Bit-Error-Rate Over-The-Air Testing of Weighted-Polarization BAN Antenna Using an Arm-Swinging Dynamic Phantom

In healthcare data radio system, it is essential to avoid the communication disconnection when the transmission signal bit error rate (BER) exceeds a specific value. When the BAN antenna is attached at wrist, the polarization characteristics will be varied significantly according to the antenna rotation angle caused by the arm-swing motion. In this paper, the BER characteristic of a weighted-polarization BAN antenna considering human walking motion is measured while the validity of the proposed antenna is verified. At first, a method of BER Over-The-Air (OTA) Testing is proposed, where a fading emulator is utilized for realizing the actual propagation environment. Then, the BER measurement is carried out in considerations of the arm-swing motion using a human phantom. Compared with the conventional antenna, less SNR is required when the weighted-polarization BAN antenna is used to obtain the desired BER, indicating the effectiveness of proposed weighted-polarization antenna for BAN wireless applications.