Project description
Intelligent threads: from past textiles to soft robotics
To create future interaction interfaces between humans, other species and their environment, the ERC-funded PAST-A-BOT project will develop active yarns into functional textile motifs. These patterns can sense, compute and even change in dimensions or mechanical properties. By combining traditional textile crafts with bio-derived materials, such as twist-coiled polymer actuators, the project will develop simple logic data-processing units with an interlaced structure. These textiles will function as modular networks that respond to sound, vibration and proximity. This technology could enable applications ranging from soft, highly deformable rescue robots and agrofabrics to voice-controlled assistive clothing. By sharing open-source tools, the project aims to expand the scope of research for functional materials.
Objective
Textile Past-a-Bots will materialize future’s interaction interfaces between humans, other species, machines, and their environment. The foundations for this will be done by crafting active yarns into functional textile motifs, for simple sensing, computing, change in dimensions or in mechanical properties. Past-a-Bots can be dynamically assembled using these motifs, integrating the ability to detect sounds, vibrations, and proximity. The multi-sensorial functionalities allow for an ecocentric approach by combining dominant sensing pathways of diverse species.
In PAST-A-BOT, desired functionalities emerge from the intricate and interdependent optimization of chosen materials, yarn structures and textile motifs, elucidating the hierarchical construction of functional textiles. As a highlight, we aim to build a simple logic data processing unit by combining twist-coiled polymer actuators, synthesized from bio-sourced materials, with an interlaced structure. Moreover, this can be combined to motifs of new textile-based broad-band acoustic sensing or actuators allowing large dimensional change. Thus, Past-a-Bots will reframe textiles as modular networks with varying optimized functionalities responding to the local situations.
PAST-A-BOT demonstrates an interdisciplinary research strategy by corresponding with (i) collective vast knowledge of past textile crafts and (ii) envisioned alternative futures enabled by new materials and functionalities. The scenarios based on the dialogue between past and future iteratively guide the optimization of these textile units as building blocks for tomorrow’s applications. They range from soft highly deformable rescue robots to sound-sensing point-of-care agrofabrics and voice-controllable assistive clothing. The developed open-source tools will expand the scope of research beyond the current dominant applications and will be made easily adaptable to other materials-focused research programs.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
02150 Espoo
Finland
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