Millimetre‐wave path‐loss variability between two body‐mounted monopole antennas

Abstract

Variation of on‐body millimetre‐wave propagation channels with body movements has been studied experimentally. A statistical description of the propagation channel is presented, including path‐loss probability distributions, level‐crossing rates and average fade durations. The median path losses for the considered practical links with omnidirectional monopole antennas lied within the range of 55–88 dB. The signal variation was found to consist of two superimposed variations, in general: the long‐term and short‐term fadings, but was dominated by the much stronger long‐term fading. The use of a simple two‐state Markov process model to describe on‐body communication links is also proposed and its limitations are discussed.