Wireless power transfer using electronic textiles: A comparative review

Wireless power transfer (WPT) has already been established as a popular technology in multiple areas such as electric vehicle charging, smartphone charging, or powering bio-medical implants. In recent years, wireless power transfer in electronic textiles (e-textiles) or smart textiles has seen rapid growth with the advancement of textile materials and flexible electronic components. Although many reviews and surveys on WPT can be found in the literature for other popular fields, this is not the case for the application of WPT in e-textiles. To address this issue, a comparative review of previous literature on WPT in e-textiles is presented in this paper. The textile-based WPT systems have been categorized according to their transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) properties, Tx and Rx fabrication technique, applied substrate, operating frequency, power level, and achieved efficiency. The tabular analysis of different parameters acts as a platform for researchers, manufacturers, and industry personnel to acquire information and data for evaluating different textile-based WPT systems. The opportunities and challenges of WPT applications in e-textiles have also been discussed in detail to give an overview of the prospects of this field.