Intelligent Textiles
Joined Forces to Protect Lives: Carrington & Noble Biomaterials Create “Stealth”
By Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh, Senior International Correspondent
The dynamic nature of warfare requires constant innovation, especially in terms of camouflage and protection for soldiers. In this context, British Carrington Textiles Ltd, along with their U.S. co-developer Noble Biomaterials came up with a life-sustaining innovation to reduce thermal detectability in military environments – branded under the name “Stealth”.
The by now patented fabric is designed to drastically improve thermal signature management and provide superior thermal radiation shielding on the battlefield thanks to its highly conductive textile technology. This reduces the possibility of sensors detecting a soldier´s heat signature in military operations.
Paul Farrell, Sales Director of Carrington Textiles, explains: “Initial feedback from wearer trials of this pioneering concept in military field training exercises and in camp observation, concluded that with Stealth the thermal signature of a soldier was mitigated completely at different distances, with the material being near indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain, regardless of viewing angles.”
Noble Biomaterials, manufacturer for medical devices from Scranton/PA contributes their Circuitex Sigma technology to the textile solution, to reduce thermal detectability in military environments. “Stealth” is a lightweight yet durable fabric that can be used in a wide range of thermal signature management, including SWIR (Short-Wave Infrared), MWIR (Mid-Wave Infrared) and LWIR (Long-Wave Infrared)”, explains Joel Furey, Chief Commercial Officer at Noble Biomaterials.
Textile Intelligence: a broader view on smart partners
Carrington Textiles Ltd. acting out of their headquarter in England’s north-west, in Cheshire County produces over 130 million meters of fabric annually as a group from our production facilities in the UK, mainland Europe and Asia, from where they export to more than 80 countries worldwide. The global textile player is specialized in the manufacture of fabrics fitted with textile intelligence for workwear with health saving features like e.g. flame retardance or wetness protection, defense for virtually any industry and sector, with end users such as McDonalds, BUPA, TATA Steel, Shell, Coca Cola, Airbus, Jaguar Land Rover, BP, or Arcelor Mittal.
Noble Biomaterial, Inc. is registered as a medical device manufacturing facility by the US FDA. Noble’s products are used in hospitals, burn care centers, military installations, and US embassies throughout the world. The company owned invention of Circuitex technology represents a portfolio of highly conductive, lightweight textiles engineered for multi-spectral energy management.
Buzz word "smart garments"
Exciting perspectives opened up for consumer wearables for instance with active sportswear, fitness and outdoor goans: As Circuitex collects data, delivers stimulus, stores energy, or controls temperature, the silver yarns transferring the data – whether its heart rate variability, breathing rate, activity intensity, or force of impact – it can get transferred to a device that collects that data and sends it elsewhere, such as to a smartphone.
Versatility with a view to wavelengths for infrared detection embedded into “Stealth” allows effective camouflage in different environments while avoiding the gaze of advanced sensors.” © Carrington Textiles
Circuitex yarns can move electrical energy and data through soft surface and materials without the assistance of wires. It also uses its conductive electrical energy construction to shield energy, applies for energy transfer, protection, and security.
99.9% pure silver is permanently bonded to the surface of a non-conductive polymer, such as nylon, which then creates a highly conductive and uniform product – the Circuitex yarn. The silver coating does not change the flexibility or durability of the polymer. Therefore, Circuitex yarns can be knit or woven into smart diagnostic garments for medical applications and used to sense and transmit electrophysiological signals. Broadly used in the field of biometrical monitoring it supports healthcare professionals to detect and transmit information e.g. about sleeping patterns or weight distribution.
Noble Biomaterials co-founder Joel Furey, holding silver yarn role.
