Dataset on the human body as a signal propagation medium for body coupled communication

Juris Ormanis; Vladislavs Medvedevs; Anastasija Sevcenko; Vladimir Aristov; Valters Abolins; Atis Elsts

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2023.109892

Dataset on the human body as a signal propagation medium for body coupled communication

Data Brief. 2023 Dec 1:52:109892. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2023.109892. eCollection 2024 Feb.

Authors

Juris Ormanis¹, Vladislavs Medvedevs¹, Anastasija Sevcenko¹, Vladimir Aristov¹, Valters Abolins¹, Atis Elsts¹

Affiliation

¹ Institute of Electronics and Computer Science (EDI), Riga LV-1006, Latvia.

Abstract

Signal loss models are frequently utilized by wireless communication researchers and engineers to predict received signal strength, optimize system parameters, and conduct feasibility studies. However, novel communication methods such as Body-Coupled Communication (BCC) that are suitable for Body Area Networks formed by wearable devices currently lack readily available signal propagation models. In this data article, we present a galvanic-coupled BCC signal loss and bioimpedance dataset, which serves as a foundation for building such models. This extensive dataset consists of experimental data recorded from 30 volunteer test subjects. The experimental setup involves a tunable signal generator transmitting continuous wave signals, along with two oscilloscopes recording the transmitter-side and receiver-side voltages. From these measurements, we compute the signal loss over the body, and the transmitter-side impedance. The transmitted signal frequencies range from 50 kHz to 20 MHz, with discrete steps. The primary application of this dataset is to enable empirical-data-supported modeling in the human body as a BCC signal propagation medium, which will help to explore how the properties of the human body, the measurement locations, and the signal frequency impact the signal loss.

Keywords: Body area networks; Intra-body communication; Signal loss; Wearables.