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“Smart fabric” developer BeBop Sensors Inc. of Berkeley, Calif., has won a 2015 Frost & Sullivan North American Technology Innovation Award for its fabric sensor technology. The company uses a proprietary Monolithic Fabric Sensor Technology that integrates sensors, traces and electronics into a single piece of fabric. The approach affords greater sensitivity, resolution, range of deployment and robustness with diminutive size.
Implemented differently than other wearables that measure physiology (for example, EKG and EMG), BeBop measures physicality. BeBop technology senses and displays pressure, XY location, bend, motion, rotation, angle and torsion.
Embedded fabric sensors are an emerging field with potential in such industries as sports, healthcare, automotive and manufacturing. The company’s core sensor technology was originally deployed by Keith McMillen Instruments (KMI), which now has more than 2 million smart-fabric sensors used in its musical instruments. BeBop Sensors was spun out of KMI to meet a growing need for practical fabric sensors.
The company uses smart fabrics to create sensor solutions for OEMs. The sensors comprehend force, location, size, weight, shape and presence across any size, resolution and geometry.
Frost & Sullivan’s Technology Innovation awards are presented annually to companies that are predicted to encourage significant growth in their industries, have identified emerging trends before they became the standard in the marketplace, and have created technologies that will could industries in the near future.