Life cycle assessment and eco-design of a textile-based large-area sensor system

The sensing floor is a smart textile application that supports Ambient Assisted Living as it introduces smart functions unobtrusively in the user's daily living environment. The technology is based on textile sensor areas and microelectronic modules, which are integrated invisibly in the textile underlay of carpets or laminates. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was carried out to support environmentally conscious decision-making in the course of product development. The results suggest that the system's electricity consumption during its use phase is the most relevant environmental aspect and that a 2.5 mm thick polyester fleece has the highest environmental burden of the materials in the product. The paper also reports about experiences with conducting a LCA in the context of the SME that develops and manufactures the sensing floor system.