ABSTRACT
The design of wearable antennas should take into account the effects of the human body, either by simulations or by measurements. The antennas must be small, low-weight and flexible to allow convenient movement. They must meet the safety standards of non-ionized radiation and be user-friendly. Many cases and examples are described in the literature.
This chapter brings readers to the actual world of small wearable antenna design and applications. The small antennas under consideration were operated in the vicinity of a human body (hand, head, chest etc.) at different frequencies, licensed and unlicensed, from VHF to S band.
This chapter describes effects of the human body in several aspects: detuning of the working frequency, additional loss by the live tissue, effects on radiation patterns and on the gain, and possible polarization rotation. We emphasize actual realization through detailed examples with measured performances and essential “tips” from an experimentalist point of view.
The five design cases presented here range from wearable antennas with minimal interaction with the body (mounted on the head or on the chest with a metallic ground plane) to wrist-type antennas that are indeed influenced by the hand.
Antenna on helmet with high front to back ratio.
Wearable antenna for high power cellular jammer.
Radio-frequency identification UHF reader antenna in the pocket.
Small helical antenna for a personal location beacon.
VHF antenna for personal communications.
