MATUROLIFE: Using Advanced Material Science to Develop the Future of Assistive Technology

Faced with an ageing and increasingly dependent population, novel approaches are needed to support independent and healthy living for longer. An increased focus on the design of effective, usable, desirable and stigma free solutions is required to ensure that technological innovation benefits both the individual and wider society. Too often solutions are developed that whilst functionally effective, fail to meet user needs and achieve their full purported therapeutic or health benefits. This chapter outlines the MATUROLIFE project, and its aim to utilize smart materials in the development of novel assistive technology that is accepted by the end-user. The project combines design with electrochemistry and material science innovation. It employs selective metallization to coat the fibres within a textile with a thin layer of copper to create a multi-functional material. These multi-functional materials enable the embedding of ‘smart’ technology within textile-based products, such as clothing, footwear, upholstery and furniture. The chapter will outline how these new functional textiles will provide the opportunity to design more discrete
and subtle assistive solutions to support independent ageing.