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Work Packages

WP1: Project Management and Coordination

The aim of WP1 will be the consortium management of the Project to ensure the smooth and efficient implementation and division of work, provide administrative support to partners and to submit reports to the Commission as contracted. This is distinct from the project management of the Innovation elements of the Project which are incorporated into the relevant Work Packages. Responsibility will be with the WP1 Leader for the pro- active management of the consortium, with partners fulfilling a reactive role. Another critical element to the success of the project is embedding creative and artistic design into the heart of the project ensuring that it influences all aspects of the project. For this reason, design management is also included in this WP.

The tasks in this work package naturally fall under 3 themes and the leads for these comprise the MATUROLIFE Executive Committee:

  • Project Administration, the internal control of the project and communications with the Commission will be led by
  • Stakeholder activities, the interactions with internal and external individuals and organisations supporting or interested in the development and implementation of our new technologies and products (Task 6), will be led by EUC.
  • Activities centred on design and its incorporation into the innovation, technical and product development process will be driven by GEDS

Objectives:

  • To implement overall project management plans to ensure smooth and timely running of the project and that the project is completed within the agreed time and budget
  • To establish communications and reporting protocols within the consortium and with the Commission
  • To monitor design, scientific and technical progress and other aspects of the work plan related to deliverables & milestones
  • To monitor ethics applications and ethical conduct
  • To revise and maintain the project work plan
  • To manage the design process to make sure that necessary design know-how is aligned and transferred between work groups

WP2: Stakeholder / End-user Engagement

MATUROLIFE will pursue a strongly user and stakeholder-driven approach. This will increase take-up of the resulting products, ensure usability and accessibility and increase long term viability of the approach. Working with potentially vulnerable people (older adults) means that particular attention will be given to protecting individuals’ privacy, security and dignity.

This activity of the work package will link closely to WP3 Design; WP7 testing; WP9 Dissemination. The project will adopt an iterative design process (e.g. the Cambridge University Inclusive Design

Model http://www.inclusivedesigntoolkit.com) and adopt a co-development approach through the development activity in WP3. In support of this WP2 will mobilise older adults and stakeholders across Europe to involve them in the project. WP2 will maintain stakeholder involvement in the development of the resulting technology as well as testing (WP7) and dissemination activities (WP9).

Objectives:

  • To provide a user engagement methodology, taking into account local engagement routes and ethical conduct
  • To enable access to stakeholders for data and experience capture for WP3 and WP7
  • To engage local and national stakeholders thereby increasing buy-in for MATUROLIFE project and outputs

WP3: Creative artistic design of prototype AT using conductive textiles & fabrics

  • To define the scope of user- research and methodology
  • To conduct design research
  • To synthesise the research data to find patterns and insights for design ideas
  • To co-work/ Ideation workshops for possible product or service ideas
  • To prepare of concept prototypes

To communicate of design process and prototypes to the other WPs

WP4: Selective Catalysation & Metallisation of Fabrics & Textiles

WP4 is the key ‘materials’ research part of the project. The novel method to selectively metallise textiles/fabrics will be developed (CU) which will involve surface modification of the textiles/fabrics and the functionalization of CuNP which will then be used to formulate (CU/AGAS) a novel electroless copper catalyst. A range of techniques for the selective deposition of this catalyst will be investigated (PEL) and any optimisation of the electroless copper formulation/operating conditions carried out (AGAS). As a comparison and contingency plan and alternative approach to selective catalysation will be investigated using a PVD approach (IFTH). Samples of conductive textiles/fabrics will be required throughout the MATUROLIFE project (and before this WP is completed) and so, to avoid and hold-ups to the project, these will be produced using a standard Pd based catalyst and electroless plating (CU, PEL, AGAS, BAI). BAI will be involved in relevant tasks within WP4 to ensure knowledge transfer when the process is scaled up.

Objectives:

  • To prepare functionalised CuNP (or other materials not on the EU critical materials list)
  • To optimise surface modification/pre-treatment of textiles/fabrics
  • To formulate a CuNP catalyst i.e. produce stable dispersions, to assist their attachment to textiles/fabrics and to act as catalysts for subsequent electroless plating
  • To determine methods to selectively surface modify textiles/fabrics
  • To optimise methods to selectively deposit CuNP and other metallic electroless catalysts
  • To optimise electroless deposition onto selectively deposited catalysts
  • To produce samples of conductive textiles and fabrics throughout project

 WP5: Protection of conductive tracks

Objectives:

  • To determine methods for organic protection of conductive tracks against external factors
  • To determine methods for inorganic passivation of conductive tracks
  • To integrate optical-chemical indicators into developed coating formulations

To apply chromic dyes or functional pigments on metalized textiles including the evaluation of optical properties of developed materials

WP6: Sensor/Electronics Integration & Production of Prototypes

The main goal of WP6 is to integrate the sensors and electronic items using the selectively conductive textiles/fabrics created in WP4 & WP5 in order to produce the usable prototypes compliant with the project proof- of-concept commitments (TRL 7). These prototypes will be defined in a co-creation process, initially driven by users’ needs and sensitiveness and designed via creative artistic practices (WP3). The potential types of AT have already been defined in WP3 in the broad product areas of clothing, furniture and footwear.

Additionally, the data acquired in every prototype will be used to enhance the user experience and to go a step further: Analysis of the acquired will be performed data (via Moriarty© Big Data Framework) in order to extract valuable knowledge like behaviour patterns or user profiling, in order to provide not only alerts but recommendations and services (via IoT capabilities). The data management will take into account the technological constraints, the user consent and any other ELS (Ethical, Legal, Social) requirement.

Finally, an assessment on the sustainability life cycle of the prototypes will also be performed, in order to provide a

valuable feedback for both the prototype creation process (WP2, WP3, WP4, WP5) and for further development and exploitation issues (WP7, WP8, WP9).

WP7: Testing of Conductive Textiles & Prototypes

This WP7 aims to validate the Assistive Technologies (AT) prototypes – clothing, furniture and footwear – produced in previous work package (WP6), once the sensors/electronics are integrated. Different technical features (mechanical, physical and chemical) as well as functionality, electrical/electronic compatibility, safety and behaviour will be checked for both conductive textiles and the final 3 prototypes in a daily use.

Since MATUROLIFE project addresses the development of smart textiles & fabrics to make urban living significantly easier, more secure & comfortable for older people, evaluation of these prototypes will be carried out by these end users to obtain their feedback/direction during the creation of the prototypes in WP6 and this will significantly improve the acceptance of the finished AT.

The results obtained in WP7 will be crucial prior to the industrial scalability demonstration of the novel low cost sustainable selective metallisation process developed in WP4 to be carried out in the subsequent WP8.

The specific objectives of WP7 are detailed below:

  • To check the surface resistivity, resistance and ageing of the conductive
  • To evaluate the surface properties of metallized & coating-treated
  • To evaluate the feasibility of clothing
  • To evaluate the feasibility of the furniture prototypes (sofas and seats) in terms of quality and
  • To evaluate the feasibility of the footwear prototypes by verifying durability and comfort parameters according to ISO

To obtain feedback from older people on the AT being developed in WP6 and undertaken a final evaluation

WP8: Industrial Scalability

Objectives:

  • To determine feasibility of industrial scale-up of selective metallisation processes
  • To identify the technical parameters crucial for the transfer
  • To identify and select the best technologies for the selective metallisation process (CuNPs functionalization, electroless copper and protective coating).
  • To build a pilot line to demonstrate industrial scalability
  • To assess industrial scalability by testing the conductive textiles/fabrics produced in a pilot line (measurements in WP7), ease of production, costs etc

WP9: Dissemination & Communication activities

This work package addresses project specific Dissemination activities, which will include the following:

  • Elaborate and implement the dissemination plan agreed by all members of the Consortium
  • Attracting the interest of the public, investors, research sector, SMEs and associations of SMEs through publication of articles and advertisements on dedicated technical press, but also through the organization of specific events (online exhibition, info day and training session) and via a dedicated project web-site.
  • Presentation of results in the field of application of the project at an international level by means of attendance at events such as workshops, conferences and exhibitions and through the project website
  • Organization and participation to conferences, workshops and exhibitions covering all aspects of the project including design methodologies, approaches to the selective metallization of textiles and fabrics, prototype demonstrations to older people
  • Maintain a strong social media presence e.g. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook

WP10: Exploitation & Business Plan

This work package will undertake all market and business oriented activities and develop an active Business and Exploitation Plan, which will be subject to regular update (9-monthly intervals) and will embrace dissemination activities. An outline Business and Exploitation Plan in consideration of the resultant TRL levels to be  achieved  will be  drawn up. The  development  of  such  a plan and its synergy  with dissemination activities is considered a primary and key element in the success of the project, which ultimately must be judged on its future potential for market replication and penetration and the growth of SMEs within the consortium. In such respect all such related activities will be addressed at an early stage in the project and pursued through and beyond the full project term. Actions towards marketing the project breakthrough and value will require an evolving Business and Exploitation plan (comprising ROI, BP, Technology roadmap and demonstrators) presented to the Executive Committee as part of the framework of the Executive Meetings. The main details of this outlined initial exploitation and business plan will include:

  • Novel co-creation design strategies
  • New materials science outputs, deposition processes etc Analysis of socio-economic impact
  • Market Analysis of relevant sectors (smart textiles, wearables, assistive technology) – (with relevant customer’s survey and individual contacts), Product presentation, SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis) and identification of market drivers.
  • These different tools will enable the development of an Exploitation plan that takes the technology beyond the end of the project in terms of: Technology roadmaps, Finance requirements, and Commercial opportunities
  • Gender balance is encouraged and supported by all project partners and indeed several of the senior roles and WP leaders in the MATUROLIFE consortium are female.