Firmware integration of an Intra-Body Communication prototype for visually impaired people.

Unlike traditional communication technologies that make use of Radio-Frequency waves, Intra-Body Communication (IBC) exploits the dielectric properties of the human body in order to transmit data over short distances. IBC has some very interesting features that make it a valuable communication channel for Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) applications, especially in the biomedical field. The reduced energy consumption and the ability to contain the signal inside the body or in its vicinity allow the implementation of this communication in the development of wearable devices. Live Wire device is a prototype that uses the IBC, with capacitive coupling, for assisting visually impaired people in their interaction with the environment. Live Wire can be worn or connected to different objects. Its main purpose is not communication between wearable devices but the exploitation of the IBC to allow interaction with external objects properly equipped. A new version of this prototype has created the need to port the firmware with new extensions. In particular, in this thesis, a re-evaluation of the different possible communication protocols is proposed, with the implementation of a new form for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). BLE results to be fundamental for the correct configuration of devices. With an interactive environment, recognition of touch events becomes crucial, consequently, the firmware has been further enriched with a Touch Detection algorithm, based on a derivative approach, to increase efficiency and security in data transmission. Device validation tests, carried out with objects of different sizes and with different users, made algorithm improvements possible by making appropriate changes to adapt to different situations.