Experimental determination of path loss and delay dispersion parameters for on-body UWB WBAN channel

UWB (Ultra-Wideband) radio technology is an excellent candidate for WBAN (Wireless Body Area Network) applications due to its inherent features like low level of radiated power, robustness against multipath and compact in size. Mathematical modelling of the channel under consideration and experimental determination of its parameters are prerequisites for the development of a reliable communication system. UWB channel characteristics in WBAN scenarios are significantly different from the typical indoor channels. This paper reports the experimental results for path loss, shadow fading and delay dispersion parameters of on-body UWB WBAN channel. Channel measurements are performed in frequency domain using a VNA (Vector Network Analyzer) in a laboratory environment for the frequency band of 3.1-10.6 GHz. Both LOS (line-of-sight) and NLOS (non-line-of-sight) scenarios of WBAN channel are considered for measurement. The path loss, shadow fading and delay dispersion parameters are statistically analysed and reported in this paper. Variation of the parameters with the size of the body is investigated and reported.