WEARABLES MANUFACTURERS ARE FEELING THE PRESSURE Jeff Eliott*
Consumers are demanding more and more of their clothing, not just in terms of fit — which they expect to be precisely right — but in terms of functionality. Comfort, after all, plays a role in determining whether someone will like a product or not.
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ow the issue of form and fit is extending well beyond traditional apparel to more specialised items such as bras, gloves, shapewear, compression stockings, diapers and eyeglasses for the burgeoning wearable technology market with its fitness bands, smart watches and headphones that collect biometric information or interact with mobile devices. With so much at stake, wearable manufacturers are increasingly investing in sophisticated pressure mapping research to optimise product design and create the comfort and fit that will garner the most market share.
Measuring pressure For wearables in prolonged contact with the body, or that come into contact with particularly sensitive areas, the amount of pressure applied at specific points is the primary consideration. However, gauging the amount of pressure can be difficult because most people have a hard time determining static pres-
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sures in general. That is to say, the human body tends to be more sensitive to pressures that change than to constant loads. Instead, by integrating capacitive sensor technology in testing and development, wearable manufacturers can capture and quantify the amount of pressure users feel when wearing the design to optimise fit and function.
Capacitive tactile sensor technology Capacitive tactile sensors involve two electrodes separated by a compressible dielectric structure. When pressure is applied, the gap decreases and capacitance rises. Unlike resistive technology, the two electrodes never touch. Consequently, capacitive sensors are less susceptible to wear or failure even if subjected to multiple, repeat loads. Capacitive sensor technology has several additional advantages over resistive, including greater stability in terms of repeatability and durability and the ability to measure extremely low levels of pressure with accuracy. This can be an important consideration when clothing fit can involve subtle, low levels of pressure.
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