A ball-grid-array-like electronics-to-textile pocket connector for wearable electronics

In this paper we introduce and characterize a new type of connector between smart textile and electronic devices. The connector is based on a ball grid array structure which is pressed against conductive textile pads in a stretchable pocket. The connector keeps textile and electronics fabrication separate. It offers 56 connections on an area of 60 × 100mm2, which is about the size of a smart phone. The resistance of the connection is 1.4Ω at DC, mostly constant up to 10 kHz and below 3Ω up to 100 kHz. This resistance is low compared to measured sensor resistances for resistive pressure sensing or bio-impedance sensing.

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