BFSK modulation to compare intra-body communication methods for foot plantar pressure measurement

Abstract

Intra-body communication (IBC) is a recent and emerging wireless communication technology, which treats the human body as a transmission medium for transmitting and receiving the electrical signals. Pioneer IBC researchers have proposed two types of methods, which are galvanic coupling and capacitive coupling. This paper compares and evaluates a binary frequency-shift keying (BFSK) modulation signal using galvanic and capacitive coupling via IBC for foot plantar pressure sensors. The results of the experiment would guide us as to which method of IBC is more suitable for the specific application. The communication system is designed for foot pressure measurement to analyze pressure distribution during everyday life activities. The research targets IBC operating in the band of 1MHz to 100MHz, and based on the empirical evidence; for this particular application, galvanic coupling shows more promising performances in power, total harmonic distortion and signal-to-noise ratio measurements.