Wireless communication through a flexible antenna

With the introduction of intelligent textile systems, the functionality of personal protective clothing is further enhanced. High tech fabrics protect the wearer from harsh environmental conditions, while monitoring systems provide information about his physical state during operation. Thus, a wireless communication device between the wearable system and an external base station is required. In order to allow maximum integration of this antenna into a garment, flexible textile antennas have been introduced. In this work, a protective foam-based antenna for integration into a firefighter jacket is developed