Abstract

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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the challenges preventing manufacturers from producing smart clothing for professional wear on a large scale. To answer this main research question, three research sub- questions have been defined: what the main components of smart clothing are, what manufacturing techniques make traditional textiles smart, and which smart clothing applications for professional wear are currently on the market or in the final prototype stage. The results showed that despite technological development and research, the technologies used for smart clothing are still not mature enough. But even more than that, the biggest challenges lie in the lack of standards, regulations, and cultural adaptability of smart clothing on the work floor. Manufacturers do not want to invest in production lines if there are no guarantees that employees and employers will use the smart clothing on the work floor. For this, privacy issues need to be dealt with and testing standards and legislation need to be put in place.

Keywords: Smart Clothing, e-textiles, smart work wear, smart PPE