Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
While there exists a wide variety of radio frequency (RF) technologies amenable for usage in Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs), which have been studied separately before, it is currently still unclear how their performance compares in true on-body scenarios. In this paper, a single reference on-body scenario—that is, propagation along the arm—is used to experimentally compare six distinct RF technologies (between 420 MHz and 2.4 GHz) in terms of path loss. To further quantify on-body path loss, measurements for five different on-body scenarios are presented as well. To compensate for the effect of often large path losses, two mitigation strategies to (dynamically) improve on-body links are introduced and experimentally verified: beam steering using a phased array, and usage of on-body RF repeaters. The results of this study can serve as a tool for WBAN designers to aid in the selection of the right RF frequency and technology for their application.
Highlights
Interest in Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) has grown in the last decade because of their potential applications in several wearable applications, predominantly in health applications [1,2]
Up to now there is little guidance on how to make those decisions and selections. To address this need this study presents the following novelties: first, we compare, for the first time, a diverse set of on-body RF technologies in a fixed on-body scenario; second, to our knowledge, we are the first paper to compare on-body path loss at 915 MHz in five different on-body scenarios. These results are important because it is expected that UHF RFID at this frequency will gain importance in the future [19]; third, we present a novel capacitive Body coupled communication (BCC) technique; and fourth, we demonstrate a new phased array for on-body beam steering
We attribute the lower path loss exponent and loss per distance in the parallel configuration to the higher baseline loss experienced in this scenario, which increases the relative importance of specular and diffuse components coming from indoor reflections [26], whose magnitude is independent of separation distance
Summary
Interest in Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) has grown in the last decade because of their potential applications in several wearable applications, predominantly in health applications [1,2]. WBANs are faced with several challenges, including variable coverage due to dynamic aspects of the channels during movement [5], limited energy availability in wearable nodes [6], bandwidth requirements imposed by the applications [7], and desired flexibility in WBAN architecture [8]. These challenges are quite prominent in the physical layer. Propagation in WBANs is dependent on the environment, as in conventional wireless networks, and on static and dynamic interactions with the body. Evidence of this is provided by several studies focussing on the (dynamic) on-body and off-body propagation of radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves [7,9,10,11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
