In Search of the Lost Nodes in BANs

Abstract

Communication in Body Area Networks (BANs) involves extremely weak signals due to safety regulations. Mobility adds one more layer of complexity as it has an effect on path loss depending on the activity. In this work, we improve the quality of service (QoS) by searching for the lost nodes. Specifically, an Emergency Phase (EP) is added in the superframe. During EP, each connected node to the hub transmits a rescue beacon to reach distressed nodes, i.e. not connected. When a distressed node receives a rescue beacon, it participates in the corresponding EP. Its data packets are buffered and forwarded to the hub by the connected node. This feature is proposed as an enhancement of IEEE Std 802.15.6-2012.