Characterisation of ultra wideband wearable antennas and body-centric wireless-networks in indoor environment

The effect of human body and indoor environment in the ultra wideband (UWB) radio propagation channel is presented. Measurements were performed in the frequency domain, and the effect of two different antenna types on the radio channel is analyzed. Statistical path loss parameters and time domain channel characteristics [pulse fidelity] are extracted from measurement data. The analysis of the pulse fidelity shows good performance of both antennas proposed in preserving the shape of the received pulse. This demonstrates suitability of these two antennas for body-centric wireless networks when deployed in indoor applications, with the tapered slot antenna (TSA) gaining advantage on the planar inverted cone antenna (PICA) from spectral performance and significant size reduction that makes it an attractive and convenient option for the targeted system.