Pilots are expected to wear fatigued textiles to measure fatigue-sensing pressure

According to Aerospace-technology, researchers at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) will develop smart textiles that monitor the pressure of aircraft crews.

The school's Advanced Textile Research Group, led by Professor Tilak Dias, will conduct research on how smart textiles embedded in pilot seats and uniforms monitor pilot anxiety.

New textiles developed will monitor multiple stress indicators, including heart rate, sweat and body temperature. Multiple sensors will be embedded in the yarn used to make garments and textiles.

New textiles can monitor heart rate through an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor system to find out if the pilot is tired and when attention is not fully concentrated.

Dias said smart textiles will provide new predictive and diagnostic techniques to monitor pilots in a completely non-invasive manner. This will help collect data to understand the pilot's psychological experience while driving the aircraft.

William Hurley, a senior lecturer and researcher at the school, will also join the research on new smart textiles. This study is part of the simulated cockpit project funded by the European Commission.

According to Hurley, the data collected through smart textile technology will be invaluable to the training and development of pilots and will also pave the way for the integration of new technologies into the cockpit. By monitoring the pilot's mental state while testing new techniques in the simulator, you can better understand how to integrate these technologies into the cockpit.