Intelligent clothing for battery-free human health monitoring

Our research has resulted in the development of an innovative intelligent clothing technology that utilizes flexible textile-integrated metamaterials to create secure, seamless, and versatile communication links for multi-node wireless networks. By driving long-distance near-field communication (NFC)-based magneto-inductive waves along and between multiple objects, we have overcome the typical limitations of body area networks, such as short ranges, low power, and the need for direct connection terminals. Our approach enables battery-free communication among NFC-enabled devices that are placed anywhere close to the network, providing a secure and on-demand body area network that exhibits complex architectures and straightforward expansion.

One of the key advantages of our technology is that it utilizes NFC, the only wireless technology that allows power transmission, providing a significant advantage over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. We have designed lightweight, battery-free sensors with small form factors that are integrated into human clothing, resulting in the first intelligent clothes that can monitor a wide range of human activities. Unlike computer vision-based technologies, our solution does respect users' privacy, making it an ideal solution for advanced healthcare monitoring technologies. Overall, our intelligent clothing technology represents a significant step forward in the development of wearable and implantable sensors for healthcare monitoring, offering a secure and versatile communication platform that can be easily integrated into everyday clothing.