This paper investigates the feasibility of mmWave frequencies for personal networks of wireless wearable devices in enclosed settings (e.g., commuter trains, subways, airplanes, airports, or offices). At these frequencies, specular reflections off surfaces are expected to contribute to the capture of intended signal power and, simultaneously, to aggravate the interference at the receivers. Meanwhile, blockages by obstacles and people-including the individuals wearing the devices-are expected to shield receivers from interference. With the aid of stochastic geometry and random shape theory, we assess the interplay of surface reflections and blockages for dense deployments of wearable networks equipped with directional antenna arrays in relevant indoor settings.

This work was supported in part by the Intel/Verizon University Research Program 5G: Transforming the Wireless User Experience and in part by the Project MINECO/FEDER, UE under Grant TEC2015-66228-P, and in part by the European Research Council under the H2020 Framework Programme/ERC under Grant 694974.