Book chapter on Wearable Sensors

It has been recognised that body-centric communications (BCC) will play a significant role in 4G and subsequent technologies. BCC is an area of much interest globally, with applications in military, security, space, health care, sports and entertainment already identified. From a technical perspective, many of the problems encountered in BCC systems are relatively independent of the specific application, with some minor distinctions. In particular, space and military applications have particular requirements on robustness and extreme operating conditions that are somewhat more relaxed in other areas. The fundamental design issues are examined in this chapter from the perspective of three main areas: antennas, wireless communication protocols and sensing technologies. Examples from health care and sports applications are used to demonstrate key concepts and challenges. Current and future trends are discussed, with an emphasis on the recently released IEEE 802.15.6 wireless communications standard.