The era of smart clothes has arrived

It’s been the subject of science fiction for decades: a technologically advanced future in which flying cars roam the skies, cyborgs reign supreme on land, and… 5G antennas lace the inside of our jean jackets?

As strange as this latter phantasm might sound, it turns out that it isn’t fantasy in the slightest. Scientists have recently published an article in which they outline that yes, indeed, it’s more than feasible to embed advanced 5G antennas into the clothing we wear on a daily basis.

The era of smart clothes has arrived

Scientists have figured out how to embed 5G antennas into clothing fabric

In a recent Scientific Reports paper published by Nature (via Digital Trends), a group of researchers outline the successful integration of a high gain dual-band multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna into the pocket of a denim jacket.

While there have been previous instances of embedding radio antennas within articles of clothing, this MIMO-based proposal is particularly impressive. At just 0.94 x 0.93-inches (24 x 24 mm) in size, it’s able to connect to both dual-band Sub-6 5G at 3.5GHz, and Wi-Fi at 5.2GHz frequencies. For reference, previous proof of concepts of this nature lacked MIMO or dual-band functionalities.

Denim was the fabric of choice for antenna fabrication in the paper, but the researchers suggest that other commonly used clothing textiles — including cotton, felt, or silk — are all potentially viable. The antennas are flexible in both a horizontal and vertical orientation without a discernible impact on performance, which is promising.

Additionally, the radio antenna’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) has been taken into consideration — SAR is a measurement of the amount of energy absorbed by the human body. Despite being fitted in a jean jacket pocket near the human heart region, the antenna’s SAR value falls within the acceptable range of absorption as outlined by governing bodies.

Unfortunately, the article doesn’t provide insights as to how an embedded antenna would actually maintain a steady stream of power. As intriguing as the idea of smart clothing is, the necessity of providing an electrical current in a non-obstructive manner remains a technological hurdle.

Could this be 5G’s big moment in the spotlight?

Despite massive hype campaigns, 5G cellular connectivity hasn’t revolutionized the consumer electronics industry

When the first 5G-enabled smartphones hit the scene in early 2019, manufacturers and telecom providers massively hyped up what was described as a generational leap in cellular technology.

As a replacement for the previous 4G LTE standard, 5G promises lower latency, higher multi-Gbps bandwidth speeds, more reliable connection stability, more efficient wireless spectrum usage, among other upgrades.

Despite massive marketing campaigns and public awareness efforts, the overall consumer response to fifth-generation cellular tech has been rather ho-hum at best. There’s been widespread confusion over the differences between Sub-6 and millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G frequencies, concerns over the battery-hungry nature of the tech, and a general sense that 5G isn’t a major step up over existing 4G LTE connectivity.

A proliferation of pie-in-the-sky conspiracy theories, sensational social media posts, and geopolitical tensions between the West and China regarding 5G infrastructure hasn’t helped matters much, either.

While the inclusion of 5G connectivity isn’t a particularly big selling point when it comes to modern consumer electronics, the ability to embed a 5G-capable radio antenna into clothing might be an early glimpse at a future killer app for the technology.

“Wearable textile antennas are attracting many researchers due to their popularity in numerous areas, such as healthcare, military, sports, space, etc.,” Sharma, D., Tiwari, R.N., Singh, D.K. et al. write.

Of course, for smart clothes to hit critical mass, they’ll need to sort out the difficulties of maintaining a viable power supply. Antennas embedded within articles of clothing remain a research concept, and it’ll likely be years before anything of the sort hits the mainstream consumer market.

We’re heading rapidly towards a world of always-connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and wearable tech has grown immensely in popularity in recent years. Presumed applications for smart clothing include detection of pulse and other vitals, the reduced need for dedicated devices like smartwatches, and potentially much more.

The theoretical use cases within the fields of healthcare, national security, and aeronautics particularly interest me. It’s exciting to witness some genuinely novel developments within the world of 5G technology, if only in experimental form at this point in time.