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Investigation of a Switchable Textile Communication System on the Human Body

Bai, Qiang, Swaisaenyakorn, Srijittra, Lee, Hyung-Joo, Ford, Kenneth L., Batchelor, John C., Langley, Richard J. (2014) Investigation of a Switchable Textile Communication System on the Human Body. Electronics, 3 (3). pp. 491-503. ISSN 2079-9292. (doi:10.3390/electronics3030491) (KAR id:42686)

Abstract

In this paper, a switchable textile communication system working at 2.45 GHz ISM band is presented and studied for different locations within a realistic on-body environment. A 3D laser scanner is used to generate a numerical phantom of the measured subject to improve the accuracy of the simulations which are carried out for different body postures. For the off-body communications, the system is acting as an aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna with a boresight gain of 1.48 dBi. On-body communication is achieved by using a textile stripline, which gives approximately 5 dB transmission loss over 600 mm distance. The system is switched between on and off-body modes by PIN diodes. Common issues, such as shape distortion and body detuning effects which the textile antenna may experience in realistic use are fully discussed. Robust antenna performance is noted in the on-body tests, and an additional 3 dB transmission coefficient deduction was noticed in the most severe shape distortion case.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.3390/electronics3030491
Uncontrolled keywords: switchable body-centric communication; on-body communication; off-body communication; textile strip patch antenna; textile stripline
Subjects: T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering > TK7800 Electronics > TK7871.6 Antennas and waveguides
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Engineering and Digital Arts
Depositing User: John Batchelor
Date Deposited: 26 Aug 2014 14:14 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 04:35 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/42686 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Swaisaenyakorn, Srijittra.

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Batchelor, John C..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5139-5765
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