Developing a Smart Textile Solution with Cross-Platform

DBB Software has lately developed a smart textile solution with a cross-platform mobile app connected to a smart textile product line for a Canada-based company. 

Challenge

The client was a Canadian firm, a pioneer in the smart textile industry. The company specializes in designing and developing innovative smart textile garments and biometric sensors, with a strong focus on healthcare and wellness applications. Their vision was to empower patients to take proactive control of their cardiac health through the integration of wearable technology and mobile applications.

The challenge was to develop a comprehensive solution combining smart textile garments with a cross-platform mobile application that could log, analyze, and share vital health information such as heart rate, ECG, symptoms, and other biometric data. The solution also needed to seamlessly connect the smart textile garments with an electronic battery unit known as the “pod”.

Tasks:

We aimed to develop a mobile app that:

• Enabled users to share their health data with their circle of care, including family, friends, and healthcare professionals.
• Connected seamlessly with smart textile garments and the pod.
• The smart textile garments were to be designed for both men and women. They had to be comfortable for all-day wear, machine washable, and embedded with sensors for capturing health data.

Pre-development stage

The solution involved creating an ecosystem of interconnected devices, including the smart textile garments, the pod, and the mobile application. The smart textile garments were designed with embedded textile electrodes, capturing the user’s biometric data such as heart rate, body temperature, and breathing rate. The garments transferred this data to the pod, which then shared it with the mobile app and the clinical health portal (used by the healthcare team).

Tech stack

Our software development team leveraged a blend of cutting-edge technologies and frameworks to execute this project.

• React Native: We chose React Native for its ability to deliver high-performance, cross-platform mobile applications. This JavaScript framework allowed us to write most of our code in a single language for both iOS and Android platforms.
• AWS Lambda: We utilized AWS Lambda for its event-driven, serverless computing capabilities. Lambda enabled us to run our code without provisioning or managing servers, scaling automatically with the size of our workload.
• GraphQL: GraphQL was used for APIs as it enables clients to request specific data, reducing the amount of data that needs to be transferred over the network and increasing the efficiency of the app.
• WebSocket: We used WebSocket for bi-directional communication between the server and the app. This allowed for real-time updates of the biometric data captured by the smart textile garments.

Implementation and Features

With the tech stack and solution design in place, we began the development process. The team worked in an agile manner, developing the mobile app and integrating it with the smart textile garments and the pod. The UI/UX team ensured that the virtual design was translated into an intuitive and user-friendly interface.

The developed mobile app included features that enabled users to:

1. Track Metrics: Users can monitor various metrics such as heart rate, resting heart rate, body temperature, posture, steps, and geolocation.
2. Record Symptoms: A diary feature was built into the app, allowing users to log and track their symptoms over time.
3. View Aura: Aura was a visual summary of the user’s health and wellness, which included key wellness metrics captured from the biometric-sensing garments.
4. Engage with Loved Ones: A built-in text chat feature was included, allowing users to communicate with their loved ones while they simultaneously viewed the Aura.
5. Create a Community: A feature was built that enabled users to form communities where they could share their experiences, learn from others, and gain support.
6. Emergency Alert: In case of critical health anomalies, an emergency alert feature was incorporated to send instant notifications to the user’s designated contacts, including their healthcare professionals.
7. Manage Data: The app allows users to manage the biometric data captured from their smart textile garments, including viewing historical data, setting data sharing preferences, and deleting data.
8. Integrate with EHR: There was mobile app integration with Google Fit and Apple Health Kit. The app could integrate with electronic health records (EHR) systems, enabling healthcare professionals to monitor patients' health and make informed decisions.

Testing and Quality Assurance

Throughout the development process, rigorous testing was performed to ensure the software met the highest quality standards, including:

1. Unit Testing: Each component was tested to ensure it functioned as expected.
2. Integration Testing: After individual components were tested, they were integrated and tested as a whole to identify any issues.
3. Usability Testing: The app’s user interface was tested to ensure it was intuitive and user-friendly.
4. Performance Testing: The app was tested under various network conditions to ensure it performed optimally under strain.
5. Security Testing: The app underwent rigorous security testing to ensure the safety and privacy of user data.

Deployment and Support

After the successful completion of testing and quality assurance, the app was ready for deployment. It was rolled out on both iOS and Android platforms, making it accessible to users worldwide. Post-deployment, our team continued to provide support, regularly updating the app with new features and improvements based on user feedback and technological advancements.

Results

We gave the client a technical solution with many parts that met their current business ideas and needs.

The post-development phase brought forth compelling results:

• User adoption and feedback: The app was well-received by users, with high adoption rates and positive feedback regarding its usability and features.
• Improved health outcomes: Quantitative data suggested improved health outcomes for users, owing to the app’s real-time monitoring and personalized health insights.
• Business impact: The successful development and launch of the app significantly contributed to the client’s business growth, facilitating increased sales and market share growth and fostering new partnerships in the digital healthcare space.

Summary

In this project, we developed a cross-platform mobile app that is seamlessly integrated with smart textile garments and a pod, enabling users to monitor and share their health data proactively. The app was built using cutting-edge technologies such as React Native, AWS Lambda, GraphQL, and WebSocket, ensuring high performance and efficiency. The solution provided a comprehensive suite of features, including real-time biometric tracking, symptom recording, community building, emergency alerts, and EHR integration. 

This project exemplifies our ability to deliver innovative and user-centered solutions that empower users to take control of their health. With an easy-to-use interface, multi-functionality, and a high degree of usefulness, DBB Software team created innovative healthcare-intelligent textile technology. Explore our case study and see how partnering with DBB Software can propel your business to new heights in digital healthcare solutions.