Ultra wideband textile antenna development for indoor localization

Abstract

Accurately defined textile antennas have been developed using a laser machine with high precision cutting capabilities. The textile antennas are comprised of a conductive fabric layer that is laser defined and can be easily incorporated into uniforms and garments using a simple iron-on process. We have developed and present a monopole antenna design geared towards UWB applications. This antenna design offers conformal, bendable, and washable properties. Measured return loss and radiation patterns agree well with our simulation. We show that these UWB textile antennas can be applied to localization systems and can provide accurate estimation of wearer's location geared towards natural disaster recovery applications.