SMARTEX s.r.l. (www.smartex.it) is a small Italian company with limited liability founded in 1999 with the aim of developing e-textile and new electronics structures compatible with textile processes and manufactures. Core activity is the implementation of bio sensing apparels (T-Shirts, bands, vests, etc.) able to monitor vital signals, as electrocardiograms, heart rate, respiration signal and rate, index of activity as well as bio-potentials like EMG.
Moreover, systems based on piezoresistive textile sensors allow acquiring biomechanical signals for the recognition of gesture and posture. Smartex has also gained experience in the design and the implementation of textile solutions for biochemical sensing and body liquid handling. Smartex owns the intellectual property and the technical knowledge to implement the textile sensing, the acquisition and the extrapolation of parameters in different applications spanning from sport to clinical rehabilitation. The team is composed by electronic engineers, one textile designer, bioengineers and physicists.
In the TACTILITY project Smartex takes care of the selection of fabric materials to be used as substrates of the electrodes, plus integration of those arrays into textile solutions in order to allow elasticity, flexibility and adaptability of the electrodes, the patches and the glove to the hand surface. It will also works on the development of the solution for connectivity and for the integration of the kinetic sensors on the glove. Smartex will produce several (minimum 5) gloves per version (at least α, β and γ releases) to be distributed to partners: this production process foresees all standards steps related to quality, robustness, repeatability, etc.