A robust near-field body area network based on coaxially-shielded textile metamaterial
Xia Zhu, Ke Wu, Xiaohang Xie, Stephan W. Anderson, Xin Zhang
Abstract
A body area network involving wearable sensors distributed around the human body can continuously monitor physiological signals, finding applications in personal healthcare and athletic evaluation. Existing solutions for near-field body area networks, while facilitating reliable and secure interconnection among battery-free sensors, face challenges including limited spectral stability against external interference. Here we demonstrate a textile metamaterial featuring a coaxially-shielded internal structure designed to mitigate interference from extraneous loadings. The metamaterial can be patterned onto clothing to form a scalable, customizable network, enabling communication between near-field reading devices and battery-free sensing nodes placed within the network. Proof of concept demonstration shows the metamaterial’s robustness against mechanical deformation and exposure to lossy, conductive saline solutions, underscoring its potential applications in wet environments, particularly in athletic activities involving water or significant perspiration, offering insights for the future development of radio frequency components for a robust body area network at a system level. Near-field body area wearable sensing networks are limited in application due to the low spectral stability against external interference. Here, the authors demonstrate a robust metamaterial-enabled near-field body area network that maintains spectral stability even under lossy and conductive loadings.