Design development and performance of aesthetic pattern conductive flexible textile antenna for wireless body area networks

Abstract

The prevalent digital age has brought humanity much closer to the data explosion, Internet of Things devices, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Every day, there is a newer and faster method for capturing, assimilating, and analysing data in order to gain a better understanding of the outcome. This is the era of mobile apps, which collect various types of data for various unique usages, and wearable devices, which are seamlessly interwoven using technology to produce the results of outcome-bound Apps. Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) and the applications that go with them are in high demand, as there is a general shift in health consciousness. The applications are not only limited to assisting healthcare, but also to the limitless power of visualisation. That is precisely why we are attempting to make the concept of a wearable, flexible, and yet robust antenna a reality. This work focuses on the specific concept of a textile antenna that has been demonstrated to have the properties of being both flexible and robust at the same time. To support wearable devices, there is an increasing demand for flexible and miniaturised Radio Frequency (RF) and microwave components. Wearable antennas made from textile substrates form a new sub-category known as the textile antenna. These antenna types will be part of clothing and will be easily integrated. Furthermore, a novel approach to designing the antenna with aesthetic patterns such as a flower shape, a smiley face, or a company logo, or simply the design of choice that would sublimely go with the fabric on which it is embedded, is expected to attract consumers and influence brands. newline