3DKnITS

We present an approach to develop seamless and scalable piezo-resistive matrix-based intelligent textile using digital flat-bed and circular knitting machines. By combining and customizing functional and common yarns, we can design the aesthetics and architecture and engineer both the electrical and mechanical properties of a sensing textile. We propose a method to shape and personalize three-dimensional piezo-resistive textile  that can conform to the human body through thermoforming principles with melting yarns. It results in a robust textile structure and intimate interfacing, suppressing sensor drifts and maximizing accuracy while ensuring comfortability. 

The digital knitting approach enables the fabrication of 2D to 3D pressure-sensitive textile interiors and wearables, including a 45 x 45 cm intelligent mat with 256 pressure-sensing pixels, and a circularly-knitted, form-fitted shoe with 96 sensing pixels across its 3D surface.  Furthermore, we have designed a visualization tool and a framework that treats the spatial sensor data as image frames.  Our personalized convolutional neural network models are able to classify 7 basic activities and exercises and 7 yoga poses in-real time with 99.6% and 98.7% accuracy respectively. Further, we demonstrate our technology for a variety of applications ranging from rehabilitation and sport science, to wearables and gaming interfaces.