Fully Flexible Textile Antenna-Backed Sensor Node for Body-Worn UWB Localization

Area of Science:

• Wearable technology
• Antenna design
• Localization systems

Background:

• Accurate personal localization is crucial for various applications.
• Existing systems often lack mechanical flexibility and integration.
• Wearable antennas require optimization to mitigate body effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and manufacture a mechanically flexible textile antenna-backed sensor node for accurate personal localization.
• To integrate Decawave's DW1000 Impulse Radio Ultra-Wideband (IR-UWB) Integrated Circuit (IC) into a wearable system.
• To validate the performance of the flexible sensor system in a complete localization setup.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a flexible polyimide foil with components mounted on a wearable cavity-backed slot antenna.
• Designing the antenna for IR-UWB localization in IEEE 802.15.4-2011 Channels 2 and 3 (3744 MHz-4742.4 MHz).
• Optimizing the antenna's radiation pattern and measuring its time-domain characteristics for localization accuracy.

Main Results:

• A mechanically supple sensor system was realized by combining the antenna and a bendable Printed Circuit Board (PCB).
• System validation showed that six nodes deployed around the body provide comprehensive coverage.
• The system demonstrated an autonomy of 13.3 hours on a 5 V 200 mAh battery without sleep mode.

Conclusions:

• The developed system serves as a proof of concept for integrating localization electronics and sensors with a full-textile antenna.
• The mechanically flexible sensor system offers accurate personal localization capabilities.
• Further development can enhance autonomy through sleep mode functionalities.