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Reinforcement fabrics with electronic transmission capabilities Gwynedd Thomas, Auburn Polymer and...
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Transcript of Reinforcement fabrics with electronic transmission capabilities Gwynedd Thomas, Auburn Polymer and...
Reinforcement fabrics with electronic transmission capabilities
Gwynedd Thomas, Auburn Polymer and Fiber Engineering
Sabit Adanur, Auburn Polymer and Fiber Engineering
Lloyd Riggs, Auburn Electrical and Computer Engineering
David Elton, Auburn Civil Engineering
Houmin Li, Graduate Student, Auburn Polymer and Fiber Engineering
National Textile Center
F05-AE13
The Concept
• A national communications infrastructure can be built into the roads solves connection problems
• Localized antennas would be a part of the road structure and supplemented by cell towers will allow better coverage and robustness
• Automobiles could identify their locations as well as communicate with other vehicles
A network can be created by burying antennas underneath the roads
Problems with present technology
• Cell phones drop calls• Cell towers are vulnerable
to weather and deliberate attack
• Current GPS applications are mainly for navigation and do not account for other users Cell towers have fragile
equipment that can be easily damaged
Fiber-Based Road Antenna Materials
• Geosynthetic materials are a norm for use in road construction
• We are integrating antenna structures into the geosynthetics to transmit and receive from the road itself
• Antennas can be constructed using roadbed material as a basic component
• Performance characteristics are similar to those of conventional antennas
Road construction using geosynthetics
Copper Tape
Copper TapeRoadbed material
2.8 GHz fabric patch antenna Patch antenna structure
Power Loss from Asphalt Interference
Field test, 3/4/06 -
Successful
transmission from
underneath an
asphalt slab
with minimal
power loss
Field test configurations for asphalt power loss test
Transmission Power Loss Test 2
Buried antenna test configuration at NCAT
• Replication test on 4/20/06 verified earlier testing by successful transmission with minimal power loss
• Results of both experiments show antennas are capable of transmitting through asphalt
Fabric Antenna Transmission Test Results
Antenna performance characteristics weresimilar to those of conventional antennas
VSWR* Radiation pattern*Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
Implications of the Research
• Antennas placed periodically along the road will ensure uninterrupted cell phone coverage
• Cars equipped with antennas and integrated hardware and software can become users on the network– Communication from car to car, avoiding collisions and obtaining
best traffic information– Police can track a stolen vehicle in seconds– Street lights become smarter with more information
Antennas placed periodically under the road create a network of uninterrupted coverage along its entire length