Analysis of Millimeter Wave Networked Wearables in Crowded Environments

TL;DR

This paper investigates millimeter wave wearable networks in crowded environments, focusing on interference, human body blockage, and network density effects to optimize high-throughput communication.

Contribution

It introduces a finite-node model for indoor mmWave wearable networks, deriving closed-form performance expressions considering human body blockage and interference.

Findings

Increased interferer density reduces significant interference sources.

Human body blockage significantly impacts mmWave signal quality.

Finite-node models better represent indoor wearable networks than infinite models.

Abstract

The millimeter wave (mmWave) band has the potential to provide high throughput among wearable devices. When mmWave wearable networks are used in crowded environments, such as on a bus or train, antenna directivity and orientation hold the key to achieving Gbps rates. Previous work using stochastic geometry often assumes an infinite number of interfering nodes drawn from a Poisson Point Process (PPP). Since indoor wearable networks will be isolated due to walls, a network with a finite number of nodes may be a more suitable model. In this paper, we characterize the significant sources of interference and develop closed-form expressions for the spatially averaged performance of a typical user's wearable communication link. The effect of human body blockage on the mmWave signals and the role of network density are investigated to show that an increase in interferer density reduces the mean number of significant interferers.