Patent 11245784 was granted and assigned to Vorbeck Materials on February, 2022 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A communications node includes an apparel item in the form of a harness that includes a primary portion. A halo element extends from the primary portion and is configured to be worn about the neck. A fastener that demountably couples the primary portion to the halo element. An antenna element positioned within the apparel item. An A/V hub is affixed to the halo portion and configured to receive audio/video input. A communications device and battery are positioned within the apparel item. A control circuit is positioned within the apparel item and communicatively coupled to the antenna element, the A/V hub, the communications device, and the battery. The A/V hub includes a microphone. The control circuit is configured to establish a self-organizing wide area network with a plurality of computing devices that connect directly, dynamically, and non-hierarchically to the WAN.