Channel Characterization of Magnetic Human Body Communication

The objective of this paper is to model and experimentally validate the path loss benefits of magnetic human body communication (mHBC) using small form-factor-accurate coils operating under realistic conditions.

A radiating near-field coupling model and numerical simulations are presented to show that the magnetic-dominant near-field coupling between resonant coils offers low path loss across the body and exhibits extra robustness to antenna misalignment compared to far-field RF schemes. To overcome the pitfalls in conventional vector-network-analyzer-based measurement configurations, we propose a standardized setup applied to broadband channel loss measurement with portable instruments. Two types of PCB coils for mHBC communication, designed for large devices such as smartphones and small devices such as earbuds, respectively, are built and measured.

The mHBC link for the ear-to-ear non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path measures up to -23.1 dB and -31.2 dB with large and small coils, respectively, which is 50 dB more efficient than the conventional Bluetooth channels utilizing antennas of similar sizes. Ear-to-pocket and pocket-to-pocket channels also show at least 16 dB higher transmission than the Bluetooth channel.

In terms of path loss, the mHBC approach offers compelling performance for short-range applications over the body region. For coils with dimensions of several centimeters, working between 100 MHz and 200 MHz minimizes the channel loss while keeping the bandwidth above 1 MHz.

The extremely high efficiency of the proposed mHBC channel provides a solution to the energy problem for miniaturized wearables, potentially leading to new wearable device designs.