Associate Professor Dr Mohamad Kamal A. Rahim with the fabric-based antenna that took his research team 10 years to develop. Bernama pic
A UNIVERSITY has come up with a prototype of a fabric-based antenna that could be worn as part of clothing. The ultra-wide band (UWB) wearable textile antenna, developed by a team from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), uses materials such as conductive fabric and silver-plated thread.
The 4cm to 5cm antenna can be pinned onto one's jacket, hat or any part of a garment to enable a third party to monitor the wearer's location for up to 200m.
UTM research head Associate Professor Dr Mohamad Kamal A. Rahim, 48, said it took him and his team 10 years to come up with the prototype. The team included Mohd Azfar Abdullah, 25, who is pursuing a Master's degree in Engineering, and doctorate student Mai Abdel Rahman, 33.
"More research needs to be done before the invention can hit the market as the prototype's signal is lost when it is submerged in water," Kamal said at the Advanced Microwave and Antenna Laboratory in UTM here yesterday.
"We need to work on that because the wearer may want the antenna to be embedded Into the garment, so it has to be able to withstand a thorough wash."
He said the invention could benefit the military or mining industry.
"Imagine the site of a plane crash and the victims are flung out of the plane. Rescue workers would be able to find those wearing life jackets or clothes with antennas sooner.
"The antenna can also be sewn into a child's clothes, so a mother can detect her child's whereabouts and need not worry about the child getting lost," he said.
"The antenna uses the technology of merging UWB with textiles, making it suitable for the device to be integrated into clothing."
Kamal said the textile antenna could have a motif embedded with silver-plated thread on a piece of denim or flannel, or using just copper tape on copper fabric or any type of conductive fabric.
The invention won a bronze medal at the Industrial Art Technology and Exhibition 2010 in UTM, gold at the International Exposition of Research and Invention of Institutions of Higher Learning 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, and silver at the Seoul International Invention Fair 2011
source: http://www.nst.com.my/local/general/utm-...na-1.34107
Mr.PiNGU: this is the product from my research group. Very proud to be one of the team members..
The 4cm to 5cm antenna can be pinned onto one's jacket, hat or any part of a garment to enable a third party to monitor the wearer's location for up to 200m.
UTM research head Associate Professor Dr Mohamad Kamal A. Rahim, 48, said it took him and his team 10 years to come up with the prototype. The team included Mohd Azfar Abdullah, 25, who is pursuing a Master's degree in Engineering, and doctorate student Mai Abdel Rahman, 33.
"More research needs to be done before the invention can hit the market as the prototype's signal is lost when it is submerged in water," Kamal said at the Advanced Microwave and Antenna Laboratory in UTM here yesterday.
"We need to work on that because the wearer may want the antenna to be embedded Into the garment, so it has to be able to withstand a thorough wash."
He said the invention could benefit the military or mining industry.
"Imagine the site of a plane crash and the victims are flung out of the plane. Rescue workers would be able to find those wearing life jackets or clothes with antennas sooner.
"The antenna can also be sewn into a child's clothes, so a mother can detect her child's whereabouts and need not worry about the child getting lost," he said.
"The antenna uses the technology of merging UWB with textiles, making it suitable for the device to be integrated into clothing."
Kamal said the textile antenna could have a motif embedded with silver-plated thread on a piece of denim or flannel, or using just copper tape on copper fabric or any type of conductive fabric.
The invention won a bronze medal at the Industrial Art Technology and Exhibition 2010 in UTM, gold at the International Exposition of Research and Invention of Institutions of Higher Learning 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, and silver at the Seoul International Invention Fair 2011
source: http://www.nst.com.my/local/general/utm-...na-1.34107
Mr.PiNGU: this is the product from my research group. Very proud to be one of the team members..
