• Journal of Convergence Society for SMB
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.27-32
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• 2013

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) have been made possible by the emergence of small and lightweight wireless systems such as Bluetooth, enabled devices and PDAs. Antennas are an essential part of any WBAN system and due to various technical requirements and physical constraints, careful consideration of their design and deployment is needed. This paper is proposing on the design of wearable antenna as parts of clothing to serve communications functions, such as tracking and navigation in health care applications. The substrates of the wearable antennas will be made from textile materials and since it is wearable, it should have a small size, be light weight, low maintenance, and unobtrusive. This proposed paper will also investigate the influence of different parameters for wearable antenna including types of textile/substrate to ensure that the antenna design satisfies WBAN requirements. The characteristics and behavior of the antenna need to adhere to specifications set by wireless standards and system technology requirements. This means that the transmitting and receiving frequency bands of the various units need to be chosen accordingly. Since there are restrictions on the level of power to which the human body can be exposed to, the antenna as well as other RF system components must be designed to meet these restrictions. Antenna gain, which directly affects power transmitted, is a critical parameter in ensuring power levels fall within the safety guidelines and so will be of primary importance in the design. The electromagnetic interaction between WBAN antennas and devices and the human body will also be explored.