Design and development of flexible fabric antenna for body-worn applications and its performance study under flat and bent positions

Abstract

Modern communication systems are driven by the concept of being connected anywhere and at any time.Fuelled by the idea of a body-centric approach to modern communication technology, many research projects have been initiated to integrate antennas and radio frequency (RF) systems into clothes with regard to size reduction and cost-effectiveness; so that the wearer may not notice the existence of these subsystems. For instance, the development of wearable computer systems has been very rapid and soon one will see a wide range of unobtrusive wearable and ubiquitous computing equipment into his/her everyday wear. Rapid progress in wireless communication promises to replace all wired-communication networks in the near future, in which antennas play a vital role. This paper describes design and development of a circular patch antenna for on-body wireless communications. This antenna makes use of polyester-combined cotton [65:35] fabric as its dielectric material and the conducting parts of the antenna are made up of copper. The impedance and radiation characteristics are determined experimentally when the antenna is kept in flat position. The performance characteristics of the antenna are analyzed under bent conditions too, to check compatibility with wearable applications. Results demonstrate the suitability of this kind of patch antenna for on-body wireless communications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26188