MULTI-TECH COMMUTER JACKET

Overview

The Multi-Tech Commuter (MTC) Jacket is enhanced with active heating to provide warmth on demand without the bulk of additional clothing layers. Fabric treatment at the elbows (abrasion resistant) and palms (grip protection) with Lubrizol's coating technology reinforces garment durability both in-use and during laundering.

Named Most Intriguing Flexible and Printed Electronics Product of 2018, it is the result of a multiple-partner collaboration between leading experts in materials science and wearable technology— Lubrizol, Principled Design, ACI Materials, and Butler Technologies.



The project underscores the importance of systems thinking in the development of wearable electronics—combining design, materials science, applications know-how, and value chain partners to the right mindset and capabilities to execute innovative ideas into prototypes and commercial scale realities.

Technology

• Stretchable, flexible printed circuits with Estane® Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) Films & Flexible Ink Additives
• Comfortable stretch denim fabric and inner liner enhanced by X4zol™-J TPU fiber technology
• Electronic connector housing, 3D printed using Estane® 3DP TPU for stretch and impact resistance
• Conductive trace protection through Performax™ 4388 conductive ink coatings
• Superior durability and wear resistance through Performax™ 6363 and 4389 fabric treatment coatings

Read more about the technology on Lubrizol’s website here.

Project Role

I was brought on the project as design lead, patternmaker, and production coordinator at Principled Design, where I worked alongside wearable technology strategist Despina Papadopoulos to contract the assembly of jacket components into final garment form.

Press

The MTC Jacket was exhibited in three booths at the 2018 IDTechEx Show! in Santa Clara, California.

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