Ultra wideband radio propagation around a human body in various surrounding environments

Wireless body area networks (WBAN) have been discussed for medical and non-medical applications. Ultra wideband (UWB) technologies have been anticipated for use in WBAN because of their possible low power consumption and anti-multipath capabilities. Numerous literature has presented UWB propagation characterization and modeling around a human body in either a radio anechoic chamber or a particular room. However, no dependence on propagation environment volume has so far been reported. Multipaths (mainly reflected from the floor, walls, and ceiling) highly depend on the room size. This paper presents a UWB (3.1-10.6 GHz) radio propagation campaign in WBAN scenarios between on-body small antennas in three surrounding environments: a 3-m radio anechoic chamber, a classroom, and a small room.