Signal Loss in Body Coupled Communication: Guide for Accurate Measurements

Abstract

Body Coupled Communication (BCC) is a growing research area that promises to deliver more secure and more energy-efficient body-area wireless sensor networks. Existing research articles on BCC show high variance in their experimental results, indicating potential methodological problems in the published work. We perform analysis of several potential methodological errors in the measurements, for instance, impedance mismatch, cable length issues, and not separating the ground planes. Our experimental results quantify the impact of these issues. Finally, we discuss the best practices for measurements, as well as their limitations.