Understanding Body-centric antennas

As of September 2010 trends suggested that disruptive technologies were likely to include wireless communications devices integrated into clothing. A new set of antennas is required for Body-centric applications. Such antennas will form a key component in Body area networks (BANs) in which transmitters and receivers are co-located on the body, implanted under the skin, directly attached to the skin or integrated into clothing. Notable drivers are multimedia, medical and military applications. These drivers combined with the geo-sensitive facilitators of global positioning system (GPS), Galileo global navigation satellite system (GNSS), cellular, unlicensed 802.11x and short range technologies such as Bluetooth and UWB have made Body-centric antennas fundamental in achieving the desired low power signal budgets required.