Swiss knitting specialist Steiger presented groundbreaking smart textile innovations at Techtextil Frankfurt, including a fully integrated smart glove featuring embedded sensors, conductive yarns, RFID technology, and advanced 3D knitting. Developed using the company’s VEGA 3.9 knitting machine, the wearable textile solution demonstrates how textile engineering and electronics can merge seamlessly for medical, industrial, and interactive applications.
Fully integrated smart glove designed to combine textile engineering with embedded technology.
Swiss flat knitting machine builder Steiger showcased a series of advanced textile innovations at Techtextil in Frankfurt, including a fully integrated smart glove designed to combine textile engineering with embedded technology.
Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Vionnaz, Switzerland, Steiger has built an international reputation for advanced flat knitting technology, particularly in medical, technical and high-end fashion applications. The company is recognised as a technology leader in medical and orthopaedic knitting systems and has increasingly focused on 3D and smart textile developments in recent years.
Produced on the company’s new VEGA 3.9 knitting machine, the smart glove integrates advanced 3D knitting, conductive yarns and embedded sensors to enable seamless interaction between textiles and electronic systems. RFID chip integration further expands its potential applications in identification and tracking.
RFID Integration in Wearable Textiles
The glove has been engineered using silicon yarns to improve ergonomics, delivering both comfort and performance. All electronic components are enclosed within the knitted structure itself, preserving flexibility while protecting the integrated technology.
Steiger also presented a knee support brace incorporating a newly developed electronic fibre containing a liquid metal for extensible detection. Developed by EPFL, the fibre reliably monitors knee flexion angles and enables reconstruction of the wearer’s stride. The article was produced on the Vega 3.90 M knitting machine.
The developments reflect Steiger’s broader focus on technical and medical knitting applications, areas in which the company has expanded significantly over recent decades. Alongside fashion knitting systems, Steiger’s technologies are now widely used in orthopaedic supports, compression garments and advanced composite textile structures for industrial applications.
Steiger operates as part of the Cixing Group, its Chinese parent company. Cixing, based in Ningbo, China, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of computerised flat knitting machines, supplying customers globally across apparel, technical and industrial knitting sectors. Through the integration of Steiger’s Swiss engineering expertise and Cixing’s industrial scale, the group aims to accelerate innovation and strengthen its global market presence.