UWB systems for body area networks in IEEE 802.15.6

The paper describes a survey of the physical layer (PHY) of UWB systems for body area networks (BANs) currently in development by the international standard IEEE 802.15.6 Task Group (TG6). The UWB PHY includes IR-UWB and FM-UWB technologies. IR-UWB transceivers for BANs are based on the transmission of a single and relative long pulse per symbol (new paradigm in UWB) or a concatenation or burst of short pulses per symbol (legacy). FM-UWB transceivers are based on the concatenation of a CP-2FSK signal and a wideband FM signal (FM with high modulation index). Such systems are optimized for low power consumption and reliable operation, especially in medical applications.