title: Subject-Specific Effect of Metallic Body Accessories on Path Loss of Dynamic on-Body Propagation Channels.
abstract: This paper presents the investigation of path loss variation for subject-specific on-body radio propagation channels, considering the effect of metallic spectacles and loop like metallic accessories. Adding metallic items may affect the operability of Body Centric Wireless Communications (BCWC). Measurements were carried out in an RF-shielded room lined with microwave absorbing sheets for strategically placed bodyworn antennas covering the upper front torso and the lower limbs. The path loss of the on-body radio channel was characterized explicitly taking into account the body size of the subjects. For metallic loop-like accessories, the results indicate that for underweight subjects, there was a slightly higher influence, up to 2%, compared to normal and overweight subjects. Our findings indicate that a noticeable effect exists on on-body channels for dynamic movements where the metallic watch acts as a local scatterer that affects the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signal path between transmitter and receiver for underweight subjects in comparison to normal and overweight subjects. The path loss decreases when the receiving terminal was positioned very close to the metallic item. If a loop-like metallic accessory is not appropriately considered when designing the radio channel on a subject, the reliability of the body-centric wireless system may degrade.
authors.affiliation: Bioelectromagnetics Research Group (BioEM), School of Computer and Communication Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Pauh Putra, Arau, Perlis 02600, Malaysia.
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Rahim
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering and Information Science, University of Wollongong in Dubai, Dubai, UAE.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdulmalek
authors.affiliation: Advanced Communication Engineering (ACE) CoE, School of Computer and Communication Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Pauh Putra, Arau, Perlis, 02600 Malaysia.|ESAT-TELEMIC, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, Leuven 3001, Belgium.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical System Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Pauh Putra, Arau, Perlis 02600, Malaysia.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Rani
authors.affiliation: Bioelectromagnetics Research Group (BioEM), School of Computer and Communication Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Pauh Putra, Arau, Perlis 02600, Malaysia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hisham
authors.affiliation: ESAT-TELEMIC, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, Leuven 3001, Belgium.
authors.forename: G A E
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Vandenbosch