Editorial: Techtextil 2015 - a showcase for breadth, diversity and innovation in technical textiles

A major driving force in the technical textile industry is innovation, and in this respect the May 2015 edition of Techtextil did not disappoint. Innovation, given its importance in the industry, is encouraged and recognised at Techtextil by the Techtextil Innovation Award. Products on show highlighted the latest trends in functionality, lightweight construction, mobility and sustainability. The awards fall into six categories - New Material, New Application, New Product, New Composite, New Technology and New Concept - and serve to draw the attention of the industry worldwide to new ideas and advances in the field of high-tech textiles. In this report, Robin Anson analyses the eight winners of the Techtextil Innovation Award, namely: Sioen Industries for its development of textiles for seaweed cultivation; the Hohenstein Insitut für Textilinnovation (Hohenstein Institute for Textile Innovation) for its development of an artificial uterus, called Artus; Empa for its development of an embroidered electrode for electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring systems; Technische Universität Dresden (Dresden University of Technology) for its development of a three-dimensional (3D) composite; Switch Embassy for its development of a washable LED (light emitting diode) screen; Mammut for its development of stitched preforms for composites; Sosa Fresh for its development of 3D weaver - a 3D printer which can produce three-dimensional structures step-by-step; and ITV Denkendorf for its BioGlizz project which aims to develop an environmental alternative to ski, snowboarding and sledding slopes based on algae-covered textiles.

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