Where Will the Smart and Interactive Textiles Market Stand in 2020?

From their primary function of shielding man from cold, heat, and rain, textiles have now evolved to perform more sophisticated functions. Technology has inextricably been fused with fabrics to open exciting possibilities. This futuristic nature of smart and interactive textiles has made them attractive to both investors and end-users. 

Smart and interactive textiles market is expected to constitute a market worth US$3.82 billion by 2020, Transparency Market Research has said. The relatively new market is expected to develop rapidly and register a CAGR of 14.0% between 2014 and 2020, the business intelligence firm has said. Smart and interactive textiles are unique in that they carry the ability to sense, store power, communicate with external devices, and more.

Even as the smart textiles market is perched on the brink of dramatic growth, here is what stakeholders can expect the future to bring:

• The transportation industry is expected to be the growth engine for the global smart and interactive textiles market. Smart and technical textiles, have applications in passenger vehicles, racing cars, and aircraft. With integrated communications and sophisticated technology being used in passenger vehicles, smart textiles will make their presence felt in the transportation sector. Smart seat belts that measure the heartbeat, seat heating, and multi-functional steering wheels are all pushing the growth of the smart and interactive textiles market. According to TMR, the transportation industry accounted for 38% of the smart and interactive textiles market in 2013.

• Developed nations currently generate the majority of the demand for interactive textiles and smart textiles. While the demand for smart textiles in Europe is centered on sports and fitness clothing and other varieties of apparel, in North America, smart textiles are extensively being used in military and transportation applications. However, from the regional standpoint, the growth of the Asia Pacific region will be worth watching out for. With countries such as Japan, China, and India making headway in new applications entailing the use of smart textiles, the Asia Pacific smart and interactive textiles market is projected to have a CAGR of 20% between 2014 and 2020.

• Consumer applications will create several new opportunities in the near future. The use of smart and interactive textiles will be seen in more and more consumer products. Fusing fashion with functionality is recommended as a means to offer more value to consumers. Fashion labels are expected to generate greater demand for smart and interactive textiles, opening a window of opportunity for companies in this market. However, the industry will have to look into issues related to washing and care of smart and interactive textiles, as many of them are embedded with electronic components. Besides this, the other fine balancing act would be to ensure that smart fabrics are not excessively heavy or uncomfortable for the wearer.

While consistent research and development activities will help companies address the aforementioned drawbacks, maintaining attractive prices is a challenge that needs special attention.

Browse Industry Research Press Release: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/smart-fabrics-and-interactive-textiles-industry.htm

Demand for Smart Clothing for Personal Health Management will Boost Smart and Interactive Textiles Market

Smart and interactive textiles (SMITs) are a new type of textile technology designed and developed to sense and adapt to their environment in a specific manner. They are able to sense magnetic, chemical, electrical, thermal, or other stimuli from the environment and react to them due to the textile structure.

Smart textiles or garments incorporate advanced sensors/actuators for the purpose of processing and communication in various applications such as industrial plants and manufacturing facilities. Smart fabrics and interactive textiles represent the future generation of fabrics. The market for these materials is enormous due to the increasing demand from the transportation, medical, and healthcare industries.

Increasing Research and Development Activities Boost the Use of Wearable Textile-based Personal Systems

Several research and development projects dealing with smart fabrics and interactive textile wearable systems across the globe aim to improve personal health management through validation, integration, and use of smart clothing. In the past decade, the growing number of research and development activities for product and technological innovation in regions such as North America and Europe has created new growth opportunities for the smart and interactive textiles market.

Various research programs initiated in these regions, as well as elsewhere around the world, for the development and launch of wearable textile-based personal systems have offered health monitoring, healthy lifestyle, and protection and safety options in industrial and manufacturing environments. Owing to the rapidly growing research and development programs, the overall market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 14.0% from 2014 to 2020, according to Transparency Market Research.

According to the research, the global demand for smart and interactive textiles stood at US$1.5 bn in 2013 and is expected to reach US$3.8 bn by 2020. 

Browse Research Report: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/smart-fabrics-and-interactive-textiles-market.html

Conductive Polymers Play a Vital Role in the Development of SMITs

Conductive polymers as conductive fibers are playing an imperative role in the development of smart and interactive textiles for a broad range of applications. For years, the U.S. military has been the leader in using conductive polymers to develop SMIT technologies and applications for body armor, biochemical hazard protection, artificial muscles, physiological status monitoring, location and embedded communications, and computing. In the near future, SMITs built from conductive polymers are expected to have intelligent built-in features such as computing devices and multifunctional sensors in fabrics. Fabrics or clothing with built-in protection will also offer the wearers some protection against harmful effects of UV radiation, such as skin cancer.

Today, the application of electro-textiles is in its infant stage. However, electro-textiles are projected to have a great impact on the market for protective clothing, medical textiles, and other applications in the fields of sports, military, industrial, and consumer products. 

Browse Press release: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/smart-fabrics-and-interactive-textiles-market.htm

The need for smart textiles is rapidly growing for monitoring professional rescuers and fire fighters across developed regions. Although extensive research and development programs have resulted in commercialization of smart textiles for fire fighters, there is still a gap between commercialization and prototype development. This is likely to change in the future due to new business developments and product innovations.