Scalable on-body pathloss models based on surface wave propagation for wireless body area networks

如今，使用无线通信技术进行人体穿戴应用的互通正在迅速增加。这些应用范围从安全技术、多媒体产品和遥测体育应用到医疗保健系统。特别是，这些应用的组合提供了多种可能的实现。随着可穿戴设备的不断小型化，天线和用户之间的交互变得更加严重。加之传统的自由空间天线理论在描述体表面波激励方面的不足，导致目前对此类体心系统的研究还不够深入。因此，这项研究计划的目标是推导出可扩展的、物理激励的无线体域网络路径损耗模型，该模型可用于以后开发优化设计策略。模型应与车身通道的基本几何参数和介电参数紧密相连，使其具有可伸缩性。与申请人先前的研究活动相对应，将使用开发的天线去嵌入方法来分离天线和信道特性。在此基础上，根据地面波传播理论(如陆地和海上无线通信)推导出路径损耗模型。通过数值模拟和实际测量验证了模型的每一步修正效果，并针对不同的在体传播链路计算了物理激励的路径损耗模型。在此，基本的建模过程包括基本的几何特征、频率、体上通道的介电组织值以及天线集成设置本身。通过这些显式参数的变化，该模型可以适应广泛的特定传播场景。

Nowadays the use of wireless communication technologies for the intercommunication of body-worn applications is increasing rapidly. These applications range from security technologies, multimedia products and telemetric sports applications to healthcare systems. Especially the combination of these applications offers a wide variation of possible realizations. In accordance with the ongoing miniaturization of wearable devices the interaction between the antenna and the user becomes more severe. Along with the lack of the traditional free-space antenna theory in describing the excitation of on-body surface waves, this leads to insufficient insight in the development of such body centric systems so far. Therefore, the aim of this research proposal is a derivation of scalable, physically motivated pathloss models for wireless body area networks that can later be used to develop optimized design strategies. The models shall be closely connected to basic geometric and dielectric parameters of the on-body channel, making it scalable. Corresponding to the preceding research activities of the applicant a developed antenna de-embedding approach will be used to separate antenna and channel characteristic. Based on this, the pathloss models will be derived by the adaption of the ground wave propagation theory (e.g. from terrestrial and naval wireless communications). Here, each modification step towards a more realistic model is verified by numerical simulations and practical measurements.Finally, the physically motivated pathloss models are calculated for different on-body propagation links. Here, the underlying modeling process contains the basic geometric features, the frequency, the dielectric tissue values of the on-body channel and the antenna integration setup itself. By variation of these explicit parameters the model can be adapted to a wide class of specific propagation scenarios.