Propagation studies of UWB transmission on human arm

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology can provide very high data throughput over short distances using very low power-tens of folds lower than the best narrowband solution today. Research has proven that the UWB can be applied to realize a wireless body area network (WBANs). The combined effects of multipath and diffraction phenomena have degraded the propagation characteristics of conventional radio. In comparison, the UWB technology exhibits much superior performance indoors. As such, it will be interesting to consider the effects of the human body on the radio channel propagation in BANs. In this paper, the transmission analysis and channel modeling are conducted experimentally by placing two discone antennas operating in the UWB bandwidth of 3.0-10.6 GHz on the human arm at different separations, orientations, and positions.