Smart textiles to be used to monitor health of pilots
12/07/2017
A range of sensors will be embedded into the yarns that are used to make clothing and textiles. They will be used to monitor indications of stress like variable heart rate, perspiration and body temperature.
Heart rate will be monitored via an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor system, while temperature measurements will be taking using thermistors and temperature detector (RTD) chips being embedded into yarns. A moisture sensing yarn will also be developed as part of the research.
Professor Tilak Dias, who leads the Advances Textiles Research Group, said: “By using smart textiles we’re able to provide new prognostic and diagnostic techniques for pilot monitoring in a completely non-intrusive way. This will enable the collection of data which will indicate the psychological experiences a pilot goes through while navigating a plane, potentially through unknown situations.”
The project is part of a wider research programme to enhance cockpit simulators. It is funded with £1.24 million from the European Commission.
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