Is That a Computer Chip in Your Carpet?
Infineon is creating a smart fabric that could offer help in an emergency.
John Blau, IDG News Service
Researchers at Germany's Infineon Technologies have demonstrated how a self-organizing network of chips woven into large textile surfaces, such as carpets, could someday be used to monitor buildings, provide directions in an emergency, and more.
At the company's Emerging Technology Lab in Munich, the research team showed how robust chips embedded into industrial fabrics in the form of a checkerboard are able to monitor temperature, pressure, vibration, and motion, Infineon said Monday in a statement. The "intelligent" fabrics could, for instance, be used as motion or fire detectors.
Potential Uses
Such fabrics could also be equipped with tiny light-emitting diodes to provide directions through public buildings or to emergency exits, according to the Munich chip maker.
The construction industry is another potential field of application for the new fabrics. Textiles with sensors wrapped around columns, or covering walls or floors, could offer a means of detecting faults in concrete at an early stage, Infineon said.
The intelligent floor covering application follows Infineon's "wearable electronics" textile development presented last year, the company said.
Get Connected
Here's how it works: Each chip in the checkerboard design is connected to its four immediate chip neighbors by extremely fine, electrically conductive threads, which allow the chip to exchange information with the others. The design forms a self-learning, fault-tolerant network. If, for instance, a chip or conductive path fails, the network automatically locates the fault and immediately reorganizes itself, finding a new path via the neighboring chips to maintain the information flow.
Another advantage of the design is that the fabric can be cut into virtually any shape or size without damaging the electronic network function.
Together with textile manufacturers, Infineon plans within two years to produce a fully functional, intelligent material that can cover a wide area, the company said.
- Sponsored Resource:Improve your network with the right mix of features, performance and pricing.
- Sponsored Resource:Growing your business requires the right tools. Dell's networking servers can help.
- Sponsored Resource:Thinking about a new Laptop? Lenovo has models to meet everyone's needs.
- Sponsored Resource:Twitter: A how-to guide for using Twitter as a business tool.
- Sponsored Resource:Smartphone security threats are on the rise. Is it time to safegaurd your device?
Save on Printing Costs
Microsoft Office Home and Student
Deal Breakers
Special Offers for PC World Users
-
Dell Windows 7 Deals
Win7 Weekend Sale at dell.com!
Laptops starting at $499 after Instant Savings
People who read this also read:
Best Prices on Desktops
iMac All-In-One Desktop - CustomizablePrice: $1694.99
Edge Z30 Midsize Desktop - CustomizablePrice: $1099.00
Compaq Presario CQ5210F Mini-Tower DesktopPrice: $379.99
Pavilion p6240f Mini-Tower DesktopPrice: $649.99
TouchSmart IQ524 DesktopPrice: $699.99
iMac All-In-One Desktop - CustomizablePrice: $1168.99
- 15 Minutes to a Secure Business Get the Secure in 15 toolkit starting with the "15 Minutes Month-at-a-Glance" calendar. McAfee will send you additional tools and tricks to stay protected around the clock.
- A Buyer's Guide to Data Protection Implementing data protection products and processes can be daunting. Make the right decisions by exploring what is available and what makes sense for your organization. Use this simple guide to evaluate different vendor offerings.
Cameras
Camcorders
Cell Phones
Components
Desktops
HDTV
Home Theater
GPS
Laptops
Monitors
MP3 Players
Networking &
Printers
Storage








