Analysis of the Technological Convergence in Smart Textiles

Convergence between emerging technologies and traditional industries has become a crucial strategy for enhancing a technology’s competitiveness. Technical convergence (TC) for smart textiles aims to reveal the convergence of emerging technologies with textile technologies, including the field, structure, and critical technologies of the TC. For the empirical analysis, the technology life cycle (TLC) and network analysis method are utilized to observe the TC of 15,125 patent data for textiles from the Derwent Patent Database. The results indicate the following: (1) after 2021, the TC of smart textiles matured, with the number of patents reaching a peak in 2030. (2) Emerging technologies and textile technologies are inextricably linked. In addition to textile technologies, the primary technical fields involved in smart textiles are electronic engineering, tools design, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering. Electronic engineering is the most common of these fields, accounting for 29.11%. (3) From a structural perspective, the density, breadth, and depth of the TC continues to expand. (4) Measurement, computer technology, and audio technology will be always essential to the TC, whereas electrical machinery, instrumentation, energy technology, other specialized technologies, and chemical engineering have tremendous growth potential. The findings above have substantial implications for the phenomenon of the TCs that have emerged in emerging technology and traditional industry fields. They can also aid the government in formulating policies that promote the transformation and growth of related industries.