Smart personal protective equipment (PPE): current PPE needs, opportunities for nanotechnology and e-textiles

Smart personal protective equipment (PPE) is the future of improved occupational health and safety, and nanotechnology facilitates the development of critical smart PPE components such as smart textiles, wearable/flexible electronics, and augmented reality among others. Smart PPE utilizes sensing and communication technology in a way that is non-intrusive to either improve workplace safety or enhance occupational capabilities. The development of such smart PPE requires a multidisciplinary approach. This paper investigates the current state of PPE technologies for firefighters, healthcare workers, police/military, and construction workers. The modern PPE needs are identified from both end user surveys as well as expert third-party studies. There are already some smart PPE solutions for the challenges identified. Recent advances in stretchable and textile-based electronics, enabled by nanotechnology, demonstrate almost all imaginable solutions to the unmet needs that PPE users and expert advisor groups have identified. However, integration into smart PPE requires attention to the unique harsh conditions of hazardous workplaces. This review aims to inspire researchers in the field of flexible and printed electronics to develop and improve future smart PPE.