Scientific consulting and advanced testing services with standardized and accredited procedures for reliable results.
Weather
A rain tower equipped with dedicated manikins to assess the water tightness of jackets, trousers, and complete clothing ensembles.
Heat & Flame
The heat and flame resistance of garments and materials evaluation either through small-scale benchtop burning tests - conducted in accordance with the standards of the Association of Swiss Canton Fire Insurance Companies (VKF) for textiles and building materials - or using an instrumented full-body dummy.
Thermal Comfort
A selection of heated sweating manikins and multi-sensor dummies is used to characterize various aspects of thermal comfort when wearing clothing or protective equipment, or when exposed to thermally heterogeneous environments.
Wearing Comfort
A series of manikins simulating the mechanical interaction between the human body and materials - such as load carriage systems, bras, and bulky clothing - to measure pressure, forces, torques, and displacements under both static and dynamic conditions.
Ball Testing
Various tests conducted on footballs, handballs, and volleyballs to certify and approve balls in accordance with the standards of FIFA, IHF, or FIVB.
Accredited Tests (SAS)
The Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles at Empa is accredited as a testing laboratory by the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS). All accredited tests are performed under a quality management system in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17025. The full scope of our accreditation 'STS 0083' is available on the SAS website.