Touch-based user recognition system development and calibration protocol designing using a Body Channel Communication prototype for visually impaired people indoor navigation

Body Channel Communication (BCC) is an innovative non-RF wireless short-range communication technique using human body as a transmission medium for electric signals. Fast growing interest in BCC is related to its inherent data transmission security and power-saving characteristics, which make it suitable for biomedical Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) applications. In this thesis a capacitive coupling BCC prototype device, named Live Wire, is investigated. Its main application is the identification of landmarks for supporting visually impaired patients in indoor navigation. In order to minimize false positive touch-events, a frequency, amplitude modulation system for TX carrier signal calibration is proposed and then tested in a simulated domestic environment, including different sized home objects. Moreover, a touch-based Live Wire user identification system is developed to realize an half-duplex TX-RX communication channel taking advantage of an induced impedance mismatch between transceivers' signal electrodes, in order to mitigate decoding errors at RX site with increased transmission reliability.