A QoS Bandwidth Allocation Method for Coexistence of Wireless Body Area Networks

Wireless body area network (WBAN) is an emerging technology which stands to a base for various implantable and wearable sensors. This paper presents an integrated resource (bandwidth) allocation method to share the limited bandwidth among multiple WBANs. On the basis of the coexistent WBAN model, the traffic source of each WBAN is parameterized using the twin token bucket model. We design a scheduling algorithm called Superframe Overlapping Scheduling (SOS) based on beacon shifting and active superframe interleaving techniques defined in the IEEE 802.15.6 standard. The required service rate and maximum packet inter-arrival time for each WBAN are parameterized and derived from the token bucket model. The SOS employs the traffic information to improve bandwidth utilization and guarantee the QoS and the hard deadlines of individual WBANs.