Communicating Textiles (2012)

Carla Hertleer, Belgium

Description

The development of wearable textile systems will enable monitoring the physical state of a person through the clothes that he is wearing. To do so, several components need to be integrated into the garment: sensors, actuators, a data processing unit, an energy supply and a communication device . To enhance wearability of the system, these components should be made out of flexible materials or even textiles. Wireless communication is done by means of antennas. This prototype shows the feasibility of manufacturing antennas out of textile materials and integrating them into clothing. Data collected by sensors that are present in or on the garment can be processed and wirelessly communicated to a nearby base station. The antenna operates at a frequency of 2.45 GHz in the ISM band (Industrial, Scientific and Medical band).

The antenna patch and the antenna ground plane are made out of electroconductive materials, the antenna substrate has to be an isolating material. Through a connector the antenna can be connected to the rest of the system.

Medium

Garment with sensors, actuators, data processing unit, energy supply, communicator device

Image credits

Carla Hertleer