Scope of Workshop

In the past decade wireless sensor networks have emerged as one of the industries showing great potential to stimulate the US economy for another round of industrial growth. One of the most promising areas of economic growth in sensor networks is pervasive information technology , including so-called wireless Body Area Networks (BANs) or Body Sensor Networks (BSNs). To support the growth of this industry, for in-body applications, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) allocated a specific band for Medical Implant Communication Services (MICS). This band has recently been extended for Medical Device Radiocommunications Service (MedRadio). At the same time the IEEE 802.15.6 committee is addressing standardization of the radio communication protocols for application in Body Area Networks.

As a reflection of this growing interest and the evolution of BAN technologies, there has been global interest in innovative research directed at BAN to shape the industry for the needs of the 21st century. A vital part of this effort concerns fostering collaboration and consensus-building among researchers, manufacturers, and medical consumers on a variety of BAN techniques and applications. The main question at the outset is, “What must be the direction of innovative research and development to better address the needs of the emerging BAN applications?”

For the past two decades, CWINS and WPI have hosted leading workshops in emerging areas of wireless networking, helping to foster the growth of the wireless LAN industry, including applications of opportunistic localization techniques.  This year, we are hosting this new invitational workshop to gather a unique mix of top researchers in BAN from the private sector, academia and government agencies as well as business leaders and application engineers.  Participants will discuss executive-level perspectives on the future of this industry, including trends in technology, and will explore the emerging standards and new applications. The objective of the workshop is to define a vision for the integration of BANs with existing wireless technologies and in-body localization for BANs, and to discuss how we should shape our industry to meet this vision.

*To preserve workshop atmosphere, the seats are limited and attendance is by invitation only.