There will be significant reductions in costs of electronic textiles as many textile manufacturing processes are automated. Products will be developed that are based on smaller semi-conductor chips with resultant finer yarns and finer fabrics. There will be advances that will allow the integration of more complex functionality with grater intelligence.

These developments are likely to be enhanced by advances in electronics based on graphene. Graphene offers high strength and outstanding electrical properties and may be set to replace silicon in electrical devices. IBM, Samsung and Nokia are already investing in graphene technology [69] and this is likely to have matured by the late 2020s. The technology offers potential for further miniaturisation of embedded electronics.

Electric and electronic textiles have a long history but the recent decade has seen an upsurge in research interest and commercialization. Devices are becoming more sophisticated but often lack the required textile characteristics of softness, flexibility and the ability to conform to surfaces with double curvature. A new technology under development by Professor Tilak Dias and his team at Nottingham Trent University incorporates off-the-shelf semi-conductor devices into the core of yarns. This approach leads to the retention of the required textile characteristics and allows the fabrics to be machine washed and tumble dried. The technology has significant potential for the future with numerous applications in medicine, sports, the automotive and aerospace industries, defence, fashion and in social interactions.