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