High-performance Sportswear

Video Capture 4291
Responding to the requests from industry, this project aims to design and develop high-performance sportswear and devices (High Performance Sportswear and Devices for short) that are identified to have good market potential by industrial sponsors/partners. This is an applied research project with focus on product design innovations and scalable technology innovations on the basis of the extensive research in textile bioengineering and a number of patented inventions from the research team. Tangible deliverables include: (1) three series of novel high-performance sportswear and/or devices will be invented, including winter running wear, summer running wear and cycling wear; (2) technical know-how on how to design and fabricate the knitted fabrics/garments; (3) scalable technologies on how to finish the fabrics/devices to achieve desirable functional performances; (4) scientific evaluation and quality control methods on the functional properties of the fabrics/devices; (5) computer simulations and digital visualizations of their functional performances and (6) human physiological and psychological sensory evaluations and illustrations of their functional performances.
Application

HKRITA once worked with the Hong Kong Sports Institute to develop rowing suits, cycling and running wear. In these projects, 3D body-scanning was done on every athlete so as to produce tailor-made sportswear. To take into consideration of every sport's characteristics and respective weather conditions during training and competition, the research team conducted a number of tests on fabric strength, fabric abrasion and UV protection. In individual cases, specific tests were conducted with advanced testers developed by HKRITA or the research institutes such as Fabric Touch Tester and Walter™ Sweating Manikin to evaluate special properties of the sportswear.

These projects have:
• identified physiological and biomedical requirements of human body and demand during specific exercises;
• estimated the sportswear function by simulating the thermoregulation of human body, heat and moisture transfer during training and competition and study the biomechanical interactions while wearing the sportswear;
• designed and produced the sportswear collections according to the requirements from thermal physiology, biomechanical physiology and protection;
• developed systematic evaluation method of the sportswear from fabric material, clothing and implication to the sports performance.
Awards
Asia Exhibition of Inventions Hong Kong - Bronze Award
Project Name (ITF)
High-Performance Sportswear and Devices
Project Number (ITF)
ITP/014/08TP