Bio-inspired reconfigurable antenna arrays may be one possible answer to the challenges of energy efficiency, capability, and stability in ultra-low-power Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). In this paper, a bio-inspired reconfigurable architecture for antenna arrays is proposed, which can adaptively change radiation patterns and impedance properties to varying body-centric propagation environments. It is designed to work with wearable and implantable biomedical communications and, in the sub-GHz and ISM frequency bands, will support both applications. Extensive electromagnetic modeling and on-body experimental data are run across multiple user postures and mobility conditions. The findings indicate that the said antenna has shown a radiation efficiency of up to 18% and a link stability of up to 1.5 dB of gain variation, compared with conventional fixed-antenna designs under dynamic body conditions. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) analysis shows it has decreased by about 22% and remains well below international safety limits. The adaptive reconfiguration scheme enhances communication reliability in non-line-of-sight and body-shadowed environments, improving the packet-delivery ratio by up to 25% at a complementary power penalty of less than 3%, allowing sustained ultra-low-power operation. The statistical results of the repeated-measures analysis of the mobility trials confirm that low-variance gain behavior (standard deviation < 1.2 dB) is the strength of the proposed bio-inspired control strategy. The proposed system-level solution achieves up to 20% improvement in energy efficiency, relative to packet-delivery success, compared with the current WBAN antenna solution in the presence of mobility-induced fading. These findings indicate that bio-inspired reconfigurable antenna arrays are scalable and robust for the next generation of WBANs, enabling reliable health monitoring, long-term implantable communications, and continuous wearable sensing in highly dynamic body-based contexts.
Enahoro S, Ekpo SC, Al-Yasir Y, Uko M. Leveraging Reconfigurable Massive MIMO Antenna Arrays for Enhanced Wireless Connectivity in Biomedical IoT Applications. Sensors. 2025;25(18):5709.
2.
Mahmood SN, Ishak AJ, Saeidi T, Soh AC, Jalal A, Imran MA, et al. Full Ground Ultra-Wideband Wearable Textile Antenna for Breast Cancer and Wireless Body Area Network Applications. Micromachines. 2021;12(3):322.
3.
Mirotznik M, Larimore Z, Parsons P, Good A. Additively Manufactured RF Devices and Systems. 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation & USNC/URSI National Radio Science Meeting. IEEE; 2018. p. 1883–4.
4.
Yu B, Wang HQ, Ju L, Hou KX, Xiao ZD, Zhan JL, et al. A bio-inspired microwave wireless system for constituting passive and maintenance-free IoT networks. National Science Review. 2024;12(2).
5.
Sharma D, Kumar S, Tiwari RN, Choi HC, Kim KW. On body and off body communication using a compact wideband and high gain wearable textile antenna. Scientific Reports. 2024;14(1).
6.
Li N, Yuan X, Li Y, Zhang G, Yang Q, Zhou Y, et al. Bioinspired Liquid Metal Based Soft Humanoid Robots. Advanced Materials. 2024;36(35).
7.
Mehmood F, Mehmood A. Recent Advancements in Millimeter-Wave Antennas and Arrays: From Compact Wearable Designs to Beam-Steering Technologies. Electronics. 2025;14(13):2705.
8.
Othman WM, Ateya AA, Nasr ME, Muthanna A, ElAffendi M, Koucheryavy A, et al. Key Enabling Technologies for 6G: The Role of UAVs, Terahertz Communication, and Intelligent Reconfigurable Surfaces in Shaping the Future of Wireless Networks. Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks. 2025;14(2):30.
9.
S AK, Feroz R N, S V, S V, Pranav Varshan RS, K K, et al. Wearable Antennas - A Mini Review. 2025 3rd International Conference on Advancements in Electrical, Electronics, Communication, Computing and Automation (ICAECA). IEEE; 2025. p. 1–6.
10.
Haque T, Elkotby H, Cabrol P, Zhang Y, Pragada R, Castor D. A 256-QAM Backscatter Transponder Architecture using Delta-Sigma Load Modulation for 6G Ultra-Low-Power IoT Devices. 2021 IEEE 93rd Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC2021-Spring). IEEE; 2021.
11.
Arnaoutoglou DG, Empliouk TM, Kaifas TNF, Zekios CL, Kyriacou GA. Perspectives and Research Challenges in Wireless Communications Hardware for the Future Internet and Its Applications Services. Future Internet. 2025;17(6):249.
12.
Yuan L, Chen H, Dai M. Energy-autonomous communication framework for implantable devices using WPT in medical IoT systems. AIP Advances. 2025;15(12).
13.
Fu X, Xu H, Fan J, Zou Y, Han W, Wang L. The role of bio-inspired micro-/nano-structures in flexible tactile sensors. Journal of Materials Chemistry C. 2024;12(19):6770–84.
14.
Sung CH (Joseph), Hao T, Fang H, Nguyen AT, Perricone V, Yu H, et al. Biological and Biologically Inspired Functional Nanostructures: Insights into Structural, Optical, Thermal, and Sensing Applications. Advanced Materials. 2025;37(51).
15.
Cao Y, Peng L, Dai Q, Li Y. Bioinspired organic artificial sensory systems. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. 2025;58(48):483001.
16.
Zhang B, Jiang Y, Chen B, Li H, Mao Y. Recent Progress of Bioinspired Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Electronic Skins and Human–Machine Interaction. Nanoenergy Advances. 2024;4(1):45–69.
17.
Pawar AN, Deosarkar SB. A comprehensive review of different antennas for IoT applications. Wireless Networks. 2024;31(2):1449–61.
18.
Saeed N, Loukil MH, Sarieddeen H, Al-Naffouri TY, Alouini MS. Body-Centric Terahertz Networks: Prospects and Challenges. IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-Scale Communications. 2022;8(3):138–57.
19.
Mucchi L, Shahabuddin S, Albreem MAM, Abdallah S, Caputo S, Panayirci E, et al. Signal Processing Techniques for 6G. Journal of Signal Processing Systems. 2023;95(4):435–57.
20.
Kiourti A, Abbosh AM, Athanasiou M, Bjorninen T, Eid A, Furse C, et al. Next-Generation Healthcare: Enabling Technologies for Emerging Bioelectromagnetics Applications. IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation. 2022;3:363–90.
The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
,
