ETSI TS 103 805 V1.1.1 (2024-01)

Smart Body Area Network (SmartBAN); Relay Functionality for SmartBAN Medium Access Control (MAC)

DTS/SmartBAN-0018

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Technical Committee: SmartBAN - Smart Body Area Network
• Current Stage: 12 - Completion
• Due Date: 23-Feb-2024
• Completion Date: 30-Jan-2024

Standards Content (Sample)

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
Smart Body Area Network (SmartBAN);
Relay Functionality for SmartBAN
Medium Access Control (MAC)
2 ETSI TS 103 805 V1.1.1 (2024-01)

Reference
DTS/SmartBAN-0018
Keywords
MAC
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ETSI
3 ETSI TS 103 805 V1.1.1 (2024-01)
Contents
Intellectual Property Rights . 4
Foreword . 4
Modal verbs terminology . 4
Executive summary . 4
Introduction . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 References . 6
2.1 Normative references . 6
2.2 Informative references . 6
3 Definition of terms, symbols and abbreviations . 7
3.1 Terms . 7
3.2 Symbols . 8
3.3 Abbreviations . 8
4 General MAC Framework . 9
4.0 Different device types . 9
4.1 Frequency Spectrum . 9
4.2 Channel Format . 10
4.3 User Priorities . 10
4.4 Node IDs . 10
4.5 Information Units . 10
5 Frame Formats . 11
5.1 MAC General Frame Format. 11
5.2 Management Frames . 11
5.2.0 Management Frames for Relay Communication . 11
5.2.1 Isolated Node Notification (I-Notif) . 11
5.2.2 Node Status Request (N-Sreq) . 11
5.2.3 Isolated Node Notification Listen (I-Listen) . 11
5.2.4 Relay Nomination (R-Nom) . 11
5.2.5 Proposed Relay Link Status (R-Status) . 12
5.2.6 Stop Isolated Node Listening (S-Listen) . 12
5.2.7 Relay Connection (R-Conn) . 12
5.2.8 Isolated Node Slot Reassignment ACK (I-Sack) . 12
5.2.9 Relay Disconnection Request (R-Dreq) . 13
5.2.10 Relay Beacon (R-Beacon) . 13
5.3 Control Frames (C-Frame) . 13
5.4 Data Frames (D-Frame) . 13
6 Relay Communication . 14
6.1 Relay Connectivity Initialization . 14
6.2 Maintaining Relay Connectivity . 17
6.3 Ending Relay Connectivity. 18
Annex A (normative): Relay Connectivity Establishment . 19
History . 22

ETSI
4 ETSI TS 103 805 V1.1.1 (2024-01)
Intellectual Property Rights
Essential patents
IPRs essential or potentially essential to normative deliverables may have been declared to ETSI. The declarations
pertaining to these essential IPRs, if any, are publicly available for ETSI members and non-members, and can be
found in ETSI SR 000 314: "Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); Essential, or potentially Essential, IPRs notified to
ETSI in respect of ETSI standards", which is available from the ETSI Secretariat. Latest updates are available on the
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Pursuant to the ETSI Directives including the ETSI IPR Policy, no investigation regarding the essentiality of IPRs,
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Foreword
This Technical Specification (TS) has been produced by ETSI Technical Committee Smart Body Area Network
(SmartBAN).
Modal verbs terminology
In the present document "shall", "shall not", "should", "should not", "may", "need not", "will", "will not", "can" and
"cannot" are to be interpreted as described in clause 3.2 of the ETSI Drafting Rules (Verbal forms for the expression of
provisions).
"must" and "must not" are NOT allowed in ETSI deliverables except when used in direct citation.
Executive summary
The present document defines technical specifications for relay functionality for ETSI SmartBAN. The specifications
extend the general Medium Access Control (MAC) framework defined for SmartBAN by a two-hop communication
within a SmartBAN.
The relay functionality can be divided into three phases as follows:
1) Relay connectivity initialization.
2) Maintaining relay connectivity.
3) Ending relay connectivity.
ETSI
5 ETSI TS 103 805 V1.1.1 (2024-01)
Any relay connection is established as a joint effort of the hub and the node, termed as an Isolated node, seeking the
relay connection. In the connectivity initialization phase, the Isolated node starts to broadcast Isolated Node
Notifications, thus advertising it is experiencing connection problems with the hub. At the same time, the hub has
th
identified that a certain node has failed to transmit a frame during its allocated time slot for n consecutive Inter-Beacon
Interval (IBI). Then, the hub tries to poll the node by signalling for a downlink data. If the node does not acknowledge
the downlink data request, the hub concludes the node is experiencing a connection problem or it is isolated.
Next, the hub broadcasts an Isolated Node Notification Listen command to the network, thus signalling the other nodes
to start listening until further notice from the hub, for Isolated Node Notifications from the Isolated node starting from
the C/M period of the next Inter-Beacon Interval. Candidate relay nodes can forward the notification frame they have
received from the Isolated node to the hub, which nominates a node for the relay connection among the candidate ones.
Furthermore, the hub performs slot reassignments in the network to accommodate the time slots required for
transmitting a relay beacon frame (R-Beacon) from the relay to the isolated node and for transmitting data from the
isolated node to the hub via the relay.
While getting the relay access to the SmartBAN through the relay, the isolated node continues to listen for a Data
Channel Beacon (D-Beacon) from the hub, and if it receives one, it starts counting for up to three consecutive
D-Beacons, and then it terminates the relay access after completing any already started tasks.
The relay disconnection can be initiated by the isolated node, the relay, or by the hub by sending a disconnection
command. In case it is initiated by the isolated node or by the hub, approval from other entities shall not be required,
whereas a disconnection request initiated by the relay shall be approved either by the isolated node or by the hub.
The present document is structured as follows:
• At first, the additional management frames and information units required for the relay functionality are
defined.
• Second, the present document details the operational procedures for the relay functionality.
• Finally, Annex A includes two normative flowcharts defining the relay functionality.
Introduction
Modern medical and health monitoring equipment is moving towards the trend of wireless connectivity between the
data collection or control centre and the medical devices or sensors. Therefore, a standardized communication interface
and protocol between the actors are required. This network of actors performing some medical monitoring or functions
is called a Smart Body Area Network (SmartBAN).
A SmartBAN is a simple, low complexity, low energy communication network that allows wireless connectivity
between the devices and a hub. The distinct features of the SmartBAN are ease of access, minimal listening, reliable
data transfer, and provision of additional control messages (in the form of C-Beacons) for the low-duty cycling nodes
while maintaining a simple and flexible protocol. SmartBAN also provides a multi-use channel access mechanism for
emergency and other high-priority access and improved channel utilization.
The basic access specifications for Medium Access Control (MAC) are defined in ETSI TS 103 325 [1] and for the
physical layer (PHY) in ETSI TS 103 326 [2]. The present document extends ETSI TS 103 325 [1] by defining
technical specifications for relay functionality enabling a two-hop communication within a SmartBAN.
Additional information can be found in the following documents:
• ETSI EN 300 328-1 [i.1] defines requirements for equipment operating in the 2,4 GHz ISM band;
• IEEE™ 802.15.6-2012 [i.2] defines an alternative standard for Wireless Body Area Networks;
• IEEE™ 802.15.4-2011 [i.3] defines a standard for Wireless Personal Area Networks; and
• ETSI TS 103 806 [i.4] defines hub to hub communication for SmartBAN MAC defined in ETSI
TS 103 325 [1].
ETSI
6 ETSI TS 103 805 V1.1.1 (2024-01)
1 Scope
The present document extends the low complexity Medium Access Control (MAC) for SmartBAN defined in ETSI
TS 103 325 [1] with relay functionality. The main scope of the present document is to define specifications for relay
node functionality enabling a two-hop communication within a SmartBAN.
2 References
2.1 Normative references
References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or
non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the
referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
Referenced documents which are not found to be publicly available in the expected location might be found at
https://docbox.etsi.org/Reference.
NOTE: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication, ETSI cannot guarantee
their long term validity.
The following referenced documents are necessary for the application of the present document.
[1] ETSI TS 103 325 (V1.2.1): "Smart Body Area Network (SmartBAN); Low Complexity Medium
Access Control (MAC) for SmartBAN".
[2] ETSI TS 103 326 (V1.2.1): "Smart Body Area Network (SmartBAN); Enhanced Ultra-Low Power
Physical Layer".
2.2 Informative references
References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or
non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the
referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
NOTE: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication, ETSI cannot guarantee
their long term validity.
The following referenced documents are not necessary for the application of the present document but they assist the
user with regard to a particular subject area.
[i.1] ETSI EN 300 328-1 (V1.3.1): "Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM);
Wideband Transmission systems; Data transmission equipment operating in the 2,4 GHz ISM
band and using spread spectrum modulation techniques; Part 1: Technical characteristics and test
conditions".
[i.2] IEEE™ 802.15.6-2012: "IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks - Part 15.6:
Wireless Body Area Networks".
[i.3] IEEE™ 802.15.4-2011: "IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks - Part 15:4:
Wireless Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specification for Low-Rate
Wireless Personal Area Networks".
[i.4] ETSI TS 103 806: "Smart Body Area Network (SmartBAN); Hub to Hub Communication for
SmartBAN Medium Access Control (MAC)".
ETSI
7 ETSI TS 103 805 V1.1.1 (2024-01)
3 Definition of terms, symbols and abbreviations
3.1 Terms
For the purposes of the present document, the following terms apply:
active period: period within the superframe period that is ready for frame reception and transmission
active state: internal power management state that is ready for the frame reception and transmission
allocation: one or more time intervals that a node or a hub obtains using an access method for initiating one or more
frame transactions
beacon: frame transmitted by a hub to facilitate network management, such as the coordination of medium access and
power management of the nodes in the SmartBAN, and to facilitate clock synchronization therein
beacon period: duration when a beacon is transmitted
connection: relation between a node and a hub in a Body Area Network (BAN), substantiated by an identification
assigned to the node by the hub and by access arrangement between them
device: entity conforming to the SmartBAN medium access control and physical interface to the wireless medium
downlink: communication link for transfer of management and data traffic from a hub to a node, or in the context of
hub to hub communication, from target hub to initiating hub
frame: uninterrupted sequence of octets delivered by the Medium Access Control (MAC) sublayer to the Physical
(PHY) layer, or vice versa, within a node or a hub
hub: entity that possesses a node's functionality and coordinates the medium access and power management of the
nodes in the SmartBAN
hub to hub mode: optional enhanced operation mode where hubs of neighbouring SmartBANs may form a connection,
obtain allocation(s), and transmit and receive management and data traffic between them
inactive period: period in time following an active transmission sequence during which the equipment other than the
hub does not transmit or receive
medical device: any instrument, apparatus, appliance, software, material or other article, whether used alone or in
combination, together with any accessories, including the software intended by its manufacturer to be used specifically
for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes and necessary for its proper application, intended by the manufacturer to be
used for human beings for the purpose of:
• diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of disease;
• diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, alleviation of or compensation for an injury or handicap;
• investigation, replacement or modification of the anatomy or of a physiological process;
• control of conception;
and which does not achieve its principal intended action in or on the human body by pharmacological, immunological
or metabolic means but which may be assisted in its function by such means
multi-use channel access mode: mode of operation where the slot structure during the scheduled and control and
management periods is accessible by multiple different priorities based on a temporal order
node: entity conforming to the SmartBAN medium access control and physical interface to the wireless medium
operating frequency: frequency at which the equipment can be operated
priority channel access: highest priority access during multi-use channel access
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8 ETSI TS 103 805 V1.1.1 (2024-01)
relay: node entity that is temporarily assigned by the hub the functionality to relay frames received from the node to the
hub or vice versa
relay mode: optional enhanced operation mode where a node entity is temporarily assigned by the hub the functionality
to relay frames received from another node to the hub and vice versa
re-use channel access: lowest priority access during multi-use channel access enables re-use of scheduled but not
utilized slots
scheduled access: one or more scheduled reoccurring time intervals that a node and a hub obtains using scheduled
access for initiating frame transactions
NOTE: A scheduled allocation is an uplink or downlink allocation suitable for servicing high or low duty cycle
periodic or quasi-periodic traffic on a committed schedule.
star network: logical network partition comprising a hub and zero or more nodes whose medium access and power
management are coordinated by the hub
uplink: communication link for transfer of management and data traffic from a node to a hub, or in the context of hub
to hub communication, from initiating hub to target hub
3.2 Symbols
For the purposes of the present document, the following symbols apply:
× Mathematical multiplication of the term immediately preceding the symbol and the term
immediately following the symbol
CP Maximum Contention Probability
max
CP Minimum Contention Probability
min
GHz Gigahertz
L Number of time slots in Inter-Beacon Interval
D
L Length of MAC Frame Body (bits)
F
MHz Megahertz
N Number of time slots in Control and Management Period
CM
N Number of time slots in Schedule Period
S
T Interval between control channel beacons
C
T D
...