Physical layer performance analysis of a wireless data transmission approach for automotive lithium-ion batteries

State-of-the-art management systems of automotive batteries employ wired and standard bus system, e.g. CAN bus, for the in-battery communication. This leads to the installation of a very large wiring harness, which increases the costs and manufacturing complexity. In previous work, we have already introduced a wireless approach, presenting some results of the wireless communications channel inside a battery emulator. This paper continues our investigation, offering several new contributions. First, we study the channel variation with the system architecture, i.e. the distribution and amount of antennas. Then, we characterize these channels and propose a simple communication system according to the requirements of our project and the communication channels. Finally, we analyse the performance of this system in terms of bit error rate and necessary transmission power. The results prove the feasibility of this wireless approach and point out the characteristics and advantages of the different antenna types and frequency ranges under investigation.