Wearable Antenna Integrated into Military Berets for Indoor/Outdoor Positioning System

A wearable antenna integrated into a military beret for an indoor/outdoor positioning system is proposed. The antenna consists of a truncated patch and a circular ring patch with four conductive threads. The truncated patch antenna is designed for the Global Positioning System (GPS) L1 band for use in outdoor situations, and the circular ring patch antenna with four conductive threads operates at the TM₄₁ higher-order resonance mode (915 MHz) with a monopole-like radiation characteristic for indoor positioning systems. The antenna is fabricated using textile materials and is integrated into a military beret. The effects of the antenna deformation due to the shape of the military beret and the effects of the human head are analyzed via both simulation and measurement. The simulated and measured 10-dB return-loss bandwidths of the antenna on the head phantom fully cover the 915-MHz industrial, science, and medical band and the 1.575-GHz GPS L1 band.