2. Standards guaranteeing the robustness and reliability of intelligent textile systems

There are still a number of challenges holding back the growth of the smart textile systems market.

First of all, there's the main problem of combining two very distinct and separate sectors - textiles and electronics - each with its own standards and accepted solutions, to create intelligent textile products. These products need to be robust and reliable for everyday use, while maintaining their performance. The separate components must also be designed to be durable enough to withstand hostile environments such as perspiration, washing machines, tumble dryers, etc. This is where the lack of standards can have a significant impact on the market for intelligent textile systems.

The combination of these two sectors implies two supply chains operating in the smart textiles industry, resulting in an incoherent ecosystem. One is concentrated...