Full-wave EM simulation analysis of human body blockage by dense 2D antenna arrays

TL;DR

This work investigates device-free indoor localization by examining how a human body blocks radio waves in dense 2D/3D receiver arrays using full-wave EM simulations with FEKO/MoM. A realistic anthropomorphic body model is simulated at multiple positions and with micro-movements, producing a rich dataset of EM-field samples and attenuation maps. The authors introduce a statistical imaging tool based on mean and standard deviation of RF attenuation, and demonstrate how different receiver locations respond to body presence and motion. The dataset and analyses aim to support DOA, beamforming, and tomography techniques for passive sensing and localization in indoor networks, enabling more robust device-free localization and imaging solutions.

Abstract

Recently, proposals of human-sensing-based services for cellular and local area networks have brought indoor localization to the attention of several research groups. In response to these stimuli, various Device-Free Localization (DFL) techniques, also known as Passive Localization methods, have emerged by exploiting ambient signals to locate and track individuals that do not carry any electronic device. This study delves into human passive indoor localization through full-wave electromagnetic simulations. For the scope, we exploit simulations from the commercial tool FEKO software that employs the Method of Moments (MoM). In particular, we collect and analyze the electric field values in a scenario constituted by a dense 2D/3D deployment of receivers in the presence of an anthropomorphic mobile target. The paper describes in detail the collected dataset and provides a first analysis based on a statistical approach. Possible use cases are also investigated through examples in the context of passive localization, sensing, and imaging.

Figures (6)

• Figure 1: 3-D deployment of the radio link using a 3D array of $50\times90\times180$ measurement points. The center of the first surface of the array is placed at distance $d=4$ m from the source (TX) and it is orthogonal to the Line-Of-Sight (LOS) path connecting the TX with the measurement points (3D RX). The body is sketched as an homogeneous perfectly absorbing 3D elliptical cylinder of height $h_S$ with maximum $W_{S,1}$ and minimum $W_{S,2}$ traversal size.
• Figure 2: Horizontal 2-D layout of the radio links corresponding to Fig. \ref{['fig:scenario']}.
• Figure 3: FEKO® simulation settings for the measurement array.
• Figure 4: Body-shape EM model designed with FEKO®. The green rectangular base prism on the right represents the bounding box of the set of the measurement points.
• Figure 5: Imaging maps of attenuation $\Bar{H}_{i,j}$ observed on a 2D surface grid of $90\times180$ elements. (a) Positions and orientations of the simulated body highlighted; (b) average attenuation map $\Bar{H}_{i,j}$; and (c) corresponding standard deviation map $\Delta{H}_{i,j}$.