Interactive materials and products are being developed at the IMAT teaching & research centre. In this context, interactive generally means that the materials or products react to certain impulses in defined ways – up to the point where the product actively communicates with the user. This application is targeted in the areas of mobility, lightweight construction, functionality, health, safety and security, comfort, environment, and recycling. To identify, understand, and develop new products, we cooperate across different disciplines with our team of specialists from the areas of design, process engineering, textile technology, mechanical engineering, and chemistry.

Sports underpants with integrated angle sensor

The knee is the joint that is most often injured during skiing. By measuring certain factors of influence such as the knee angle or muscle activity, we can make statements about the probability of a potential injury. Together with the Technical University of Munich, skiing underpants were developed as part of a research project that measures the knee angle in real-time and sends it to an assessment system by radio. At the end of the collaboration project, the ski underpants were tested on the slopes for their reliability.