Performance evaluation of the IEEE 802.15.4A UWB physical layer for Body Area Networks

The IEEE 802.15.4 standard is gaining momentum in the field of wireless sensor networks. The IEEE 802.15.4A draft specification proposes an impulse radio ultra wide band physical layer. This technology aims at being robust against mul-tipath propagation and multi user interference. In the context of body area networks, the impact of multi user interference must be evaluated precisely. It is modeled here with the pulse collision model adapted to the draft standard. Numerical simulations show remarkable performance for communications between two distant groups of devices. While still acceptable, results were less encouraging when considering a large grid of devices. This suggests a sensitivity to near-far interference.