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E-mail: n_haga@graduate.chiba-u.jp
Abstract
In recent years, a study on body-centric wireless communications has become an active
and attractive area of research because of their various applications such as e-healthcare,
support systems for specialized occupations, personal communications, and so on.
Whereas UHF bands are subjects of interest especially in Europe and USA, relatively low
frequency bands below several megahertz are of great interest especially in Japan.
Hence, all of the prospective frequencies are in an extremely wide range, and an objective
idea on how to select a right frequency band for individual applications is required.
Currently in our laboratory, we have been studying on frequency dependence of basic
characteristics of wearable antennas as well as body-centric wireless communication
channels in the range of HF to UHF (3 MHz 3 GHz). There are experimental,
analytical, and numerical ways to clarify the basic characteristics of the antennas and
communication channels. In experiments, we have to ensure impedance matching at
certain frequency points because of sensitivity limitations; therefore, it is hard to obtain
such broadband characteristics. Theoretical analysis is useful to understand physical
mechanism; however, complex geometry and motion of the human body cannot be
modeled. By contrast to them, numerical simulation can solve complex problems with
relative ease. For example, Hall et al. have shown that the dynamics of the human body
can be modeled by dividing the motion into several frames, and the simulated results
agree with the measured results. Also in our study, observations of channel
characteristics are conducted by employing numerical simulations.
In this paper, firstly, electric field distributions around the human body wearing a small
top-loaded monopole antenna are numerically calculated and compared in a wide range
of HF to UHF bands. Then, received open voltages at receiving antennas which are
equipped at several different points on the human body are numerically investigated. The
received open voltages are also numerically calculated and compared with several
different postures of the human body. Statistic characterization and experimental
validation will be necessary in further studies.
Introduction
In recent years, body-centric wireless communications have become an active area of
research because of their various applications such as e-healthcare, support systems for
specialized occupations, and personal communications [1][7]. Whereas UHF bands are
subjects of interest especially in Europe, relatively low frequency bands below several
megahertz are of great interest especially in Japan [4], [5]. Hence, all of the prospective
frequencies are in an extremely wide range, and an objective idea on how to select
frequency for individual applications is required. There are experimental, analytical, and
129
r ( ) = +
+
1 + j j 0
(1)
130
12
Top view
RX
12
RX
Side view
TX
Feed point
RX
4
z
Human body
Unit: [mm]
RX
Standing
Walking
Hand-raising
131
z [m]
0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
0.5
0
x [m]
(a) At 3 MHz
0.5 0.5
0
0.5 0.5
0
0
0.5 0.5
x [m]
x [m]
x [m]
(c) At 300 MHz
(d) At 3 GHz
(b) At 30 MHz
0.5
80 60 40 20
0
Magnitude of electric field [dB]
Fig. 3 Electric field distributions around the standing model in free space.
Fig. 4 (a)(e) plots the frequency dependence of the received open voltages at various
receiving antennas. In each figure, results with the standing, walking, and hand-raising
models are compared. For the symmetrical structure of the standing model, only the
results at left side of the body are indicated. Regarding the other two postures, the results
at right and left side of the body are indicated as Walking (R) and Walking (L). According to these results, the received levels at the chests are the most stable at any posture
and frequency. The level at the back is the worst in these figures, and there are many
ripples above 100 MHz. By contrast, in the other three graphs (Fig. 4 (c)(e)), several
non-periodic patterns are found. The received levels at the ankles are relatively stable, but
several nodes are generated at around 100 MHz. In addition, when the model is walking,
one more dip is generated at around 2.5 GHz. According to Fig. 4 (d), the received levels
at the wrists significantly vary with the posture movement especially around several
hundreds of megahertz. Lastly the levels at the ears are relatively stable; however, one
dip is found at 300 MHz when the model is raising the hand.
Received open voltage [dB]
80
100
Hand-raising (L)
Hand-raising (R)
120
140
10
40
40
Standing
Walking (L)
Walking (R)
60
30
100
300
Frequency [MHz]
(a) At chest
1000
80
100
120
140
10
100
30
300
Frequency [MHz]
(c) At ankle
100
120
10
40
Standing
Walking (L)
Walking (R)
Hand-raising (L)
Hand-raising (R)
60
80
140
3000
Standing
Walking (L)
Hand-raising (L)
60
40
1000
3000
132
30
300
100
Frequency [MHz]
(b) At back
1000
3000
1000
3000
Standing
Walking (L)
Walking (R)
Hand-raising (L)
Hand-raising (R)
60
80
100
120
140
10
30
100
300
Frequency [MHz]
(d) At wrist
40
Standing
Walking (L)
Walking (R)
Hand-raising (L)
Hand-raising (R)
60
80
100
120
140
10
30
100
300
Frequency [MHz]
(e) At ear
1000
3000
Conclusion
In the present paper, to bring objective and unified idea on the frequency characteristics
of body-centric wireless communication channels, electromagnetic fields around a body
wearing a small top-loaded monopole antenna and received open voltages at several
equipped receiving antennas were numerically calculated in a wide range of HF to UHF
bands. Regarding power transmission efficiency, it was suggested that the use of lower
frequency would be more efficient at the HF band. Regarding the received open voltage,
several non-periodic patterns are found at the levels at ankles, wrists, and ears. In
addition, fluctuations of the received open voltage are significant especially for the
receiver at the wrist and especially in a frequency range around several hundreds of
megahertz.
References
[1] P. S. Hall, and Y. Hao, Antennas and Propagation for Body-Centric Wireless
Communications. Norwood, MA: Artech House, 2006.
[2] IET Seminars on Antennas and Propagation for Body-Centric Wireless
Communications, London, Apr. 2007 and 2009.
[3] Special Issue on Antennas and Propagation for Body-Centric Wireless
Communications, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., Apr. 2009.
[4] K. Fujii, M. Takahashi, and K. Ito, Electric field distributions of wearable devices
using the human body as a transmission channel, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag.,
vol. 55, no. 7, pp. 20802087, Jul. 2007.
[5] Available: http://www.redtacton.com/
[6] P. S. Hall, Diversity in on-body communications channels, in Proc. International
Workshop on Antenna Technology 2008, pp. 59, Chiba, Mar. 2008.
[7] N. Haga and K. Ito, Frequency dependence of on-body channels with top-loaded
monopole antennas in the range of HF to UHF, in Proc. Asia-Pacific Microwave
Conference 2009, pp.22082211, Singapore, Dec. 2009.
[8] Available: http://www.e-frontier.com/
[9] S. Gabriel, R. W. Lau, and C. Gabriel. The dielectric properties of biological tissues:
II. Measurements in the frequency range 10 Hz to 20 GHz, Phys. Med. Biol., vol.
41, pp. 22512269, 1996.
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