A textile antenna for protective clothing

This paper presents a textile antenna designed to be integrated into protective clothing since it is made out of a high performance aramid fabric. A microstrip patch antenna is designed for operating in the 2.45 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band for short range communication to transmit the wearer's life signs to a nearby base station. Electrotextiles are used for the antenna patch and ground plane. When integrated into the garment, the antenna requires a finite ground plane and operates in the presence of the body, hence changing its characteristics. Furthermore, when a textile antenna is integrated into a garment the patch might bend. A rectangular ring topology is proposed to preserve the antenna characteristics in real-life applications. This research paves the way for a new generation of protective clothing.