An Investigation on Dynamic Human Body Communication Channel Characteristics at 45 MHz in Different Surrounding Environments

Abstract

This letter investigated characteristics of human body as a communication channel at 45 MHz, in different surrounding environments, taking into account parameter changes arising from body activities. A large amount of measurement data has been collected in five real environments for random body motions: in a conference hall, laboratory, grove, playground, and an anechoic chamber. The received power for nine human body communication (HBC) channels was acquired, with more than 2 700 000 data snapshots in total. Environmentally independent analysis of the mean and standard deviations of the received power was performed. The results of applying the Nakagami function were satisfying for the conference hall; the results of applying Lognormal function showed that it was a suitable model for the rest of the investigated environments. Lognormal and Weibull functions served well for level crossing rate (LCR) and average fade duration (AFD) in all environments. In our research, we observed lower values of LCR and AFD in HBC, compared to their usual values for ISM-band communication.