Abstract

Advancements in wireless body area networks (WBANs) involve the integration of circuitry into softgood products that provide a low profile and desirable tactical hand for consumers/users. One way in which to integrate technology into soft goods is through embroidery, more specifically conductive machine embroidery. This paper provides foundational details on how substrates (i.e., soft-good textiles) are formed, outlines key details to assist in the reporting of all technical considerations of conductive machine embroidery, and provides recommendations from observations of a conducted study to streamline the machine embroidery manufacturing process for future researchers to replicate, verify, and build upon disseminated works.

Keywords: Conductive embroidery; E-textiles; WBANs; Smart garments; Textile antennas