Low Power Listening in BAN: Experimental Characterisation

Introduction

The increasing use of wireless networks and the constant miniaturisation of electrical devices have empowered the development of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) (Latr´e, 2011). WBANs are composed of wearable and implantable sensors and/or actuators, capable of communicating among them and with external devices through radio interfaces, to monitor physiological signals collected from a human body. A WBAN can be defined as a collection of low-power, miniaturized, invasive or noninvasive, lightweight devices with wireless communication capabilities that operate in the proximity of a human body (Ullah, 2012).

On one hand, WBANs enable new applications and thus new possible markets with respect to Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs); on the other hand, the design is affected by several constraints that call for new paradigms and protocols. With respect to WSNs, the presence of the human body affects the radio wave propagation, leading to a specific and peculiar radio channel, which has to be properly accounted for in the design of the protocols (Boulis, 2012). The diversity of envisioned applications, which span from the medical field (vital signs monitoring, automatic drug delivery) to the entertainment, gaming and ambient intelligence sectors, creates a set of technical requirements with a wide variation in terms of expected performance metrics (e.g., throughput or delay). Therefore, scalable and flexible architectures and protocols are needed.

This work is dedicated to the design, implementation and verification of a Low Power Listening (LPL) Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol, with the aim of developing an energy-efficient and reliable protocol that will provide the reliable communication while satisfying application constraints. The protocol was designed and then implemented on a platform primarily meant for BANs.