Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Human Area Networking technology/Wireless Networking uses the surface of the human body as a safe,high-speed network transmission path. It is completely distinct from wireless and infrared technologies as ituses the minute electric field emitted on the surface of the human body. Communication is possible using anybody surface, such as the hands, fingers, arms, feet, face, legs or torso.This form of communications has recently gained interest due to its secure nature and simplicity in terms of setup and implementation. This makes it a potential application for any use case that requires secure data transfer(e.g., the health care sector). The proposed research aims to solve the main shortcoming deterringcommercialization of this technology - its accuracy and repeatability - as this technology is heavily dependenton factors that are out of the designer's control. These factors are categorized into three groups:1.Subject-related factors: height, weight, age, sex, skin condition, current emotion, body pose, skintemperature.2.Environment-related factors: room temperature and humidity.3.Sensor-related factors: contact conductance, electrical ground, sensor placement, number of sensors,transmission and receiving frequency.The technical progress in this field will continue to be limited without a thorough understanding of the impactof these external factors.Sheridan College and Nanoport Technology Inc. are proposing to collaborate with the aim of this study todesign and fabricate an on-body communications system and test the impact of a series of external factors onthe system performance.