Conformal digital dismount antenna

A method of communicating with a communication device, the method comprising:

• providing a flexible antenna disposed on an entity, the flexible antenna configured to conform to a contour of the entity, the flexible antenna comprising:
• a compressible foam material providing a buffer between the flexible antenna and the entity;
• an electronics layer disposed on the compressible foam layer;
• a spacer disposed over the electronic layer, the spacer configured to control radiation characteristics of the flexible antenna;
• and
• a flexible protective encasing disposed on the compressible foam layer and over the electronic layer and the spacer;
• converting a transmission analog signal to a transmission optical signal via a radio transceiver;
• propagating the transmission optical signal to the flexible antenna through a flexible fiber optic cable;
• converting the transmission optical signal to a transmission radio frequency (RF) signal at the flexible antenna;
• transmitting the transmission RF signal via the flexible antenna;
• converting the received RF signal to a received optical signal at the flexible antenna;
• propagating the received optical signal to the radio transceiver through the flexible fiber optic cable;
• and
• converting the received optical signal to a received analog signal at the radio transceiver.

A wearable communication system comprising:

• a radio transceiver comprising a microphone at a first position to obtain first audio signal data representative of a first vocal communication associated with speech by a first user and a speaker at a second position to obtain second audio signal data representative of a second vocal communication associated with speech by a second user;
• a signal converter configured to convert a transmitted analog signal to a transmitted optical signal and to convert a received optical signal to a received analog signal;
• a flexible fiber optic cable configured to propagate the transmitted and received optical signals, wherein the flexible fiber optic cable is coupled to the radio transceiver;
• an optical transducer configured to convert the transmitted optical signal of the radio transceiver to a transmitted radio frequency (RF) signal and to convert a received RF signal to the received optical signal;
• and
• a flexible antenna disposed on an entity and being configured to conform to a contour of the entity, the flexible antenna being configured to transmit and receive the transmitted and received RF signals, the flexible antenna comprising:
• a compressible foam material providing a buffer between the flexible antenna and the entity;
• an electronics layer disposed on the compressible foam layer;
• a spacer disposed over the electronic layer, the spacer configured to control radiation characteristics of the flexible antenna;
• and
• a flexible protective encasing disposed on the compressible foam layer and over the electronic layer and the spacer.