The concept of a body network is an intriguing one. Autonomous sensors communicate wirelessly with each other and a central controller, collecting and relaying data on a variety of health and fitness metrics, watching for markers that might indicate injury or disease, and even administering treatments automatically as needed. Meanwhile, the data is transmitted to the cloud by the controller, where it is used to track, analyze, and diagnose the health of the individual and the population as a whole. But one key problem is that the sensors need a source of power, and having to change or recharge the batteries for dozens (or hundreds) of tiny devices is not a practical solution.
AITEX is a textile research association in Spain, and researchers there may have an answer. They have woven tiny antennas into cloth that are capable of extracting small amounts of electricity from the invisible radio waves that constantly flow around us. These can generate enough power to drive tiny sensors and let them communicate their data.
According to an article in Electronic Product Design & Test, AITEX has conducted experiments using RFID chips from Farsens and low-power sensors that can store and relay the recorded biometric data.
