About SMITA

Research group on "Smart and Innovative Textile Materials (SMITA)" is a body of faculty and students from IIT Delhi who are working on developing novel intelligent, smart and functional materials for textile applications. The research group is working very closely with Indian Industry in developing Smart Textile or Intelligent Textile materials and taking some of these technologies to commercial scale.

Dr. Ashwini Agrawal, Dr. Manjeet Jassal, faculties, IIT Delhi and their group have core competency in this field of Smart Textile and have developed several active technologies. These technologies are radically changing the functionality of textile by creating sensitive, interactive and intelligent textile materials.  The main objectives of the group are:

• To create a national facility, where both basic research and technology development for industrial applications would be taken up in the area of smart textile based on innovative materials such as nanoparticles, nanofibres, nano-surface engineering, phase change materials, and stimuli sensitive polymers. Specifically following areas of technologies are being pursued under this project:

1. Stimuli (temperature, pH, and electric field) sensitive materials for applications in artificial muscles, robotics, and responsive textile.
   
2. Encapsulated phase change materials for thermo-regulated smart textile
3. Nanofinishes for active functionality of textile substrates.
4. Nanofibres, organic and inorganic, using electrospinning. 
   
5. Nano-surface engineering using atmospheric pressure cold plasma.

• To bring together expertise from Academia and Industry to facilitate development of new technologies/products in the upcoming area of smart textile at par with anywhere in the world.
• It is also proposed to create trained manpower that can assist industry in further research, product development, and production of smart textile based on new technologies. 

                                     

The SMITA group (2009-10)

(Bottom to top) First row: L-R: Dr. Bhawana Sharma, Dr. Deepali Rastogi, Mr. Abhishek Gandhi, Prof. Ashwini K. Agrawal, Dr. Manjeet Jassal, Ms. Deepika Gupta and Dr. Naminita Gogoi.

Second row: L-R: Mr. Grijesh, Ms. Sangita Paul, Ms. Suchismita Bhabani, Ms. Neelima Singh, Ms. Nachiketa Kukreja, Ms. Kavipriya, Ms. Nikita Bhutani, Ms. Shilpi Sharma, Ms. Kamlesh and Mr. Ramesh.

Third row: L-R: Mr. Dhirender Singh, Mr. Kartick K. Samanta, Ms. Nidhi Goyal, Mr. Nabankur Deb, Mr. Sharad Arora, Mr. Mahesh Ahlawat, Mr. Sidhharth Sirohi, Mr. Yashwant Birla, Mr. Saurabh Suryavanshi, Mr. Nikhil Garg, Mr. Virender Rajora and Mr. Dambarudhar Parida.

Camera shy: Mr. Prasanta Panda