In a typical Internet of Things (IoT) deployment such as smart cities and Industry 4.0, the amount of sensory data collected from physical world is significant and wide-ranging. Processing large amount of real-time data from the diverse IoT devices is challenging. For example, in IoT environment, wireless sensor networks (WSN) are typically used for the monitoring and collecting of data in some geographic area. Spatial range queries with location constraints to facilitate data indexing are traditionally employed in such applications, which allows the querying and managing the data based on SQL structure. One particular challenge is to minimize communication cost and storage requirements in multidimensional data indexing approaches. In this paper, we present an energy-and time-efficient multidimensional data indexing scheme, which is designed to answer range query. Specifically, we propose data indexing methods which utilize hierarchical indexing structures, using binary space partitioning (BSP), such as kd-tree, quad-tree, k-means clustering, and Voronoi-based methods to provide

Antennas are a vital component of the wireless body sensor networks devices. A wearable antenna in this system can be used as a communication component or energy harvester. This paper presents a detailed review to recent advances fabrication methods for flexible antennas. Such antennas, for any applications in wireless body sensor networks, have specific considerations such as flexibility, conformability, robustness, and ease of integration, as opposed to conventional antennas. In recent years, intriguing approaches have demonstrated antennas embroidered on fabrics, encapsulated in polymer composites, printed using inkjets on flexible laminates and a 3-D printer and, more interestingly, by injecting liquid metal in microchannels. This article presents an operational perspective of such advanced approaches and beyond, while analyzing the strengths and limitations of each in the microwave as well as millimeter-wave regions. Navigating through recent developments in each area, mechanical and electrical constitutive parameters are reviewed, and finally, some open challenges are presented as well for future research directions.

This paper presents the design, fabrication and performance evaluation of a flexible millimeter-wave (mm-wave) antenna array for the fifth generation (5G) wireless networks operating at Ka-band (26.5-40 GHz). The single element antenna is comprised of a tapered rectangular patch with a coplanarwaveguide (CPW) feed. The ground is designed with L-shaped stubs to converge the dispersed radiation pattern for improving the directivity and gain. The antenna fabrication is accomplished by two highly precise methods of laser-milling and inkjet printing on a flexible liquid crystal polymer (LCP) substrate. Moreover, a novel method of time-efficient sintering is also introduced. The design is further extended in a two-element array for the gain enhancement. Measurements have validated that the antenna array exhibits a bandwidth of 26-40 GHz with a peak gain of 11 dBi at 35 GHz, and consistent high gain profile of above 9 dBi in the complete Ka-band. These potential features recommend the proposed antenna array as an efficient solution for integration in future flexible 5G front-ends and mm-wave wearable devices.

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COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has resulted in a global pandemic recently. With no approved vaccination or treatment, governments around the world have issued guidance to their citizens to remain at home in efforts to control the spread of the disease. The goal of controlling the spread of the virus is to prevent strain on hospitals. In this paper, we focus on how non-invasive methods are being used to detect COVID-19 and assist healthcare workers in caring for COVID-19 patients. Early detection of COVID-19 can allow for early isolation to prevent further spread. This study outlines the advantages and disadvantages and a breakdown of the methods applied in the current state-of-the-art approaches. In addition, the paper highlights some future research directions, which need to be explored further to produce innovative technologies to control this pandemic.

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. (2016) Terahertz channel characterization inside the human skin for nano-scale body-centric networks. IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, 6(3), pp. 427-434. (doi:10.1109/TTHZ.2016.2542213) This is the author's final accepted version.There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it.http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/141057/ Abstract-This paper focuses on the development of novel radio channel model inside the human skin at the terahertz range, which will enable the interaction among potential nano-machines operating in the inter cellular areas of the human skin. Thorough studies are performed on the attenuation of electromagnetic waves inside the human skin, while taking into account the frequency of operation, distance between the nano-machines and number of sweat ducts. A novel channel model is presented for communication of nano-machines inside the human skin and its validation is performed by varying the aforementioned parameters with a reasonable accuracy. The statistics of error prediction between simulated and modeled data are: mean (µ) = 0.6 dB and standard deviation (σ) = 0.4 dB, which indicates the high accuracy of prediction model as compared with measurement data from simulation. In addition, the results of proposed channel model are compared with Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy based measurement of skin sample and the statistics of error prediction in this case are: µ = 2.10 dB and σ = 6.23 dB, which also validates the accuracy of proposed model. Results in this paper highlight the issues and related challenges while characterizing the communication in such a medium, thus paving the way towards novel research activities devoted to the design and the optimization of advanced applications in the health-care domain.