Wearable fiber optic technology based on smart textile: A review

Zidan Gong, Ziyang Xiang, Xia OuYang, Jun Zhang, Newman Lau, Jie Zhou, Chi Chiu Chan

Research output: Journal article publicationReview articleAcademic researchpeer-review

60 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Emerging smart textiles have enriched a variety of wearable technologies, including fiber optic technology. Optic fibers are widely applied in communication, sensing, and healthcare, and smart textiles enable fiber optic technology to be worn close to soft and curved human body parts for personalized functions. This review briefly introduces wearable fiber optic applications with various functions, including fashion and esthetics, vital signal monitoring, and disease treatment. The main working principles of side emission, wavelength modulation, and intensity modulation are summarized. In addition, textile fabrication techniques, including weaving and knitting, are discussed and illustrated as combination methods of embedding fiber optic technology into textile fabric. In conclusion, the combination of optical fibers and textiles has drawn considerable interest and developed rapidly. This work provides an overview of textile-based wearable fiber optic technology and discusses potential textile fabrication techniques for further improvement of wearable fiber optic applications.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3311
JournalMaterials
Volume12
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2019

Keywords

  • Fiber optic technology
  • Smart textile
  • Textile fabrication techniques
  • Wearables

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Wearable fiber optic technology based on smart textile: A review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this