Design of Pattern-Reconfigurable Wearable Antennas for Body-Centric Communications

This letter presents two designs of pattern-reconfigurable wearable antennas for body-centric wireless communications (BCWC). The reconfigurabilities of these two designs are realized utilizing two totally different mechanisms. In the first design, two subantennas with different radiation patterns are integrated. With a reconfigurable feeding network, the design can switch between the two subantennas. In the second design, the antenna's internal structure can be reconfigured to perform different radiation patterns. Measured results verify that both antenna designs provide reconfigurable omnidirectional and directional radiation patterns.