User‐Interactive and Wireless‐Communicating RF Textiles

This paper presents user‐interactive and wireless‐communicating radio‐frequency (RF) textiles made from glass–metal–polymer composite fibers that interact with the user through touch‐sensing and that relays the touch data through IEEE 802.15.4 and Bluetooth protocols at 2.4 GHz frequency. This work integrates several textile functionalities in fiber‐form including capacitive touch sensing, electrical interconnects, and 2.4 GHz wireless communications using submillimeter glass–metal–polymer composite fibers imbedded into the textile host. Tests conducted with these user‐interactive RF textiles have shown that the emissive performance in terms of radiation pattern, gain, and signal strength adequately address short‐range wireless communications applications in compliance with Bluetooth protocols, and that the user‐interaction is enabled through capacitive finger‐touch sensing with a 1 ms time response. This approach demonstrates that glass‐fiber textiles can be adequately designed for user‐interactive and wireless communications applications addressing 2.4 GHz frequency bands while preserving the mechanical and cosmetic properties of the garments.