The manufacture of our product, which integrates wireless sensors and communications devices into "smart clothing," will require a variety of workforce skills. These skills include electrical and electronic equipment assembly, electrical and electronic engineering, computer hardware engineering, computer software applications engineering, and computer systems software engineering.

The Monthly Labor Review for November 2005 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics states jobs in these areas like computer system design are among the fastest growing jobs in the United States. According to Al Dill, President of the Blackfox Training Institute, these jobs would not likely be outsourced, because of their complexity and need for skilled workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states in their Career Guide to Industries, that there will be demand for research and development as well as for production workers. This means there will be an increase in demand for these occupational areas at all levels, from technical education through two and four year degrees, to graduate degree programs.

While certain parts of the communication market are be on the decline, new smart phones and wireless networks with high data flow ability reamin strong. Wireless communication is a main factor in the growth of the telecommunications industry.


Wireless service already allows connectivity between a diverse group of devices such as, phones, computers, and even television. Our project's suit will open yet another telecommunications application.

The use of smart materials, such as those in our suit, is expected to increase as research makes them more accessible. These smart materials include biological sensors and piezoelectric power sources. Demand is expected to increase for both products as improvements are made and more suits are constructed.



As more development occurs, the economic effects of Smart clothes will increase. While smart textiles will be applied more often to consumer products and biomedical industries, significant use in homeland defense and public safety is expected by 2012.



Our suit would directly impact public safety, and would stimulate the demand and scope of smart textiles for military and biomedical industries.

Students entering our graduate degree program, Mobile Communication & Network Engineering, are expected to take undergraduate courses in electrical engineering to develop a fundamental understanding of the theory and practices in the design, programming, and management of remote communication networks. Such jobs require a high degree of reliability in extreme or hazardous environments. Courses focus on wireless network systems, their security, hardware, software and improvements.

Students are expected to complete the following courses along with an internship to ensure that they gain the field experience necessary to design equipment that is effective, reliable and relevant in disaster situations.