E-Textiles in the Automotive Industry
The global automotive market is slated to soar to $2.8 trillion over the next year, according to Statista. But what is--and what will—continue to drive this growth? The answer is two-prong. Technological advances and innovation in automotive interiors are most influential to industry growth. Also, there has been a significant uptick in the number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). More OEMs mean more parts, and more parts mean more vehicles. Upgrades to automotive interiors play a huge role in sales, and this is where e-textiles come in.
As you may know, e-textiles can provide a wide range of functionality to products: lighting, heating, motion-sensing, and pressure-sensing are just a few to name. All these capabilities can be found in a car seat, headliner, dashboard, or door panel. Let’s dive a little deeper into each capability.
LIGHTING
Lights are not just for the front and back of a car exterior, they can also be used in the interior of a car. Common uses for car interior lighting include headliner lighting, backlighting for dashboard user interfaces, footwell lighting, and door panel lighting. They are not just for aesthetic purposes, but for driver and passenger safety, as well.
HEATING
When talking about heating in automotive interiors, we are really talking about comfort. To many, heating in cars is exclusive to heated seats; which is the most common application. However, there are a few additional uses for heating technology in the automotive industry. You can add heating to steering wheels—which is a godsend in the wintertime, floor liners, and cup holders.
MOTION-SENSING
Most applications for motion sensing in cars involve mechanical aspects. However, there are some promising innovations in the works for interiors. In the Mercedes VISION AVTR--which we have talked about many times before on the blog--sensors are placed in the control units to help the vehicle to detect the driver, and help the driver control various functions throughout the vehicle.
PRESSURE-SENSING
Pressure sensors play several roles in the build of a vehicle. They assist with safety features like airbag deployment, and are a main component in electric door closures (to detect obstructions and prevent injury). Pressure sensors can also be installed in seats to collect passenger data, which is especially useful if there is an accident. And, they can be installed in seatbelts to alert passengers when they are not being worn.
How E-Textiles Compare to Current Solutions
When it comes to providing a vehicle’s interior with lighting, heating, and sensing capabilities, the technology that is still used to this day is quite dated. While it may be less expensive to use, these components are not nearly as robust and customizable as e-textiles.
Transparent flexible heaters are typically used in seats and other areas of the car to provide heating. While these can be bonded easily to virtually any surface and are cost effective, they do have bend radius limitations and can create a hazard if folded or pinched. E-textiles, like our Loomia Electronic Layer (LEL), have a greater bend limitation and can conform to unique constructions.
Sensor systems in car interiors usually consist of several individual pressure and motion sensors applied to an area. This can be time-consuming, to say the least. However, a pressure-sensing or motion-sensing e-textile is one streamlined unit that can be installed seamlessly under the surface of a material. The same goes for lighting. Something like a starlight headliner requires many individual fiber optics woven into the headliner fabric. This, too, can be very time-consuming to produce and the fiber optic wires are not as durable as an LED.
It is widely believed that e-textiles will not become commonplace in automotive interiors until they are fully prepped for commercial use. And, while this may be true, it does not mean that engineering and design teams can’t kickstart the prototyping process. If you are a Tier One automotive supplier or engineering and design team, we would love to have you in The Loomia Lab! This is a comprehensive, hands-on program that takes you from concept to prototype, to scale production with our e-textile technology. In the past, we have worked with companies like Hyundai and Covestro to develop innovative solutions for the future of mobility.
Drop us a line if you are interested in learning more about The Loomia Lab.
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