Waterproof fabric antenna

A small device such as a tag on jeans that supports search and rescue at sea. This project is supervised by the European Space Agency (ESA).

Patria and Tampere University of Technology in Finland have teamed up to create a very flexible fabric antenna that can be sewn into a life jacket. Once activated, this antenna transmits its coordinates to the satellites flying around the Earth and then quickly moves to the rescue personnel.

This new device (pictured) uses the Cospas-Sarsat global search engine and rescue satellite system. This is the international system used in the Cold War, it constantly listens to radio stations, warnings from ships, planes or users. When it receives the signal, it will move to a ground transfer station, followed by the control and rescue center. When tested on this type of waterproof fabric antennas, the detector is located in just a few minutes.

Cospas-Sarsat had to use a large-sized antenna to transmit low-frequency signals, while the new device was small, lightweight, impermeable.

In addition to the development of equipment attached to life jackets, the ESA project is also working on the type of apparel attached to fishermen through the European marine safety project. It will cause the engine to stop when the fishermen fall into the sea and burst out when exposed to water.