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- Wearable Sensors for Foetal Movement Monitoring in Low Risk PregnanciesPublication . Borges, Luís M.; Araújo, Pedro; Lebres, António S.; Rente, Andreia; Salvado, Rita; Velez, Fernando J.; Martinez-de-Oliveira, J.; Barroca, Norberto; Ferro, João MiguelIn low risk pregnancies, the continuous monitoring of the foetal health is based on traditional protocols for counting the foetal movements felt by the mother. Although the maternal perception is a relevant characteristic for the evaluation of the foetal health, this kind of monitoring is hard to accomplish and being subjective can induce into errors due to mother’s anxiety and lack of concentration. Furthermore, the majority of foetal fatalities occur during the last weeks of low risk pregnancies. Therefore, it is important to obtain a universal electronic obstetric tracing, allowing for the identification of sudden changes in the foetus health, by continuously monitoring the foetus movements. The Smart-Clothing project aim has been the development of easy-to-wear belts with a telemedicine system for this purpose. One of the tried solutions is the Flex sensor belt system, which guarantees real-time and continuous foetal monitoring while creating effective interfaces for querying sensor data and store all the medical record (which can later be accessed by health professionals). Another developed belt has piezoelectric sensors incorporated onto it. The piezoelectric sensor belt has shown a high capacity to detect foetal movements, isolating them from external interferences.
- Spectrum opportunities for electromagnetic energy harvesting from 350 MHz to 3 GHzPublication . Tavares, Jorge Miguel da Silva; Barroca, Norberto; Saraiva, Henrique M.; Borges, Luís M.; Velez, Fernando J.; Loss, Caroline; Salvado, Rita; Pinho, Pedro; Gonçalves, Ricardo; Carvalho, Nuno BorgesThis paper presents spectrum opportunities for radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting identified through power density measurements from 350 MHz to 3 GHz. The field trials have been performed in two different cities (Covilha and Lisbon), by using the NARDA-SMR spectrum analyser with measuring antenna, and the Signal Hound spectrum analysers, respectively. The scope of our research considers RF energy harvesting devices, enabling to convert RF energy to direct current (DC), providing an alternative source to power supply wireless sensor network (WSN) devices. Printed antennas, able to operate at GSM (900/1800) bands, are proposed with gains of the order of 1.8-2.06 dBi and efficiency 77.6-84%. Guidelines for the choice of textile materials for a wearable antenna are also provided.
- Experimental Characterization of Wearable Antennas and Circuits for RF Energy Harvesting in WBANsPublication . Saraiva, Henrique Morais; Borges, Luís M.; Pinho, Pedro; Gonçalves, Ricardo; Chavez-Santiago, Raul; Barroca, Norberto; Tavares, Jorge; Gouveia, Paulo T.; Carvalho, Nuno Borges; Balasingham, Ilangko; Velez, Fernando J.; Loss, Caroline; Salvado, RitaField trials have been performed in Covilhã to identify the spectrum opportunities for radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting through power density measurements from 350 MHz to 3 GHz. Based on the identification of the most promising opportunities, a dual-band printed antenna was conceived, operating at GSM bands (900/1800), with gains of 1.8 and 2.06 dBi, and efficiency varying from 77.6 to 82%, for the highest and lowest operating frequency bands, respectively. In this paper, guidelines for the design of RF energy harvesting circuits and choice of textile materials for a wearable antenna are briefly discussed. Besides, we address the development and experimental characterization of three different prototypes of a five-stage Dickson voltage multiplier (with and without impedance matching circuit) responsible for RF energy harvesting. All the three prototypes (1, 2 and 3) can power supply the sensor node for RF received powers of 2 dBm, -3 dBm and -4 dBm, and conversion efficiencies of 6, 18 and 20%, respectively.
- Developing Sustainable Communication Interfaces Through Fashion DesignPublication . Loss, Caroline; Salvado, Rita; Lopes, Catarina; Pinho, Pedro; Gonçalves, Ricardo; Velez, Fernando J.; Saraiva, Henrique Morais; Tavares, Jorge; Barroca, Norberto; Borges, Luís M.The recent technological developments made electronic devices become imperative and indispensable, being present in our daily routines, all over the world. But, the continuous exposition of people to the electromagnetic radiation might cause illness. Electrosmog is the invisible electromagnetic radiation that results from the usage of electric equipment and wireless technologies. Some studies present electro sensibility as a contemporary illness affecting more and more people. This paper analyses some of the challenges this reality puts to the fashion design and how textile materials may be used to protect the human body against the harmful radiation and to develop smart cloths incorporating textile antennas able to capture these radiations and feed low-frequency devices. Thus, one considers the notion of “Transparent Sustainability” and the search for the smart energy explorations of/or in the human body. This way, the association of fashion design and technology can transform the garment in a sustainable communication interface.
- Design and evaluation of multi-band RF energy harvesting circuits and antennas for WSNsPublication . Borges, Luís M.; Barroca, Norberto; Saraiva, Henrique M.; Tavares, Jorge; Gouveia, Paulo T.; Velez, Fernando J.; Loss, Caroline; Salvado, Rita; Pinho, Pedro; Gonçalves, Ricardo; Carvalho, Nuno Borges; Chavez-Santiago, Raul; Balasingham, IlangkoRadio frequency (RF) energy harvesting is an emerging technology that will enable to drive the next generation of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) without the need of using batteries. In this paper, we present RF energy harvesting circuits specifically developed for GSM bands (900/1800) and a wearable dual-band antenna suitable for possible implementation within clothes for body worn applications. Besides, we address the development and experimental characterization of three different prototypes of a five-stage Dickson voltage multiplier (with match impedance circuit) responsible for harvesting the RF energy. Different printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication techniques to produce the prototypes result in different values of conversion efficiency. Therefore, we conclude that if the PCB fabrication is achieved by means of a rigorous control in the photo-positive method and chemical bath procedure applied to the PCB it allows for attaining better values for the conversion efficiency. All three prototypes (1, 2 and 3) can power supply the IRIS sensor node for RF received powers of -4 dBm, -6 dBm and -5 dBm, and conversion efficiencies of 20, 32 and 26%, respectively.
- Antennas and circuits for ambient RF energy harvesting in wireless body area networksPublication . Barroca, Norberto; Saraiva, Henrique M.; Gouveia, Paulo T.; Tavares, Jorge; Borges, Luís M.; Velez, Fernando J.; Loss, Caroline; Salvado, Rita; Pinho, Pedro; Gonçalves, Ricardo; Carvalho, Nuno Borges; Chavez-Santiago, Raul; Balasingham, IlangkoIn this paper, we identify the spectrum opportunities for radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting through power density measurements from 350 MHz to 3 GHz. The field trials have been performed in Covilhâ by using the NAKDA-SMR spectrum analyser with a measuring antenna. Based on the identification of the most promising opportunities, a dual-band band printed antenna operating at GSM bands (900/1800) is proposed, with gains of the order 1.8-2.06 dBi and efficiency 77.6-84%. Guidelines for the design of RF energy harvesting circuits and choice of textile materials for a wearable antenna are also discussed. Besides, we address the guidelines for designing circuits to harvest energy in a scenario where a wireless body area network (WBAN) is being sustained by a TX91501 Powercasf® RF dedicated transmitter and a five-stage Dickson voltage multiplier responsible for harvesting the RF energy. The IRIS motes, considered for our WBAN scenario, can perpetually operate if the RF received power attains at least -10 dBm.