body area networks

Francesco Gabriele

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Electrical and Computer Engineering

SPARK: Social and Personal Adaptive Response Kit

Igniting Child Development with AI and Sensor Technology

BioContact Assurance System

Reliable electrode-skin contact is fundamental for accurate biomedical signal acquisition in applications such as ECG, EEG, and EMG monitoring. Traditional lead-off detection methods face challenges from motion artifacts, environmental noise, and fluctuating skin-electrode impedance. The BioContact Assurance System (BCAS) leverages common-ground human body communication (CG-HBC), utilizing the human body itself as a signal transmission medium. BCAS enables real-time electrode contact monitoring and verification, paving the way for improved performance in wearable healthcare devices and broader
Wearable health monitoring system with edge analytics for real-time diagnostics, emergency alerts, and secure cloud reporting.

On-Body HBC Networking

To advance innovations in next-generation Internet of Bodies (IoB) networks, there is a growing need for miniature, ultra-low-power devices capable of continuous and reliable operation. This need has led to a surge of interest in Human Body Communication (HBC), where nodes exchange messages directly through the human body as a secure and energy-efficient medium. With evidence showing that HBC can achieve up to 100× lower power consumption compared to conventional RF technologies, our research focuses on developing novel communication and networking techniques that facilitate connectivity over

AgriLink: Internet of Plants for Smart Agriculture

Dense vegetation severely attenuates 2.4–5 GHz RF links (additional foliage loss of order 1–3 dB/m, and often >30 dB across canopies), forcing higher transmit power or more relays in plant/greenhouse settings. In contrast, Plant-Body Communication (PBC) utilizes signals within the stem, where ionic pathways and distributed capacitances form a guided, low-radiation medium, thereby reducing path loss and environmental variability. We target two practical outcomes: 1. quantify and model the intra-plant channel across coupling modes (galvanic vs. capacitive), species (herbaceous Dieffenbachia vs
Close-up view of a microfabricated sensor chip used in advanced biomedical and communication systems.

Ultra-Low-Power HBC Transceiver ICs

The CCSL advances next-generation Human Body Communication (HBC) through innovative ASIC implementations that enable ultra-low power, secure, and efficient data transmission using the human body as a communication medium. Our research focuses on silicon-proven solutions that bridge the gap between theoretical HBC concepts and practical wearable/implantable applications. We develop mixed-signal transceivers that support multiple communication modes, adaptive signal processing, and AI-enhanced performance optimization. The lab's ASIC implementations demonstrate >100x energy efficiency

BioLink: Internet of Body via HBC for Healthcare

Human Body Communication (HBC) is a body-centric data transmission technology that uses the human body as the communication medium for secure and reliable exchange between wearable devices, smart sensors, and medical implants. By providing a low-power alternative to conventional RF-based communication, HBC supports continuous data transmission while reducing energy demand and extending battery life. Its ability to enable scalable multi-node connectivity makes it particularly suitable for long-term health monitoring, wearable sensing platforms, and next-generation connected healthcare systems

Rajat Kumar

Rajat Kumar is a member of the Communication and Computing Systems Lab (CCSL), where his work focuses on human body communication and wearable systems.

Raphaela Kethlim Souza Silva

Raphaela Silva is currently a Master student at the Sensors Lab, in the Electrical Engineering Department, CEMSE, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Education and Early Career Raphaela Silva received her bachelor degree from the department of Electrical Engineering in Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil in 2018. In the following year she joined King Abdullah University of Science and Technology to work under the supervision of Professor Khaled Salama. Previously, in 2018, Raphaela worked during 6 months as a visiting student at KAUST, under the

Qi Huang

Education and early career: Qi (Dave) Huang received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Southwest Petroleum University of China. He is now a master student in Communication and Computing Systems Lab, CEMSE, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Before joining KUAST, he was a visiting student of Communication and Computing Systems Lab from June 2021 to August 2021. Research interests: Circuit and system design of body area network, body channel characterization Awards and Distinctions Undergraduate national scholarship of China; Excellent graduate of Sichuan Province; Second

David Lago Cachón

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (former), Communication and Computing Systems Lab
Biography David Lago Cachón received his B.Sc. in Physics, specialization in Electronic, Automatism and Signal Processing in 2008 and his M.Sc. in Science and Technology of Materials in 2010, both from University of Oviedo. He obtained his PhD in Applied Physics in 2016, with qualification Excellent cum laude and proposed to Extraordinary doctorate award. At the same time, he has been highly implicated in Science Communication, given talks in schools, pubs and even a TEDx. Also, he has been interviewed and consulted by local and regional media. With some friends he created an astronomy club

Abdelhay Ali

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Electrical and Computer Engineering