Study of Wireless Technologies for Designing a Wearable Inertial System

Wearable systems with on-body communication are a frequent case in the modern era of instrumentation on the human body. A typical case study focuses on inertial sensors, evaluating human movement, such as gait, and can easily be extended with other sensors, such as EMG. Multiple devices can be placed on different parts of the body that need to communicate with each other with a variety of specifications. At the same time, wireless communication technologies provide a range of choices for such usage. This paper discusses many aspects of selecting wireless technology for such an application, reaching the first implementation steps for an indicative case study concerning the acquisition of inertial-based variables. Among the considered wireless technologies, Bluetooth LE appears as the optimal selection at the end, while Wi-Fi and Ultrawide-Band can be alternative choices in more energysacrificing scenarios.