Frequency Scanning Leaky-Wave Antenna for On-Body Radar: Design and Conformal Analysis

Wearable on-body millimeter-wave (mmWave) radars can help visually impaired people navigate their surroundings by creating live 3D map and offer safety and motion guidance. Antenna, being a critical component of radar system, must be specifically designed to function while bent on user's body. This contribution details the design of a meandering microstrip leaky wave antenna (LWA) and analyzes its performance when placed on different body parts. The frequency scanning LWA, operates in unlicensed V-band (57–71 GHz). Analyzing return loss, beam steering range, and radiation pattern of the designed LWA positioned on human body at different locations (i.e., wrist, knee, chest) shows that bending has low impact on antenna performance. Simulations indicate that when the LWA is bent to be placed conformally on wrist (corresponding to 40 mm radius) it remains well-matched throughout the operating band but radiation pattern is deformed and gain reduces by 1.75 dB. Beam-steering range of antenna is modified from -25
^○
to 19
^○
(planar condition) to -29
^○
to 11
^○
(bent condition).