Textile computing specialist Myant Inc., which offers a high-tech partnership with German flat knitting machine builder Stoll, has partnered with Toronto-based URtech Manufacturing to produce the first commercial scale run of electronic components for Skiin, Myant’s textile-based solution for connecting people to care.
By partnering with another Toronto-based company, Myant says it is creating a local ecosystem to accelerate innovation in textile, positioning Toronto as the geographical centre of the textile computing industry. Manufacturing of the first production run of 15,000 Skiin Pods has commenced at URtech’s facility in the Greater Toronto Area, a critical milestone on Myant’s journey towards a public beta launch for Skiin.
Textile computing involves the integration of electronics within textiles, creating new ways for people to interface with the digital world. The Skiin Textile Computing platform integrates innovative sensor and actuator technology into fabrics, including, smart garments that delivers continuous, blood pressure monitoring in comfortable and machine-washable knitted polo shirts.
Elsewhere, the company has also been developing Skiin Smart Underwear for heart health detection (with ECG, HRV, activity, sleep and temperature monitoring) with other additions to the Skiin platform including slip and fall detection, driver fatigue, ovulation and a suite of chemical sensing markers. The result is smart clothing that enables users to proactively manage their health, stay connected and lead longer and more comfortable lives, the company says.
As Myant notes, however, commercial scale applications of textile computing, are made possible only through close collaboration between designers, engineers, textile specialists, electronics manufacturers, health practitioners, and other experts.
Even in the rare instances when such expertise is available within the same organization, says Myant, the teams and the infrastructure needed to support their work are typically disconnected and scattered across the globe, making rapid iteration and innovation practically impossible.
Myant, focused on the desire to make textile computing commercially-viable, recognized this challenge and has worked over the past decade to develop the end-to-end capability to innovate in textile computing. Identifying the need to work in a connected way with an electronic components manufacturer, Myant partnered with URtech as it begins to scale-up manufacturing for their commercial launch of Skiin.
URtech brings a long track record of reliable EMS and OEM manufacturing experience, combined with an innovative and collaborative spirit that has enabled Myant to iterate with greater agility. The first commercial run of electronics for Skiin is underway at URtech’s Burlington-based facility, a 30 minute drive from Myant’s facility. Both Myant and URtech are ISO 13485 certified for the manufacturing of medical devices.
“Connectedness is a critical ingredient for innovation and building a network of local partners helps us innovate with agility,” said Tony Chahine, founder and CEO of Myant. “Not only does this partnership between Myant and URtech signal the commercial arrival of textile computing, it also shows that the advanced manufacturing industry is on its way towards bringing the ‘culture of making’ back to Canada.”
