Could the next generation of communications systems be built with a ...

McGraw-Hill authors John Volakis and?Chi-Chih Chen are members of an?Ohio State University research team that have developed a new way to incorporate radio antennas into clothing using plastic film and metallic thread.

Fabric and metallic thread are standard laboratory equipment for a project to embroider communications antennas into clothing. Photo by Al Zanyk, courtesy of Ohio State University.

While not a new concept, the work being done at OSU promises to provide more flexibility and a more reliable communications capability than current designs.

Writing in the journal?IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, they?report a new antenna design with a range four times larger than that of a conventional antenna worn on the body ? one that is used by American soldiers today. ??Our primary goal is to improve communications reliability and the mobility of the soldiers,? said Chi-Chih Chen, a research associate professor of?electrical and computer engineering at Ohio State. ?But the same technology could work for police officers, fire fighters, astronauts ? anybody who needs to keep their hands free for important work.?

John Volakis, the Roy & Lois Chope Chair Professor and Director of the?ElectroScience Laboratory at Ohio State,??envisions the technology to be adaptable for the general public. The elderly or disabled could wear clothing that would let them communicate in case of emergency, without the stigma they might feel in wearing a more visible assistive device.??Imagine a vest or shirt, or even a fancy ball gown made with this technology,? he said, scrunching a sample of embroidered taffeta in his hand. ?The antennas would be?inconspicuous, and even attractive. People would want to wear them.?

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Postdoctoral researcher Lanlin Zhang embroiders metallic thread onto cloth with a sewing machine as John Volakis, Director of the ElectroScience Laboratory at Ohio State University, looks on. Photo by Al Zanyk, courtesy of Ohio State University.

Source: http://learnmore.mcgraw-hill.com/2011/09/01/could-the-next-generation-of-communications-systems-could-be-built-with-a-sewing-machine/

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