Recent advances in technology in wireless technology has led to the emergence of portable antennas of different fabrics. It is an unconventional antenna, intended to be a part of the clothing and the body. The radiant element is made of copper or any other conductor, while the substrate used for the portable antenna application is textile or fabric material. This review of the literature tends to reveal the various considerations for the design of the portable antenna of different textile materials and illustrates the effect of the portable antenna on the human body and vice versa. These antennas have wide range of applications in the area of monitoring, navigation, telemedicine, public safety and defense.
The textile antennas are essential components in intelligent fabrics and interactive textile systems that implement sensibility, location and functionality of wireless communication, while integrating discreetly and comfortably within the garments. The implementation of such antennas in textile materials first requires techniques for characterizing dedicated materials together with suitable manufacturing procedures. In addition, to ensure stable characteristics in the vicinity of the human body, a designer must also carefully select the right topology of the antenna. Subsequently, the antenna can be optimized to meet the requirements on hand, including some additional margins to accommodate adverse effects such as bending, changing ambient conditions and body proximity. To make optimum use of the area consumed by the antenna, the active electronic circuits can be integrated directly into the antenna feed plane, while energy harvesters can be placed at the top of the radiation patch. On the other hand, the large area available in garments can be harnessed to deploy multiple antennas, realizing the gain of diversity to combat fading and shading of the body. The methods proposed in this chapter leverage the development of highly efficient and robust body-centered communication systems for health and rescue workers and military personnel.