euronews futuris – E-textiles improving health and safety

www.euronews.com It’s never been easier and cheaper to sew small electronic components into wearable clothing. In this issue of Futuris, we are diving into the world of smart textiles that help improve health and safety. On a small fishing boat crossing a fjord near Trondheim in Norway the nets have to be checked for the overnight catch. Eldar has been a professional fisherman for over 40 years. It is one of the riskiest jobs, thousands of fishermen around the world lose their lives every year – mostly by falling overboard and drowning. “When the weather is bad, when there’s strong wind, it’s easy to fall overboard. That happened to me, and to some people I knew who didn’t survive,” said Eldar Aukan. “It’s easy to fall out, and very hard to get back – your clothes get heavy when they’re wet, and the water is very cold,” he added. The fisherman has a manual remote control to stop the boat’s engine in case of an accident. Eldar has to remember to carry it with him at all times. He also needs some means to alert rescuers and help him stay afloat if he falls overboard. Integrating electronics into the protective outfit can make all these emergency tools wearable and impossible to forget. At Trondheim’s swimming pool scientists are testing the first prototype of a smart safety vest, developed as part of a European Union research project. It has sealed sensors that trigger a number of life-saving measures in case of an accident, including an inflating buoyant ‘lung’ and an …
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