Plug-n-play e-knit: prototyping large-area e-textiles using machine-knitted magnetically-repositionable sensor networks

Abstract

Prototyping electronic textile (e-textile) involves embedding electronic components into fabrics to develop smart clothing with specific functionalities. However, this process is still challenging since the complicated wiring setup is required during experimental phases. This paper presents plug-n-play e-knit, a large-scale, repositionable e-textile for providing trial-and-error prototyping platforms across the textile. Plug-n-play e-knit leverages industrial digital knitting machines loaded with conductive thread to automatically embed a communication and power supply network into garments, in addition to using soft magnet connectors to rearrange electronic components while preserving the stretchability of the garment. These combinations enable users to quickly establish e-textile sensor networks, and moreover test the performance and optimal placement of the electric devices on the textile. We demonstrated that our textiles leveraging custom I2C protocols could achieve the motion-resilient motion-tracking sensor network over a 2700 $cm^2$ garment area.