PROSPIE · Protective Responsive Outer Shell for People in Industrial Environments

In the Prospie project a new generation of work wear will be developed and produced. Special features of the work wear will be a dynamic cooling system in order to prevent workers from hyperthermia, smart interfaces for measuring essential physical parameters of workers and their work place and the data processing resulting in the swift identification of (potential) dangerous situations. The data processing will be based on algorithms which take personal aspects of the worker into consideration. When critical limits are exeeded, the worker will be alerted by (tactile) actuators. In case there is no reaction, rescue workers will be alerted. The personal safety system provided by the work wear will become an integrated part of industrial safety systems. In the project much attention will be paid to the safety of the worker, the comfort of the work wear(thermo-physiological and ergonomic) , the reliability of the smart functions, the production technology, care and maintenance, training of users and potential buyers (public procurement) and standardization issues concerning this new generation of PPE. The Prospie-project will support the EU in realizing the goals set in the EU-leadmarket initiative on protective clothing and strenghten the position of the EU-textile and clothing industry. Most important however is the expected reduction of work related accidents through the early warning system in potential dangerous situations, resulting in a substantial reduction of accidents related absence from work, disturbance in production processes and the increased productivity of workers in (hot) industrial environments. It is expected that the results of the Prospie project can be transferred to other sectors like first responders (fire men police, para-medicals), sports and healthcare for elderly and patients in nursing houses