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University Beams up Star Trek Technology |
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By Business
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Thursday, 08 October 2009 |
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Finnish company Patria Aviation, along with researchers at Oulu University's Centre for Wireless Communications, have developed 'smart clothes' not unlike those worn by the characters in Star Trek.
The voyagers on the Enterprise could tap devices on their chests in order to communicate with each other. Patria's technology will now allow people to exactly this with wireless technology embedded into clothes which works via satellite.
What looks like a simple patch of cloth is actually capable of working in the 'Iridium GPS band.' The Iridium satellites to which it connects permit two-way voice and data communication while the GPS technology provides positional data to the user. The satellites will also tell other people where the person wearing the smart clothing is positioned.
The antenna's geometry allows it to bend in a direction that optimises performance. According to the European Space Agency, who funded the projected, 'the radiating patch antenna is shielded against environmental conditions by a protective layer. The selected geometry meets the stringent requirements imposed by Iridium and GPS, maintaining 'circular polarization' of its radio signal over the full bandwidth even when bent, which is commonly recognized to be difficult to achieve with soft, wearable antennas' said the spokesman, interviewed in Network World.
'The final hurdle will be manufacturing. The main concern is how to make the antenna robust enough against manufacturing tolerances,' researchers said.
According to the ESA, the technology will be extremely useful in many professions such is in the military and the fire brigade. It would mean that missing soldiers could be easily located, work out eaxtly where they were and always be in easy communication with their platoon.
The project has been running for eighteen months so far and researchers hope to be certain which material is the most suitable for antenna by the end of October.
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