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Experimental characterization of the body-coupled communications channel

Schenk, T.C.W. ; Seyed Mazloum, Nafiseh LU ; Tan, L. and Ruttan, P. (2008) IEEE International Symposium on Wireless Communication Systems ISWCS p.234-239
Abstract
Body-coupled communications (BCC), in which the human body is used as a communications channel, has been shown to be a promising solution for wireless body-area networks (WBANs). For successful deployment of these BCC-based WBANs, it is necessary to develop a clear understanding of the channel behavior. Therefore, this paper presents the key characteristics of the capacitively-coupled on-body channel used for BCC. This is based on an experimental study, which was carried out with a specifically designed measurement system. The goal of the study was to reveal the influence of electrode design, electrode position and body motion on the propagation loss and to characterize the experienced interference. It is concluded that the maximum... (More)
Body-coupled communications (BCC), in which the human body is used as a communications channel, has been shown to be a promising solution for wireless body-area networks (WBANs). For successful deployment of these BCC-based WBANs, it is necessary to develop a clear understanding of the channel behavior. Therefore, this paper presents the key characteristics of the capacitively-coupled on-body channel used for BCC. This is based on an experimental study, which was carried out with a specifically designed measurement system. The goal of the study was to reveal the influence of electrode design, electrode position and body motion on the propagation loss and to characterize the experienced interference. It is concluded that the maximum propagation loss for the whole body channel is below 80 dB. Moreover, the frequency dispersion and the influence of body movement on channel attenuation are shown to be much smaller than for radio frequency (RF) WBAN channels. From the results we conclude that BCC can result in a simpler, more robust, and lower-power WBAN than what is achievable with traditional RF solutions. (Less)
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author
; ; and
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
2008 IEEE International Symposium on Wireless Communication Systems
pages
6 pages
publisher
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
conference name
IEEE International Symposium on Wireless Communication Systems ISWCS
conference location
Reykjavík, Iceland
conference dates
2008-10-21 - 2008-10-24
external identifiers
  • scopus:62449278798
ISBN
978-1-4244-2488-7
DOI
10.1109/ISWCS.2008.4726053
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
60966053-e3f5-48c8-bd78-c886ee530b27 (old id 1391604)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 10:34:03
date last changed
2022-04-08 05:48:36
@inproceedings{60966053-e3f5-48c8-bd78-c886ee530b27,
  abstract     = {{Body-coupled communications (BCC), in which the human body is used as a communications channel, has been shown to be a promising solution for wireless body-area networks (WBANs). For successful deployment of these BCC-based WBANs, it is necessary to develop a clear understanding of the channel behavior. Therefore, this paper presents the key characteristics of the capacitively-coupled on-body channel used for BCC. This is based on an experimental study, which was carried out with a specifically designed measurement system. The goal of the study was to reveal the influence of electrode design, electrode position and body motion on the propagation loss and to characterize the experienced interference. It is concluded that the maximum propagation loss for the whole body channel is below 80 dB. Moreover, the frequency dispersion and the influence of body movement on channel attenuation are shown to be much smaller than for radio frequency (RF) WBAN channels. From the results we conclude that BCC can result in a simpler, more robust, and lower-power WBAN than what is achievable with traditional RF solutions.}},
  author       = {{Schenk, T.C.W. and Seyed Mazloum, Nafiseh and Tan, L. and Ruttan, P.}},
  booktitle    = {{2008 IEEE International Symposium on Wireless Communication Systems}},
  isbn         = {{978-1-4244-2488-7}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{234--239}},
  publisher    = {{IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.}},
  title        = {{Experimental characterization of the body-coupled communications channel}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ISWCS.2008.4726053}},
  doi          = {{10.1109/ISWCS.2008.4726053}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}