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An Initial Study of Human-Scale Blockage in sub-THz Radio Propagation with Application to Indoor Passive Localization

F. Paonessa, G. Virone, S. Kianoush, A. Nordio, S. Savazzi

Abstract

This paper empirically investigates the body induced electromagnetic (EM) effects, namely the human body blockage, by conducting indoor measurement campaigns in the unexplored sub-THz W-band (75-110 GHz) and G-band (170-260 GHz). The proposed analysis focuses on both the alterations of channel frequency response induced by body presence, fully or partially obstructing the line-of-sight (LoS) between transmitter and recevier, as well as on the channel impulse response (CIR) for selected movements of the target, i.e. crossing the LoS of the radio link. Modelling of large scale parameters is also presented using a phantom body object. The proposed study has applications in device-free radio localization and radio frequency (RF) sensing scenarios where the EM radiation or environmental radio signals are collected and processed to detect and locate people without requiring them to wear any electronic devices. Although preliminary, the study reveals that discrimination of the blockage micro-movements is possible, achieving higher precision compared to classical RF sensing and localization using cm-scale wavelengths (2.4-6GHz bands).

An Initial Study of Human-Scale Blockage in sub-THz Radio Propagation with Application to Indoor Passive Localization

Abstract

This paper empirically investigates the body induced electromagnetic (EM) effects, namely the human body blockage, by conducting indoor measurement campaigns in the unexplored sub-THz W-band (75-110 GHz) and G-band (170-260 GHz). The proposed analysis focuses on both the alterations of channel frequency response induced by body presence, fully or partially obstructing the line-of-sight (LoS) between transmitter and recevier, as well as on the channel impulse response (CIR) for selected movements of the target, i.e. crossing the LoS of the radio link. Modelling of large scale parameters is also presented using a phantom body object. The proposed study has applications in device-free radio localization and radio frequency (RF) sensing scenarios where the EM radiation or environmental radio signals are collected and processed to detect and locate people without requiring them to wear any electronic devices. Although preliminary, the study reveals that discrimination of the blockage micro-movements is possible, achieving higher precision compared to classical RF sensing and localization using cm-scale wavelengths (2.4-6GHz bands).

Paper Structure

This paper contains 7 sections, 4 equations, 4 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Measurement setup and environment
  3. Frequency-domain analysis
  4. Channel Impulse Response characterization and analysis
  5. CIR response
  6. Analysis in the G band
  7. Conclusions

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: (right) Measurement setup with Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), mmWave extenders (black boxes), and truncated waveguide antennas (gold-plated waveguide sections) in the laboratory environment. The white arrow identifies the line-of-sight. (left) 2D projection of the measurement setup: the shaded shape represents the human body.
  • Figure 2: W band: amplitude of transmission coefficient (top) and body-induced excess attenuation probability functions (bottom) plotted versus frequency for target positions $y \in \{0,3,6,12,25,50\}$ cm.
  • Figure 3: G band: amplitude of transmission coefficient (top) and body-induced excess attenuation probability functions (bottom) plotted versus frequency, for target positions $y \in \{0,3,6,12,25,50\}$ cm.
  • Figure 4: Channel Impulse Response (dB) plotted versus the path length (cm) for target offsets $y \in \{0,3,6\}$ (top) and $y\in \{12,25,50\}$ cm (bottom). The CIR response in the absence of target is represented by the solid black lines. The main perturbations due to the target presence are highlighted.