Push-to-talk 2 my Shirt might not be as far away as we have imagined when giving our name to our wearable electronic community site back in 2006.

Finnish company Patria Aviation Oy has spent the past one and a half years to develop a flexible, fabric based antenna that can be integrated into a Shirt.

The project’s biggest challenge was the selection of a fabric which can maintain a strong radio signal even when the patch is bent vertically, horizontally or diagonally.

The flexible antenna connects to Iridium satellites whose low-altitude operations do not require large antennas and to GPS for location information.

The radiating patch antenna is shielded against environmental conditions by a protective layer. The selected geometry conforms with the stringent requirements from Iridium and GPS by maintaining ‘circular polarization’ of its radio signal over the full bandwidth even when bent, a commonly recognized difficulty in the design of soft, wearable antennas.

Patria Aviation Oy demonstrated successfully the high-tech clothing that can send and receive messages via satellite by called the Netherlands from their headquarters in Finland by using the prototype antenna.

Eventually, a communication module will be integrated into the antenna patch which would create the first thoroughly wearable cell phone in form of a dress or shirt, ultimately enabling us to: talk2myShirt.

[source: ESA via Gizmodo]

Transforming silicon based, rigid electronic components into soft, flexible elements is one of the corner stones on the way to more complex wearable electronic technology.

Currently e-textile components circling around passive – electronically speaking – components like conductive yarns for data and power transmission through clothing, electrically conductive fabric for sensors and switches or used for data input like heart rate detection.

More complex electronic is encapsulated into rigid or semi-rigid housings and fitted into wearable electronic objects. But more complex electronic function require the integration of transistors into a textile substrate.

A very promising development comes from a team of researcher led by Zhenan Bao, professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University and engineers from Samsung to develop a new way to align organic microwires to form flexible circuits.

The team’s breakthrough development is to put organic microwires in a liquid solution, filter them through paper in order to position the transistors of the circuit. This allows a denser packing of the microwire transistors which operate about two-and-a-half times more quickly than the organic transistors most other research groups have announced to date.

Organic materials can be cheaper than silicon and metal materials (although  slower in performance) with cheaper manufacturing processes such as roll-to-roll printing of photovoltaic cells. They are also more compatible with flexible substrates, such as plastics or textiles.

Although the research alone is not enough to enable economical mass production of low-cost, high-performance flexible electronics, it could make their eventual manufacturing more feasible, according to Jong Min Kim, a Samsung Fellow and senior vice president.

Wearable electronic is of course only part of the application potential of this technology which can be useful in many situation where flexibility of electronics offers greater benefits than conventional electronics.

Link to the full article.

The idea of Wearable Antennas is around for some time but I have never seen someone actually developing or even producing this type of antenna, that is until today.

On my restless search for Wearable Electronic news I found a press release from Pharad, founded in 2003 to develop innovative and wearable antenna technology primarily for government and commercial customers.

Five years later Pharad announces the commercial availability of their Wearable Antennas.

Originally developed for the military and public safety/first responder markets, the wearable antennas feature small size, flexibility and enhanced electromagnetic performance, all in a waterproof textile package.

To give designer flexibility on the integration of a wearable antennas into clothing, Pharad offers the antenna as a module allowing the free placement of the wearable antenna in the garment.

Unlike other antenna solutions, Pharad’s wearable antennas are purpose designed and optimized to be worn on the body. They can be integrated into a variety of clothing and outer wear for the consumer market as well.

Pharad’s state-of-the-art, thin flexible material called Flextenna® has proven their benefits in the military and first responder area but will have great value in the consumer market like outdoor garments used in remote areas where cellphone reception is limited, allowing the ‘extra mile’ on signal boost.

Besides the wearable antenna module for GSM Quad band cellular phones many other wireless communication frequency range modules are available up to UWB (Ultra Wide Band) the next big thing in portable connectivity.

Even in the city a juiced up reception from a wearable antenna in a shirt, jacket or bag will ensure an always-on digital lifestyle experience in the occasional blind GSM or GPS spot between the skyscrapers.

For the commercialization of the wearable antenna Pharad formed in 2007 the Octane brand under which derivative products can be sold as standard commercial-off-the-shelf products.

Doesn’t mean off-the-shelf for you and me but for clothing and bag brands who can integrate the wearable antenna in their products, giving us the choice to buy and use it.

There is plenty of space on clothing and bags that could be used for additional wireless signal reception and stronger signals means less battery train of our cellphones.

[source: PR-inside]