Chapter 5 — full chapter
Case Example: SMARTEX.ai
Smartex is a Portuguese hardware-and-software company that builds "the tools for a modern textile factory." Its system retrofits high-resolution cameras and AI (computer vision and machine learning) onto existing circular knitting machines, so fabric is inspected continuously as it is knitted. When a defect appears, the system flags it or stops the machine on the spot , keeping defective fabric from ever reaching the dyehouse and eliminating the costly ripple effect of wasted processing, energy, heat, chemicals and time.
Figure 5.7 shows Smartex CORE installed on a circular knitting machine for real-time fabric inspection. The system combines computer vision, artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect defects during production and alert or stop the machine before defective fabric continues through the process.
Figure 5.7 Smartex CORE installed on a circular knitting machine for real-time fabric inspection.
The system is built on three pillars: Core (resource efficiency), Fact (digital management and real-time data) and Loop (high-quality, traceable data with an indestructible labelling system). It targets Tier 2 — material production — and by 2024 was deployed across 90 sites in 10 regions, including Bangladesh, Portugal, Türkiye, India and Uzbekistan, with a stated goal of 200 more facilities by 2026.
The clearest result comes from Ekoten (Sun Tekstil Group, Izmir, Türkiye): after scaling from 10 to 17 machines, Ekoten cut its defective-fabric production by 80%, stopping an average of 20 continuous defects per machine per month and saving over 4.5 tonnes of raw fabric a year — worth about 224 t CO₂e.