Adam Mansell, who will be judging at the National Science + Engineering Competition finals, to award the UKFT Textile Edge Prize, shares his thoughts on the textiles industry.

-------------

Textiles: A dead industry right? T-shirts from a supermarket, jackets from the internet. Where’s the science in that? Where’s the career in that?

According to a recent report, the technical textiles industry is worth about $127 billion [1]. And at the moment there are companies working on fabrics [2] that could help wounds to heal faster, clothing that can monitor your biometrics, fabrics that are self-heating, and garments that can reflect your mood or even work as a personal area network keeping you connected wherever you go.

How about a garment that can power itself from your own movement, while integrating tactical radios, GPS devices and smartphones? Or what about a garment that can seal a bullet wound or a bandage that can sense bacterial activity and respond by self-administering medication? Ever dreamt up a textile skin that will allow the data from our bodies to be fed directly to a computer?

All of these innovations are hopes for the future in smart textiles technology. But we’re already seeing the benefits of the innovative research being carried out at a range of textiles companies.

Both Formula 1 cars [3] and the new Airbus [4] use technical textiles and carbon composites in the structure and chassis of the vehicles. This makes them more lightweight, stronger and safer [5] than more traditional materials, such as aluminium and steel.

Technical textiles even helped team GB win all those golds [6] – the cyclists used the latest technical textile in their shorts which helped them achieve those fantastic results.

Producing new, highly innovative technologies takes time and a lot of trial and error - not to mention money. It is a hugely interesting industry, with a vast range of opportunities for people with science and engineering skills.