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especially in carpets. In this case a textile-based mechanism is used to respond to an external
influence, producing a reaction in terms of appearance or a radio signal.
In the following, we subdivided the research projects and the available products according to their
performance as for the applications in the clothing sector.
2.1.5.1 Electronic textiles for communication, information and entertainment
The “Interactive Tablecloth”, invented by International Fashion Machines and Philips, is probably the
first inventions for electronic interior textiles and was presented in 1999. A power circuit, woven into
the washable linen tablecloth, provides inductive cable-free power to the electric appliances on the
table. This research is triggered by the fact that textile is an excellent product for the creation of
ambient intelligence. Equipped with suitable electronics, it can sense the environment, respond to the
mood of the inhabitant and connect to other devices in the room and as such react to the desires of its
inhabitants. This was first expressed by Philips “This is our vision of 'Ambient Intelligence': people
living easily in digital environments in which the electronics are sensitive to people's needs,
personalized to their requirements, anticipatory of their behaviour and responsive to their presence”.
Fig. 62 Embroidered tablecloth [34]
The electronic tablecloth is a sensor surface that allows users to interact with a computer and with
each other in the context of a social function. Attendees identified themselves to the system by setting
their assigned “coaster tags” on the swirling pattern, above which are embroidered the words “Place
your coaster here.” The coaster is in turn a capacitively coupled radio frequency identification device
(RFID) tag, and is read by the tag reader in the tablecloth when the user sets it on the swirling pattern
and touches the fabric electrode on top of the coaster. The computer then enters a dialog with the
user through the appropriate fluorescent display and keypad. Five keypads and five capacitive tag
readers are embroidered to the tablecloth [34].
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