A new technique could pave the way for ultra low power and high-security wireless communication systems
Electrical engineers at the University of California, San Diego demonstrated a new wireless communication technique that works by sending magnetic signals through the human body. The new technology could offer a lower power and more secure way to communicate information between wearable electronic devices, providing an improved alternative to existing wireless communication systems, researchers said. They presented their findings Aug. 26 at the 37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society in Milan, Italy.
While this work is still a proof-of-concept demonstration, researchers envision developing it into an ultra low power wireless system that can easily transmit information around the human body. An application of this technology would be a wireless sensor network for full-body health monitoring.
“In the future, people are going to be wearing more electronics, such as smart watches, fitness trackers and health monitors. All of these devices will need to communicate information with each other. Currently, these devices transmit information using Bluetooth radios, which use a lot of power to communicate. We’re trying to find new ways to communicate information around the human body that use much less power,” said Patrick Mercier, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC San Diego who led the study. Mercier also serves as the co-director of the UC San Diego Center for Wearable Sensors.
Communicating magnetic signals through the human body
The new study presents a solution to some of the main barriers of other wireless communication systems: in order to reduce power consumption when transmitting and receiving information, wireless systems need to send signals that can easily travel from one side of the human body to another. Bluetooth technology uses electromagnetic radiation to transmit data, however these radio signals do not easily pass through the human body and therefore require a power boost to help overcome this signal obstruction, or “path loss.”
In this study, electrical engineers demonstrated a technique called magnetic field human body communication, which uses the body as a vehicle to deliver magnetic energy between electronic devices. An advantage of this system is that magnetic fields are able to pass freely through biological tissues, so signals are communicated with much lower path losses and potentially, much lower power consumption. In their experiments, researchers demonstrated that the magnetic communication link works well on the body, but they did not test the technique’s power consumption. Researchers showed that the path losses associated with magnetic field human body communication are upwards of 10 million times lower than those associated with Bluetooth radios.
“This technique, to our knowledge, achieves the lowest path losses out of any wireless human body communication system that’s been demonstrated so far. This technique will allow us to build much lower power wearable devices,” said Mercier.
Lower power consumption also leads to longer battery life. “A problem with wearable devices like smart watches is that they have short operating times because they are limited to using small batteries. With this magnetic field human body communication system, we hope to significantly reduce power consumption as well as how frequently users need to recharge their devices,” said Jiwoong Park, a Ph.D student in Mercier’s Energy-Efficient Microsystems Lab at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and first author of the study.
The researchers also pointed out that this technique does not pose any serious health risks. Since this technique is intended for applications in ultra low power communication systems, the transmitting power of the magnetic signals sent through the body is expected to be many times lower than that of MRI scanners and wireless implant devices.
Another potential advantage of magnetic field human body communication is that it could offer more security than Bluetooth networks. Because Bluetooth radio communicates data over the air, anyone standing within 30 feet can potentially eavesdrop on that communication link. On the other hand, magnetic field human body communication employs the human body as a communication medium, making the communication link less vulnerable to eavesdropping. With this technique, researchers demonstrated that magnetic communication is strong on the body but dramatically decreases off the body. To put this in the context of a personal full-body wireless communication network, information would neither be radiated off the body nor be transmitted from one person to another.
“Increased privacy is desirable when you’re using your wearable devices to transmit information about your health,” said Park.
Read more: Magnetic fields provide a new way to communicate wirelessly
The Latest on: Wireless communication
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Wireless communication” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Wireless communication
- Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on Iton May 7, 2024 at 6:00 am
Verizon Communications (VZ) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.
- Pinal County to Put Transportation Tax Initiative to Vote, Delays Wireless Facility Decisionon May 6, 2024 at 1:00 am
Pinal County Board votes to add a transportation tax proposition to the ballot and deliberates other local issues, including zoning and code violations.
- Wireless Paging Systems Market Surges Towards US$ 783.41 Million by 2032 with a 1.70% CAGRon May 5, 2024 at 8:00 pm
The wireless paging systems market would be worth US$ 664.13 million. By 2032, the total market size for wireless paging systems will be worth US$ 783.41 million, growing at a CAGR of 1.70 %. In times ...
- Verizon Communications Is the Best-Performing Telco Stock in 2024. Should You Buy?on May 5, 2024 at 12:25 am
It may surprise many investors that Verizon Communications ( VZ -0.10%) is the top-performing telecom stock in 2024. Indeed, it benefits from being one of only three 5G providers, and the industry's ...
- Must-Haves For A Robust Commercial Communication System – Two-Way Radioson May 3, 2024 at 2:29 am
Communication is the backbone of any organization. Today, the communication industry presents multiple options to choose from. Businesses must choose the right one based on needs and preferences. If ...
- 10 Top Communications Stocks of May 2024on May 2, 2024 at 5:54 am
Dock David Treece is a former licensed investment advisor and member of the FINRA Small Firm Advisory Board. His focus is on breaking down complex financial topics so readers can make informed ...
- Your wireless carrier may have been tracking you without telling youon May 1, 2024 at 4:20 am
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a collective $200 million fine for the country’s biggest wireless service providers – T-Mobile, Veri ...
- The wireless technologies driving low latency manufacturingon May 1, 2024 at 4:07 am
The key wireless technologies at play are Wi-Fi 5/6, 5G, and yes, even Bluetooth. All can play a key role in lowering latency and bringing measurable productivity gains to the workshop or factory ...
- WiBotic unveils new high power wireless charging solutionon May 1, 2024 at 2:21 am
WiBotic unveiled a new, larger 1kW charger, expanding its portfolio to provide wireless charging for larger battery systems.
- FCC fines four wireless carriers millions for sharing customer dataon April 30, 2024 at 11:38 pm
The FCC claimed “aggregators” that received customer location data from the carriers turned around and charged third-party location-based service providers for access at a price.
via Bing News