Five textile companies have joined forces to launch Hydro_Bot, a new technology for moisture management.
Hydro_Bot is aimed at solving one of the biggest challenges in sports, work and protective clothing — to transport moisture to match human sweat rates in various climates, conditions and activity levels.
Behind Hydro_Bot is Osmotex, a Swiss-Norwegian start-up dedicated to developing solutions for electro osmosis for moisture management.
“Hydro_Bot is the result of 10 years of intense research and development in Switzerland,” said Trond Heldal, director of research and development, and operations at Osmotex. “Over the past two years, the development has reached a new level with four strategic partners involved in the development effort. We are confident that Hydro_Bot will represent a generational advancement in moisture management.”
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Swiss textile manufacturer Schoeller Textil AG is the production partner for the Hydro_Bot panels. Premium sportswear brand Kjus is the primary product development partner and will be the first brand to take Hydro_Bot to market in selected skiwear products planned for the 2018-19 season.
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Wearable technology company Belginova is the technology partner for Hydro_Bot. It is providing operating systems and switches for applying the moisture management solution. Belginova will also deliver Hydro_Bot products through its 30Seven brand.
Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, has played a key role in conducting cutting-edge materials and technology research. Together with Osmotex and its three development partners, Empa is involved in the final development to ensure the necessary durability, washability and performance of Hydro_Bot under different conditions.
“The consumer is the central focus of our developments. We want to support people in their work, leisure and sporting activities with intelligent textile products,” said Siegfried Winkelbeiner, chief executive officer of Schoeller Textil. “For this reason, we develop and produce highly-functional fabrics, knits and innovative textile technologies”
Winkelbeiner said he sees opportunity for a great synergy for even smarter textile performance
“Kjus is renowned as the leading innovator in ski, golf and lifestyle wear,” said Nico Serena, ceo of KJUS. “As such, we teamed up with Osmotex to create an industry changing ski jacket. Hydro_Bot opens up new levels of skiwear comfort for our product development and we are excited about the new alpine layering system in the pipeline,”
Osmotex was founded in 2008 and funded by group of Norwegian and Swiss Investors and Banks. It is dedicated to electro-osmotic vapor and fluid transport.
Founded in 1868 with headquarters in Switzerland, Schoeller Textil specializes in high-performance textile manufacturing for sustainable development and production of innovative textiles and textile technologies.