Evaluating a TDMA MAC for body area networks using a space-time dependent channel model

Abstract

Wireless communications for body area network (BAN) applications require an adaptable, dynamic and flexible medium access control (MAC) to cope with a variety of application requirements. The proposed MAC adjusts its communication protocols and the parameters of the IEEE 802.15.4 superframe. It is based on to achieve low power consumption and low latency which are among the key requirements in BAN applications. In this paper, accordingly with measurements made in an anechoic chamber, we first define a BAN channel model useable in network simulations embedding a spatial and temporal dependency using ray tracing techniques. It is applied to the body postures and movements of a walking person. As body posture highly affects the performance of the MAC protocol, we second evaluate the effects of the varying body shadowing in the walking scenario on our MAC protocol performances.