The Science Behind Light Therapy Textile, Designed for Addressing, Pain, Skin Issues, and Memory Loss H. Lee Wainwright, Inventor of Therapeutic E-Textiles (WIKIPEDIA: E-Textiles)
- Invented the LED/Optic E-Textile (Electronically Enhanced) Flexible fabric animated display (1985)
- Invented the first machinery to manufacture E-Textile displays (1995)
- Received several patents related to fiber optics, and machinery; the latest in April of 2019 (Opti-Coupler/Light Therapy)
- Taught foreign companies how to build machines to produce E-Textile displays (2003-2010)
- Speaker at several conferences and colleges globally on E-Textiles
- Chosen among a few other inventors by the MIT Enterprise Forum held in New York City prior to the turn of the century to represent the top technologies to influence the next hundred years
- A contributing author for "Performance Testing of Textiles", a university textbook covering the most important aspects of bringing an E-Textile product to the marketplace
- Beginning in 2007 in Washington D.C. with an interactive Bio-Feedback display in apparel at the IFAI E-Textile Conferences in New Orleans, Dallas TX, and Springfield, MA; Flextech Conference in Pheonix, AZ; the World Textile Conference in Melbourne, Australia and "The Future of E-Fashion, the Journey from Novelty to Utility" presentation at Texas University in Austin, TX.
A few past CONCEPT to COMPLETION projects since 1995:
- Fiber optic displays for Queens Flowers (Million+ sold) and optic bugs for A.C. Moore
- Several celebrity and recording artist lighted E-Textile costumes for public appearances
- Fiber optic animated POPs for Miller Brewery nationwide distribution
- Harley Davidson leather jackets with E-Textile logo
- Superman E-Textile logo varsity jackets sold in WB stores
- Limited Too jeans with E-Textile graphic on rear pocket (10,000+ pairs sold in malls)
- E-Textile purse skins for D&G purses, animated denim displays for American Chi
- E-Textile paintings for Manualweave’s Thomas Kincaid series distribution
- E-Textile marketing coats for SONY, ReMAX, Red Robin, MGM, and more…
- Created MIT jackets to promote their high tech programs
- Commissioned by Hasbro, Spinmaster, Mattel + other toy companies to create displays
- Created E-Textile Haute Couture dresses for top designers
- Created fiber optic interior casino environments for cruise line
- Licensed patents to companies for baseball cap lighted E-Textile NFL team logos, Christmas and Halloween lighted costumes & decorations, Sylvania placemats, and card companies for lighted cards and journals sold though Claires and other mall outlets
- Created E-Textile car interior surfaces for GM’s concept car show
- Created and sold outdoor solar powered E-Textile vinyl lighted display banners to cities
- Boy Scouts of America fiber optic logo caps
- Bradford Christmas decorations
- Solar powered outdoor pole banners for City of Bethlehem, PA
- Rubie’s Costumes Halloween costumes
- NFL Sports Framed fiber optic animated wall pieces
WIKIPEDIA: E-Textiles
In 1985, inventor Harry Wainwright created the first fully animated sweatshirt. The shirt consisted of fiber optics, leads, and a microprocessor to control individual frames of animation. The result was a full-color cartoon displayed on the surface of the shirt. in 1995, Wainwright went on to invent the first machine enabling fiber optics to be machined into fabrics, the process needed for manufacturing enough for mass markets and, in 1997, hired a German machine designer, Herbert Selbach, from Selbach Machinery to produce the world's first computer numerical control (CNC) machine able to automatically implant fiber optics into any flexible material. Receiving the first of a dozen patents based on LED/Optic displays and machinery in 1989, the first CNC machines went into production in 1998 beginning with the production of animated coats for Disney Parks in 1998. The first ECG bio-physical display jackets employing LED/optic displays were created by Wainwright and David Bychkov, the CEO of Exmovere at the time in 2005 using GSR sensors in a watch connected via Bluetooth to the embedded machine washable display in a denim jacket and were demonstrated at the Smart Fabrics Conference held in Washington, D.C. May 7, 2007. Additional smart fabric technologies were unveiled by Wainwright at two Flextech Flexible Display conferences held in Phoenix, AZ, showing infrared digital displays machine-embedded into fabrics for IFF (Identification of Friend or Foe) which were submitted to BAE Systems for evaluation in 2006 and won an "Honorable Mention" award from NASA in 2010 on their Tech Briefs, "Design the Future" contest. MIT personnel purchased several fully animated coats for their researchers to wear at their demonstrations in 1999 to bring attention to their "Wearable Computer" research. Wainwright was commissioned to speak at the Textile and Colorists Conference in Melbourne, Australia on June 5, 2012. He was requested to demonstrate his fabric creations that change color using any smartphone, indicate callers on mobile phones without a digital display, and contain WIFI security features that protect purses and personal items from theft.
A few awards received over the years...
