Wearable microstrip antenna

Microstrip antennas are being used as a representative antenna for mobile and satellite communication. The microstrip antennas have features such as planarity and a relatively high gain (about 7 dBi). It is typical to fabricate them by using hard substrates. However, these substrates are limited in shape and mounting placement for fixing such an antenna to clothing or hats. Therefore, we created a flexible and light-weight antenna. The antenna we built is composed of a flexible woven conductive fabric and felt. Because of the construction, it can be easily sewn into clothing or hats. It can be applied as a GPS antenna for monitoring the position of wandering aged, or as a terminal antenna for personal satellite communications. In this paper, the structure of the antenna is described, and its characteristics are evaluated.