Ultra wideband: applications, technology and future perspectives

Ultra Wide Band (UWB) wireless communications offers a radically different approach to wireless communication compared to conventional narrow band systems. Global interest in the technology is huge. This paper reports on the state of the art of UWB wireless technology and highlights key application areas, technological challenges, higher layer protocol issues, spectrum operating zones and future drivers. The majority of the discussion focuses on the state of the art of UWB technology as it is today and in the near future

Experimental evaluation of UWB indoor positioning for indoor track cycling

Accurate radio frequency (RF)-based indoor localization systems are more and more applied during sports. The most accurate RF-based localization systems use ultra-wideband (UWB) technology; this is why this technology is the most prevalent. UWB positioning systems allow for an in-depth analysis of the performance of athletes during training and competition. There is no research available that investigates the feasibility of UWB technology for indoor track cycling. In this paper, we investigate the optimal position to mount the UWB hardware for that specific use case. Different positions on the bicycle and cyclist were evaluated based on accuracy, received power level, line-of-sight, maximum communication range, and comfort. Next to this, the energy consumption of our UWB system was evaluated. We found that the optimal hardware position was the lower back, with a median ranging error of 22 cm (infrastructure hardware placed at 2.3 m). The energy consumption of our UWB system is also taken into account. Applied to our setup with the hardware mounted at the lower back, the maximum communication range varies between 32.6 m and 43.8 m. This shows that UWB localization systems are suitable for indoor positioning of track cyclists

Wireless body sensor networks for health-monitoring applications

This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Physiological Measurement. The publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0967-3334/29/11/R01

Experimental Assessment of Time Reversal for In-Body to In-Body UWB Communications

[EN] The standard of in-body communications is limited to the use of narrowband systems. These systems are far from the high data rate connections achieved by other wireless telecommunication services today in force. The UWB frequency band has been proposed as a possible candidate for future in-body networks. However, the attenuation of body tissues at gigahertz frequencies could be a serious drawback. Experimental measurements for channel modeling are not easy to carry out, while the use of humans is practically forbidden. Sophisticated simulation tools could provide inaccurate results since they are not able to reproduce all the in-body channel conditions. Chemical solutions known as phantoms could provide a fair approximation of body tissues¿ behavior. In this work, the Time Reversal technique is assessed to increase the channel performance of in-body communications. For this task, a large volume of experimental measurements is performed at the low part of UWB spectrum (3.1-5.1 GHz) by using a highly accurate phantom-based measurement setup. This experimental setup emulates an in-body to in-body scenario, where all the nodes are implanted inside the body. Moreover, the in-body channel characteristics such as the path loss, the correlation in transmission and reception, and the reciprocity of the channel are assessed and discussed.This work was supported by the Programa de Ayudas de Investigacion y Desarrollo (PAID-01-16) from Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain (TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R), by the European FEDER funds.Andreu-Estellés, C.; Garcia-Pardo, C.; Castelló-Palacios, S.; Cardona Marcet, N. (2018). Experimental Assessment of Time Reversal for In-Body to In-Body UWB Communications. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing (Online). 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Locating the information: applications, technologies and future aspects

In today’s world, the demand for information is growing rapidly with respect to the human curiosity to explore the inside and the outside of our planet. In a simple analogy, the human body has thousands of sensors called receptor neurons to obtain information such as temperature or pressure from the environment. Similarly, recent developments in electronics and wireless communications lead engineers to the design of small-sized, low-power, low-cost sensor nodes which have the ability to communicate with each other over short distances and collect the information that is gathered

IR-UWB Detection and Fusion Strategies using Multiple Detector Types

Optimal detection of ultra wideband (UWB) pulses in a UWB transceiver employing multiple detector types is proposed and analyzed in this paper. We propose several fusion techniques for fusing decisions made by individual IR-UWB detectors. We assess the performance of these fusion techniques for commonly used detector types like matched filter, energy detector and amplitude detector. In order to perform this, we derive the detection performance equation for each of the detectors in terms of false alarm rate, shape of the pulse and number of UWB pulses used in the detection and apply these in the fusion algorithms. We show that the performance can be improved approximately by 4 dB in terms of signal to noise ratio (SNR) for perfect detectability of a UWB signal in a practical scenario by fusing the decisions from individual detectors.Comment: Accepted for publishing in IEEE WCNC 201

An indoor variance-based localization technique utilizing the UWB estimation of geometrical propagation parameters

A novel localization framework is presented based on ultra-wideband (UWB) channel sounding, employing a triangulation method using the geometrical properties of propagation paths, such as time delay of arrival, angle of departure, angle of arrival, and their estimated variances. In order to extract these parameters from the UWB sounding data, an extension to the high-resolution RiMAX algorithm was developed, facilitating the analysis of these frequency-dependent multipath parameters. This framework was then tested by performing indoor measurements with a vector network analyzer and virtual antenna arrays. The estimated means and variances of these geometrical parameters were utilized to generate multiple sample sets of input values for our localization framework. Next to that, we consider the existence of multiple possible target locations, which were subsequently clustered using a Kim-Parks algorithm, resulting in a more robust estimation of each target node. Measurements reveal that our newly proposed technique achieves an average accuracy of 0.26, 0.28, and 0.90 m in line-of-sight (LoS), obstructed-LoS, and non-LoS scenarios, respectively, and this with only one single beacon node. Moreover, utilizing the estimated variances of the multipath parameters proved to enhance the location estimation significantly compared to only utilizing their estimated mean values

UWB Indoor Radio Propagation Modelling in Presence of Human Body Shadowing Using Ray Tracing Technique

This paper presents a ray-tracing method for modelingUltra Wide Bandwidth indoor propagation channels. Avalidation of the ray tracing model with our indoor measurementis also presented. Based on the validated model, the multipathchannel parameter like the fading statistics and root mean squarerms delay spread for Ultra Wide bandwidth frequencies aresimply extracted. The proposed ray-tracing method is basedon image method. This is used to predict the propagation ofUWB electromagnetic waves. First, we have obtained that thefading statistics can be well fitted by log normal distributionin static case. Second, as in realistic environment we cannotneglect the significant impact of Human Body Shadowing andother objects in motion on indoor UWB propagation channel.Hence, our proposed model allows a simulation of propagationin a dynamic indoor environment. Results of the simulation showthat this tool gives results in agreement with those reported inthe literature. Specially, the effects of people motion on temporalchannel properties. Other features of this approach also areoutlined

Modeling of Time-of-arrival for CM4 Body Area Networks Channel

In Time-of-Arrival (TOA) based indoor human tracking system, the human body mounted with the target sensor can cause non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenario and result in significant ranging error. In this thesis, we measured the TOA ranging error in a typical indoor environment and analyzed sources of inaccuracy in TOAbased indoor localization system. To quantitatively describe the TOA ranging error caused by human body, we introduce a statistical TOA ranging error model for body mounted sensors based on the measurement results. This model separates the ranging error into multipath error and NLOS error caused by the on-body creeping wave phenomenon. Both multipath error and NLOS error are modeled as a Gaussian variable. The distribution of multipath error is only relative to the bandwidth of the system while the distribution of NLOS error is relative to the angle between human facing direction and the direction of Transmitter-Receiver, signal to noise ratio (SNR) and bandwidth of the system, which clearly shows the effects of human body on TOA ranging. An efficient way to fight against the TOA ranging error caused by human body is to employ site-specific channel models by using ray-tracing technology. However, existing ray-tracing softwares lack the propagation model that takes the effects of human body into account. To address that issue, this thesis presents a empirical model for near human body ultra-wideband (UWB) propagation channel that is valid for the frequency range from 3GHz to 8GHz. It is based on measurements conducted in a anechoic chamber which can be regarded as free space. The empirical model shows the joint propagation characteristics of the on body channel and the channel between body surface and external access point. It includes the loss of the first path, arrival time of the first path and the total pathloss. Models for all three aspects have been partitioned into two sections by a break point due to the geometrical property of human body and the creeping wave phenomenon. The investigation on first path behavior can be regarded as a theoretical basis of raytracing technique that takes the effects of human body into consideration

Ultrawideband Technology for Medical In-Body Sensor Networks: An Overview of the Human Body as a Propagation Medium, Phantoms, and Approaches for Propagation Analysis

[EN] An in-body sensor network is that in which at least one of the sensors is located inside the human body. Such wireless in-body sensors are used mainly in medical applications, collecting and monitoring important parameters for health and disease treatment. IEEE Standard 802.15.6-2012 for wireless body area networks (WBANs) considers in-body communications in the Medical Implant Communications Service (MICS) band. Nevertheless, high-data-rate communications are not feasible at the MICS band because of its narrow occupied bandwidth. In this framework, ultrawideband (UWB) systems have emerged as a potential solution for in-body highdata-rate communications because of their miniaturization capabilities and low power consumption.This work was supported by the Programa de Ayudas de Investigación y Desarrollo (PAID-01-16) at the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain; by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R); and by the European FEDER funds. It was also funded by the European Union’s H2020:MSCA:ITN program for the Wireless In-Body Environ-ment Communication–WiBEC project under grant 675353.Garcia-Pardo, C.; Andreu-Estellés, C.; Fornés Leal, A.; Castelló-Palacios, S.; Pérez-Simbor, S.; Barbi, M.; Vallés Lluch, A.... (2018). Ultrawideband Technology for Medical In-Body Sensor Networks: An Overview of the Human Body as a Propagation Medium, Phantoms, and Approaches for Propagation Analysis. IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine. 60(3):19-33. https://doi.org/10.1109/MAP.2018.2818458S193360