In electronic textiles, we apply production techniques from both textiles and electronic engineering to bridge the gap between these two very different materials. While it is obvious to apply electronic engineering to textiles to ensure the working of the electronic components, the application of textile production techniques to electronics is still challenging. Yet it is in the appropriation of textile manufacturing that there is a huge potential for innovation. This potential does not only cover the means of production, but also the way we interact with digital interfaces as well as the overall aesthetic of those interfaces.

This report documents the application of textile production techniques for sensing and actuation in e-textile structures and artifacts. It shows how weaving and knitting on industrial machines can be used to design and build electronic elements in a textile shape, such as pressure sensors, speaker coils and shape change structures. The report also documents the application of those techniques in two different prototypes, the first being a sensor glove that was used for gesture recognition, and the second being woven textile muscle that was developed as the basis for a soft textile robot.