Publication
A Ring Topology Approach: Efficient Communication in Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs)
Jan Herbst; Robin Müller; Christoph Lipps; Hans D. Schotten (Hrsg.)
EuCNC/6G Summit (EUCNC & 6G SUMMIT-2024), June 3-6, Antwerp, Belgium, IEEE Explore, 2024.
Abstract
The ongoing developments in Beyond 5G (B5G) and Sixth Generation (6G) wireless systems are shifting the human factor increasingly back into focus, with a particular emphasis on Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). Therefore, in this work, a new Printed Circuit Board (PCB) around the ESP32-S3 microcontroller as well as an innovative protocol based on ESP-NOW optimized for reliability and low latency are proposed. The developed PCB is designed as a modular, flexible sensor carrier for biometric applications. In addition to the multi-hop and token-based approach to reduce the computing load and the communication volume, the core of the development is the implementation of a ring network topology, as well as the increase in efficiency and reduction of energy consumption. The results of the work prove a reduced overall latency of approximately 50 % in combination with a 36 % lower power consumption compared to traditional star network topologies on the same hardware. Therefore the protocol not only shows an increase in efficiency for state-of-the-art systems but also proposes a flexible sensor carrier board for biometric data acquisition while reducing the overall amount of communication needed.