Teijin develops smart firefighters’ uniform

Teijin Limited has developed a smart uniform for firefighters incorporating a sophisticated wearable device that monitors body heat. The company also revealed it succeeded in predicting the risk of firefighters’ heatstroke—the first time in the world this has been achieved—during tests in the development of its new smart protective system (SPS). The predictions were based on estimates of deep body temperature derived from an analysis of data provided by the new smart uniforms. Developed following experiments by its co-research partner Osaka City University in collaboration with Osaka Municipal Fire Department, the SPS will be able to warn on-site firefighters and their headquarters when body data collected and transmitted by the smart uniforms indicates there is a risk of heatstroke.

Teijin will present the smart firefighters’ uniform and the SPS at RISCON Tokyo, the largest exhibition of risk management solutions in Japan, which will take place at Tokyo Big Site during October 11-13 (Booth No. 4A23).

Teijin will demonstrate various firefighting scenarios using the new smart firefighters’ uniform and SPS, and aims to have the new solutions adopted for use as early as 2019. Leveraging the know-how of the entire Teijin Group, the company will further develop the functionality of the SPS, aiming to position it as part of a total solution for firefighters’ safety that will include processes such as firefighter positioning management. The Teijin Group also plans to further develop algorithms that utilise deep body temperature measurements to help manage high temperature working environments more safely and efficiently.

The smart firefighters’ uniform incorporates a card case-sized sensing device, which was in turn developed by Teijin in conjunction with Infocom Corporation, the IT business of the Teijin Group. The device monitors the temperature and precise position of firefighters and transmits the resulting data in real time to management systems at the scenes of fires and to firefighting headquarters, where it can be analyzed to accurately estimate deep body temperature and thereby ensure firefighters’ safety. The uniform uses Teijin’s heat-resistant, flame-retardant meta-aramid fiber Teijinconex® and high-tenacity para-aramid fibers such as Technora®. The outer layers are made of Teijin’s flame and impact-resistant polycarbonate resin Panlite®.