Wireless Low-Latency Synchronization for Body-Worn Multi-Node Systems in Sports

Nico Krull, Lukas Schulthess, Michele Magno, Luca Benini, Christoph Leitner

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Keywords: Sport, Biomechanics, WBAN, Wireless, Wearable, Sensor

Abstract:

Biomechanical data acquisition in sports demands sub-millisecond synchronization across distributed body-worn sensor nodes.
This study evaluates and characterizes the Enhanced ShockBurst (ESB) protocol from Nordic Semiconductor
under controlled laboratory conditions for wireless, low-latency command broadcasting, enabling fast event updates in multi-node systems. Through systematic profiling of protocol parameters, including cyclic-redundancy-check modes, bitrate, transmission
modes, and payload handling, we achieve a mean Device-to-Device (D2D) latency of 504.99 ± 96.89 μs and a network-to-network core latency of 311.78 ± 96.90 μs using a one-byte payload with retransmission optimization.
This significantly outperforms Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which is constrained by a 7.5 ms connection interval, by providing deterministic, sub-millisecond synchronization suitable for high-frequency (500 Hz to 1000 Hz) biosignals. These results position ESB as a viable solution for time-critical, multi-node wearable systems in sports, enabling precise event alignment and reliable high-speed data fusion for advanced athlete monitoring and feedback applications.

Track: 2. Sensors and systems for digital health, wellness, and athletics

NominateReviewer: Lukas Schulthess, [e-mail]

Submission Number: 81