Clothing - the best antenna

The human body is a big hindrance in receiving / transmitting a radio signal. If it is unsuccessful to take the phone with your hand, then you can short the circuit of the built-in antenna and greatly degrade the quality of the connection up to the interruption of the connection. The same thing can happen with the phone at the ear - the head in any case interferes with the normal signal transmission. In the latest issue of IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, a scientific article was published by scientists at Ohio State University describing a new radio antenna design that lacks this flaw.

The idea is that numerous antennas are sewn into the fabric of clothing and surround the person on all sides, separated from the body with a good insulator. Built-in controller provides automatic signal processing from all antennas. Thus, a person can no longer close the contour with his palm or body, as is the case with the built-in contours of GSM-devices. Signal quality increases significantly.

The technology has already been tested on a prototype - brass antennas, mounted on pieces of plastic FR-4 , known as a good insulator. Fragments with brass inserts are mounted on the chest, back and both arms, so that the antenna at any time points towards the best signal. Laboratory tests have also shown that such antenna design provides much better signal quality than traditional whip antennas used in the army. Not to mention the fact that stripes on clothes easier to transport.
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Overalls with built-in antennas can be useful for military, police, rescuers and other members of the security services who need guaranteed reliable communications.

For the production of commercial products, scientists have joined forces with the company Applied EM . It is assumed that the first samples of brass-plastic stripes with a controller will go on sale at a price of about $ 200, but with mass production the cost should decrease.

via Ohio State University News Research Archive