A Comparative Study of On-Body Radio-Frequency Links in the 420 MHz–2.4 GHz Range
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-bo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-11-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/12/4165 |
| _version_ | 1798039437034127360 |
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| author | Arno Thielens Robin Benarrouch Stijn Wielandt Matthew G. Anderson Ali Moin Andreia Cathelin Jan M. Rabaey |
| author_facet | Arno Thielens Robin Benarrouch Stijn Wielandt Matthew G. Anderson Ali Moin Andreia Cathelin Jan M. Rabaey |
| author_sort | Arno Thielens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:53:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3971067e6f094888827d90169bcd6f51 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:53:52Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-3971067e6f094888827d90169bcd6f512022-12-22T04:01:10ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202018-11-011812416510.3390/s18124165s18124165A Comparative Study of On-Body Radio-Frequency Links in the 420 MHz–2.4 GHz RangeArno Thielens0Robin Benarrouch1Stijn Wielandt2Matthew G. Anderson3Ali Moin4Andreia Cathelin5Jan M. Rabaey6Berkeley Wireless Research Center, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USABerkeley Wireless Research Center, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USABerkeley Wireless Research Center, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USABerkeley Wireless Research Center, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USABerkeley Wireless Research Center, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USASTMicroelectronics, Technology and Design Platforms, 38920 Crolles, FranceBerkeley Wireless Research Center, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USAWhile 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.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/12/4165body area networkson-body communicationbody-coupled communicationUHF RFIDBluetoothRF beam steeringRF repeaterspath loss measurements |
| spellingShingle | Arno Thielens Robin Benarrouch Stijn Wielandt Matthew G. Anderson Ali Moin Andreia Cathelin Jan M. Rabaey A Comparative Study of On-Body Radio-Frequency Links in the 420 MHz–2.4 GHz Range Sensors body area networks on-body communication body-coupled communication UHF RFID Bluetooth RF beam steering RF repeaters path loss measurements |
| title | A Comparative Study of On-Body Radio-Frequency Links in the 420 MHz–2.4 GHz Range |
| title_full | A Comparative Study of On-Body Radio-Frequency Links in the 420 MHz–2.4 GHz Range |
| title_fullStr | A Comparative Study of On-Body Radio-Frequency Links in the 420 MHz–2.4 GHz Range |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Comparative Study of On-Body Radio-Frequency Links in the 420 MHz–2.4 GHz Range |
| title_short | A Comparative Study of On-Body Radio-Frequency Links in the 420 MHz–2.4 GHz Range |
| title_sort | comparative study of on body radio frequency links in the 420 mhz 2 4 ghz range |
| topic | body area networks on-body communication body-coupled communication UHF RFID Bluetooth RF beam steering RF repeaters path loss measurements |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/12/4165 |
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