Open Waveguide Bidirectional Antenna for Efficient Launching of Creeping Waves for On-body Communication and Sensor Network Applications

In this paper we propose a compact wearable textile bidirectional antenna especially suitable for efficiently launching creeping waves around the human body at 5.8 GHz ISM band (5.725 – 5.875 GHz). The same antenna design can be easily adapted for safety helmet applications for off-body and on-body applications. Antenna is theoretically characterized both in free-space and placed on a cylindrical human phantom.