Electronics small enough to fit inside a thread

Primo1D is breaking new ground in integrated electronics, with embedded LEDs, RFID tags, and sensors for woven textile, extruded, or molded plastic applications.

Technology

Primo1D is breaking new ground in integrated electronics, with embedded LEDs, RFID tags, and sensors for woven textile, extruded, or molded plastic applications. Primo1D’s technology, developed at Leti, uses weaving to encapsulate extremely miniaturized electronic microsystems in textiles and other fiber-based materials. The start-up’s first product is an RFID tag for industrial laundering and textile manufacturing applications. The tag, in thread form, is woven right into the fabric, where it provides traceability and anti-theft capabilities—invisibly and cost-effectively.

The company is currently developing new tags to track the lifecycle management and recycling of consumer textiles. Other applications include integrating LEDs into thread for high-end home furnishing fabrics and integrating sensors into extruded products like flexible hoses and cabling. Primo1D conducts its research and development work via a joint lab with Leti and won numerous awards for its innovations in the run-up to founding the company in August 2013.