Xinmin Evening News2023-10-17 09:39

Image caption: The 2nd International Conference on Textile Frontier Science and Technology and the Annual Meeting of the World Textile University Alliance were held at Donghua University. Interviewee provided (the same below)

What disruptive changes will cutting-edge innovations in the world of textiles bring, such as thermal regulation textiles, digital clothing, renewable textile materials, and electronic textile IoT platforms? How will the future textile hardcore technology weave a 'better life'? How can the modernization of the textile industry help Shanghai accelerate the construction of a high-tech talent highland and a science and technology innovation center?

From October 13th to 15th, the 2nd International Textile Frontier Science and Technology Conference and World Textile University Alliance Annual Meeting, with the theme of "Advanced Textile Science and Technology", was held at Donghua University. More than 400 textile scholars from 63 units in 15 countries participated in more than 170 keynote speeches.

The innovation of textile technology must be cross integrated with emerging technologies to form a multidimensional development space, "said Yu Jianyong, President of Donghua University. Currently, the future development of global textile science, technology, and industry is facing opportunities and challenges. It is necessary to focus on the" four aspects ", strengthen basic research, key common technology research, and industrial application research, and deepen scientific and technological innovation; To grasp the theme of textile science and technology innovation, promote high-end, green, intelligent, and integrated development; To continuously improve the efficiency of textile science and technology innovation, strengthen goal orientation, problem orientation, and effect orientation; To comprehensively improve the effectiveness of textile science and technology innovation, stretch the long board, accumulate development momentum, break through the short board, solve the bottleneck problem, forge new boards, and create future advantages.

Image caption: Seminar and salon attract attention from attendees

Li Lingshen, Vice President of the China Textile Industry Federation and Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Textile Engineering Society, said that China's textile industry has been continuously rising in the global value chain, and has become an important support for regional economic development. In 2022, China's total fiber processing volume will account for over 50% of the world's total, and chemical fiber production will account for over 70%. The export value of textiles and clothing will remain the world's largest. By 2035, China's textile industry will achieve high-level technological self-reliance, establish a globally advanced textile technology innovation system, and become the leading force and main leader in global textile technology innovation.

"Digital clothing technology can also play in the meta universe!" Chen Wenxing, academician of the CAE Member and president of Zhejiang University of Technology, integrated the concept of "meta universe" into textile and clothing design, and introduced fashion analysis and trend prediction of fabrics and clothing in the meta universe in terms of fabric modeling and simulation, clothing design and manufacturing, clothing personalized customization, and intelligent fashion computing. He said that in the near future, digital people wearing digital clothing for cloud shows will become a trend, and digital empowerment will promote intelligent design, production and sales of clothing, and become the brain of brand continued development.

High tech textiles not only carry the development of the textile industry, but also the development of high-tech industries such as national defense, transportation, environmental protection, health, and fashion. The modern textile industry will be guided by new development concepts, integrated into the trend of the times, based on China's reality, beautifying people's lives, and serving global development as an industrial system. It is an innovation driven technology industry, a culture led fashion industry, and a responsibility oriented green industry.

Image caption: At the conference, more than 400 textile scholars from 63 units in 15 countries participated in over 170 keynote speeches

Fan Jintu, the highest honorary fellow of the International Textile Society and a lecture professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, believes that advanced clothing and textiles should balance visual aesthetics, sustainability, and functionality. A representative example is thermal regulation textiles for personal thermal management, which use phase change materials and nanomaterials to regulate human radiation cooling and achieve intelligent dynamic control of human thermal and humidity environment. The current challenges in thermal management fabrics include two aspects: one is to consider breathability and lightweighting for warm fabrics, and the other is to develop cooling fabrics.

Li Yi, a professor at the University of Manchester, focused on the research of electronic fabrics. He said that daily clothes are an excellent platform for building wearable devices. Flexible conductors and semiconductor materials are key to electronic textile technology. Electronic fabrics integrate conductive fibers into structures such as weaving and knitting, ensuring comfortable wearing while achieving sensing, power supply, and wireless communication functions. Combined with cloud data and artificial intelligence technologies, an electronic textile IoT platform for digital health is constructed.

Xing Mengqiu, a member of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada, has designed a multifunctional gastrointestinal suture with analgesic, anti-inflammatory, or antibacterial functions. It has the function of promoting wound healing in clinical applications of special wounds in the gastrointestinal tract, providing new ideas for the development of biomedical sutures from single function to multi function.

Professor Qin Xiaohong, Dean of the School of Textiles at Donghua University, stated that technological innovation is of paramount importance in helping Shanghai deepen its "four major functions" and strengthen the construction of its "five centers". Textile new technologies should be more integrated into the development of Shanghai, focusing on fields such as aerospace, intelligent manufacturing, personal protection, and biomedicine. They should be brave enough to demonstrate new achievements in tackling key technologies that are difficult to grasp, and accelerate their layout in the five directions of future health, future intelligence, future energy, future space, and future materials. With a more diversified attitude, they will help promote the development of the four new tracks of digital economy, green low-carbon, metaverse, and intelligent terminals.

Xinmin Evening News reporter Zhang Jiongqiang