In this paper, a comprehensive review of the wireless body area network is provided. A review of theWBAN architectures, standard network topologies, andWBAN communication protocols is discussed in detail. Also, the security requirements ofWBAN, security threats and types of attacks, and authentications used in WBAN are discussed. The paper also includes very detailed coverage of antenna types, antenna designs, and flexible antennas used in WBAN with some design considerations and comparisons. Some new energy harvesting technologies, materials used for energy harvesting, and energy management are also discussed. Energy harvesting and power management is an ever-growing area of research. Despite the fact that there are many nanogenerator-based energy harvesting methods, the demand for more efficient energy harvesting mechanisms is ever-increasing. The paper has an extensive discussion of energy harvesting and power management methods. Subsequently, some reviews of recent developments in wearable sensors and novel materials for developing wearable sensors are discussed. Finally, the application areas of WBAN are discussed.

Ability to recognize human activities will enhance the capabilities of a robot that interacts with humans. However automatic detection of human activities could be challenging due to the individual nature of the activities. In this paper, we present human activity detection model that uses only 3-D skeleton features generated from an RGB-D sensor (Microsoft Kinect TM). To infer the human activities, we implemented Gaussian Mixture Modal (GMM) based Hidden Markov Model(HMM). GM outputs of the HMM were effectively able to capture multimodel nature of 3D positions of each skeleton joint. We test our model in a publicly available data-set that consists of twelve different daily activities performed by four different people.The proposed model recorded recognition recall accuracy of 84% with previously seen people and 78% with previously unseen people.

Recent advancements in exoskeleton technology, both passive and active, are driven by the need to enhance human capabilities across various industries as well as the need to provide increased safety for the human worker. This review paper examines the sensors, actuators, mechanisms, design, and applications of passive and active exoskeletons, providing an in-depth analysis of various exoskeleton technologies. The main scope of this paper is to examine the recent developments in the exoskeleton developments and their applications in different fields and identify research opportunities in this field. The paper examines the exoskeletons used in various industries as well as research-level prototypes of both active and passive types. Further, it examines the commonly used sensors and actuators with their advantages and disadvantages applicable to different types of exoskeletons. Communication protocols used in different exoskeletons are also discussed with the challenges faced.

Recent developments in networked and smart sensors have significantly changed the way Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and asset management are being carried out. Since the sensor networks continuously provide real-time data from the structure being monitored, they constitute a more realistic image of the actual status of the structure where the maintenance or repair work can be scheduled based on real requirements. This review is aimed at providing a wealth of knowledge from the working principles of sensors commonly used in SHM, to artificial-intelligence-based digital twin systems used in SHM and proposes a new asset management framework. The way this paper is structured suits researchers and practicing experts both in the fields of sensors as well as in asset management equally.

Electromyography (EMG) has emerged as a vital tool in the development of wearable robotic exoskeletons, enabling intuitive and responsive control by capturing neuromuscular signals. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of the EMG signal processing pipeline tailored to exoskeleton applications, spanning signal acquisition, noise mitigation, data preprocessing, feature extraction, and control strategies. Various EMG acquisition methods, including surface, intramuscular, and high-density surface EMG, are evaluated for their applicability in real-time control. The review addresses prevalent signal quality challenges, such as motion artifacts, power-line interference, and crosstalk. It also highlights both traditional filtering techniques and advanced methods, such as wavelet transforms, empirical mode decomposition, and adaptive filtering. Feature extraction techniques are explored to support pattern recognition and motion classification. Machine learning approaches are examined for their roles in pattern recognition-based and hybrid control architectures. This article emphasizes muscle synergy analysis and adaptive control algorithms to enhance personalization and fatigue compensation, followed by the benefits of multimodal sensing and edge computing in addressing the limitations of EMG-only systems. By focusing on EMG-driven strategies through signal processing, machine learning, and sensor fusion innovations, this review bridges gaps in human–machine interaction, offering insights into improving the precision, adaptability, and robustness of next generation exoskeletons.