Wearable Wireless Propagation and Radiation Control With Metamaterial Textiles

Radio-frequency technologies are crucial for wirelessly connected wearable devices, but their performance is hindered by obstruction of wireless signal propagation by the human body. In this talk, we describe clothing integrated with spoof plasmonic metamaterial structures capable of overcoming this obstruction by inducing wireless signals emitted by nearby antennas to propagate around the body as surface waves and radiate into the surrounding space in all directions. We outline the principles and design of these metamaterial structures, which are fabricated entirely from conductive textiles, including spoof surface plasmon waveguides, radiation elements, and impedance matching sections. As an illustrative example, we demonstrate a design operating in the 2.4-2.5 GHz ISM band capable of redirecting radiation from a wearable antenna around the body into otherwise obstructed directions.