Textile-based capacitive sensor for a wireless wearable

breath monitoring system

Abstract:
A capacitive sensor is demonstrated as the key component of a wearable
breath monitoring system. Its capacitance varies proportional to the pressure acting
on it with high linearity and wide working range. All of the components of the
sensor, including conductors, insulator, and conductive wires, are textile materials
and are thus as soft as ordinary clothes; therefore, the sensor is also washable and
durable. By installing one sensor on the chest and another on the lower abdomen,
thoracic and abdominal breathing can be detected independently with little
crosstalk . Driven by a low-power NE556 oscillator, the capacitances of both
sensors can be detected digitally and then transmitted by a Bluetooth low energy
wireless communication module to a Smartphone. Thus, a wearable breath
monitoring system is implemented to provide continuous and real time breath
signal monitoring without mobility constraints.

Block Diagram:

Monitoring Section:

Breath
Sensor

PIC
Microcontroller

Bluetooth
Module

Smartphone Side

Smart
Phone

Module Description:

Microcontroller:

High-Performance RISC CPU:

Only 35 single-word instructions to learn
All single-cycle instructions except for program branches, which are
two-cycle
Up to 8K x 14 words of Flash Program Memory, Up to 368 x 8 bytes
of Data Memory (RAM), Up to 256 x 8 bytes of EEPROM Data
Memory

 Pin out compatible to other 28-pin or 40/44-pin PIC16CXXX and

PIC16FXXX microcontrollers.
Peripheral Features:
Timer0: 8-bit timer/counter with 8-bit pre-scalar
Timer1: 16-bit timer/counter with pre-scalar, can be incremented
during Sleep via external crystal/clock.
Timer2: 8-bit timer/counter with 8-bit period register, pre-scalar and
post-scalar
Two Capture, Compare, PWM modules
- Capture is 16-bit, max. resolution is 12.5 ns
- Compare is 16-bit, max. resolution is 200 ns
- PWM max. resolution is 10-bit
Synchronous Serial Port (SSP) with SPI (Master mode) and I2C
(Master/Slave)
Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver
Transmitter (USART/SCI) with 9-bit address detection
Parallel Slave Port (PSP) 8 bits wide with
external RD, WR and CS controls (40/44-pin only)
Brown-out detection circuitry for Brown-out Reset (BOR)
Analog Features:
10-bit, up to 8-channel Analog-to-Digital Converter (A/D)
Brown-out Reset (BOR)

 Analog Comparator module with:

- Two analog comparators
- Programmable on-chip voltage reference (VREF) module
- Comparator outputs are externally accessible

Special Microcontroller Features:

100,000 erase/write cycle Enhanced Flash program memory typical
1,000,000 erase/write cycle Data EEPROM memory typical
Data EEPROM Retention > 40 years
Self-reprogrammable under software control
In-Circuit Serial Programming (ICSP) via two pins

Serial Bluetooth Module 5V

This module enables you to wireless transmit & receive serial data. It is a drop in
replacement for wired serial connections allowing transparent two way data
communication. You can simply use it for serial port replacement to establish
connection between MCU or embedded project and PC for data transfer.

Features
5V power operation
UART interface
10 meters range
Easy to use
Minimum External Components
Status LEDs
Applications
Wireless Telemetry
Remote Data Logging
Robotics
Sensor Networks
Remote Programming

BREATH SENSOR

The human body can be modeled as parallel connected variable capacitor and
resistors, which are changed mainly by breathing. Here we present a textile-based
breath-sensing system by charging this human capacitor. The system comprises
only two electrodes, one current limiting resistor, a microcontroller, and a
Bluetooth module. It has very large measuring range to cover almost every
condition in daily life, such as sitting, walking, and lying. It is simple, comfortable,
and easy to use.

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
This contain mainly four part

1. Power supply
2. Pic basic connection
3. Sensor connection
4. Bluetooth module connection

1.power supply
A dc power adapter is used to generate 12v dc source. This converted
into 5v using 7805 regulator ic.C1 and C2 capacitors removes the
spikes signals and C3 filter the dc voltage. A resistor and led helps for
power indication.

2. Pic basic circuitry

The 5 v generated by the regulator given to pin 32 and 11 .Capacitor

helps to remove the noise signals. Pin 31 and 12 is connected to
ground. The crystal oscillator generates the clock frequency. Pin 1 is
connected to the switch for reset the pic micro controller.

3. Sensor connector

The sensor1 and sensor2 is connected to pin 2and pin3. Vcc and
ground used to power the sensor modules. The pin2 and pin3 is adc
channel of pic thus pic sense the analog values from the sensor.

4. Bluetooth module connector

It needs 5v to function. From the power supply it takes 5 volts. The tx

and rx pin of the module connected to corresponding pins of the pic
micro controller.

LIST OF COMPONENTS

 Power supply

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Dc jack connector
Push to on switch
In4001 diode
.1uf capacitor (2 nos)
100 uf
Lm7805
220 ohm resistor
Led

Pic basic circuit

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Pic micro controller

.1 uf capacitor (2 nos)
Reset switch
10k resistor
16 Mhz crystal
22pf capacitor(2 nos)

Capacitive sensor module

Bluetooth module