Themes of Work

Our research centres around the body and how technology can be used to improve how that body exists and interacts with the surrounding environment. We focus on haptic and aural modalities, using textiles as the physical medium for building wearable computational systems. Some of the research projects we undertake focus exclusively on textile sensing and interfaces whilst other focus solely on how auditory displays can be improved for users. A growing area of our work is looking towards how these two complementary technologies can be brought together in novel applications.

Below is a selection of projects grouped by theme of work:

Research Themes

Stripes of textile pressure sensors connected to conductive threads

Motion Sensing Textiles

Utilising novel textiles or electronic integrations to track and measure different forms of motion directly through fabric interventions.

Textile Haptic Actuation

Investigating next-generation haptic outputs embedded within textiles, with the unique ability to provide localised bodily sensations and tactile effects currently unavailable from other technologies.

Sustainable Approaches to E-Textiles

Utilising novel textiles or electronic integrations to track and measure different forms of motion directly through fabric interventions.

Seed Fund Summaries 2023 Virtual Audio

Controlling Audio with Textiles

Utilising novel textiles or electronic integrations to track and measure different forms of motion directly through fabric interventions.

Research Video of SensiKnit System

This work has been published in Advanced intelligent Systems - Zhou, Y. et al (2024), A Highly Durable and UV-Resistant Graphene-Based Knitted Textile Sensing Sleeve for Human Joint Angle Monitoring and Gesture Differentiation. Play video
This work has been published in Advanced intelligent Systems - Zhou, Y. et al (2024), A Highly Durable and UV-Resistant Graphene-Based Knitted Textile Sensing Sleeve for Human Joint Angle Monitoring and Gesture Differentiation.

The most developed strand of research in the group is tracking human motion through textile sensors. SensiKnit was developed by Dr Yi (Joy) Zhou during her PhD. SensiKnit is a graphene-based wearable monitoring system. The ergonomic sensors, crafted with digital knitting and laser-cutting, ensure close skin contact for accurate data collection and allow a full range of motion for user comfort. Integrated into wearables, SensiKnit can monitor body movements, such as knee bends and arm gestures, making it ideal for exercise interfaces and injury rehabilitation. Resistant to UV rays and washing, it offers consistent, real-time activity feedback under any condition.

This work has been published in Advanced intelligent Systems (Zhou, Y., Sun, Y., Li, Y., Shen, C., Lou, Z., Min, X. and Stewart, R. (2024), A Highly Durable and UV-Resistant Graphene-Based Knitted Textile Sensing Sleeve for Human Joint Angle Monitoring and Gesture Differentiation. Adv. Intell. Syst. 2400124. https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202400124).

The video was filmed and produced by Xiannuo Phoenix Zhao (Xcellent Productions Ltd). 

Current EU Funded Projects

SONICOM

SONICOM is a research project that aims to revolutionise the way we interact socially within augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) environments and applications, from online meetings to VR gaming.

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STELEC

STELEC, short for Sustainable Textile ELECtronics, is an interdisciplinary research project funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under the Pathfinder programmes in the responsible electronics topic seeking cutting-edge innovation with an end goal at TRL 2-3. The project is a multinational collaboration of research institutes, universities and companies across Europe. It aims at developing next generation textile-based electronics in applications from sensing, processing to AI, with a commitment to full lifecycle sustainability.

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Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@inproceedings{Zhou:2025:10.23919/date64628.2025.10993054,
author = {Zhou, B and Liu, M and Bian, S and Geiβler, D and Lukowicz, P and Miranda, J and Dan, J and Atienza, D and Riahi, MA and Wehn, N and Torah, R and Yong, S and Liu, J and Beeby, S and Kohler, M and Greinke, B and Yu, J and Nierstrasz, V and Sheldrick, L and Stewart, R and Nieri, T and Maccanti, M and Spinelli, D},
doi = {10.23919/date64628.2025.10993054},
pages = {1--5},
publisher = {IEEE},
title = {Multi-partner project: Sustainable Textile Electronics (STELEC)},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.23919/date64628.2025.10993054},
year = {2025}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - E-textiles are rapidly emerging as an important area of electronic circuit applications. It also facilitates many socially important applications such as personalized health, elderly care, and smart agriculture. However, the environmental impact and sustainability of e-textiles remain very problematic. STELEC, short for Sustainable Textile ELECtronics, is an interdisciplinary research project funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under the Pathfinder programme on the responsible elec-tronics topic seeking cutting-edge innovation. STELEC started in September 2024 and is in its initial stage. The project is a multinational collaboration of research institutes, universities and companies across Europe. It aims at developing next-generation textile-based electronics in applications from sensing, processing to AI, with a commitment to full lifecycle sustainability.
AU  - Zhou,B
AU  - Liu,M
AU  - Bian,S
AU  - Geiβler,D
AU  - Lukowicz,P
AU  - Miranda,J
AU  - Dan,J
AU  - Atienza,D
AU  - Riahi,MA
AU  - Wehn,N
AU  - Torah,R
AU  - Yong,S
AU  - Liu,J
AU  - Beeby,S
AU  - Kohler,M
AU  - Greinke,B
AU  - Yu,J
AU  - Nierstrasz,V
AU  - Sheldrick,L
AU  - Stewart,R
AU  - Nieri,T
AU  - Maccanti,M
AU  - Spinelli,D
DO  - 10.23919/date64628.2025.10993054
EP  - 5
PB  - IEEE
PY  - 2025///
SP  - 1
TI  - Multi-partner project: Sustainable Textile Electronics (STELEC)
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.23919/date64628.2025.10993054
UR  - https://doi.org/10.23919/date64628.2025.10993054
ER  -
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