Nottingham Trent University

Design considerations for electronic textiles

Commercial efforts around electronic textiles have been prominent for at least 25 years, starting with early patents and then early products throughout the 1990s. IDTechEx's latest research report in the area "E-Textiles 2019-2029: Technologies, Markets and Players", looks at how e-textile products have changed over time, both in terms of the hardware and the more general business model.

Robots to perform spinal surgery with pinpoint accuracy

Robots will perform spinal surgery with greater accuracy than humanly possible as part of a ground-breaking research project led by Nottingham Trent University.

Solar panels embedded in clothes charge a mobile phone

Clothing embedded with tiny solar cells the size of a flea will allow wearers to generate electricity on the move and charge items like mobile phones and smartwatches.

A new approach to 3D printing the next generation of bone implants

A researcher has pioneered a new way of 3D printing to help human bone tissue regenerate following major damage.

Smart fabrics closer to consumers

By integrating electronics with textiles it is posible to provide new concepts for lighting, heating, cooling, energy harvesting, communicating, sensing, measuring and monitoring.

Early printed electronics revisited

There was an element of back to the future at the hugely successful recent Printed Electronics Europe event in Dresden. Although a high proportion of printed electronics has progressed from screen printing to other printing technologies, notably inkjet, for better control, less waste of these expensive inks and other benefits, at least one company has reverted to advanced rotary screen printing to gain throughput. Indeed, Professor Edgar Dörsam reported that his team has achieved feature size of better than one micron with its advanced screen printing methods. Daetwyler even announced a capability of gravure printing below five microns in feature size with its machines.

Emerging display technologies and innovations

On December 10, the UK Knowledge Transfer Network had a meeting in Grove Oxfordshire on Emerging Display Technologies and Innovations. About 35 people attended. Professor Ian Underwood of Edinburgh University in Scotland described work on microemissive OLED displays under the title "Hypoled - Next Generation Display Platform ."

Dramatic New AC Electroluminescent Displays

Dramatic New AC Electroluminescent Displays announced at Printed Electronics Asia 2009.