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arxiv: 2411.13191 · v3 · submitted 2024-11-20 · 📡 eess.SP

Experimental Assessment of Human Blockage at sub-THz and mmWave Frequency Bands

Juan E. Galeote-Cazorla , Alejandro Ram\'irez-Arroyo , Jos\'e-Mar\'ia Molina-Garc\'ia-Pardo , Mar\'ia-Teresa Mart\'inez-Ingl\'es , Juan F. Valenzuela Vald\'es This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-23 17:15 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 📡 eess.SP
keywords human blockagesub-THzmmWaveattenuationpath lossexperimental measurement5G6G
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The pith

Human blockage attenuation rises from 42 dB at 75 GHz to 56 dB at 215 GHz.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper conducts measurements of how a human body blocks radio signals across an unusually wide range from 75 GHz to 215 GHz. It tracks changes in attenuation while varying the distance from the blocker to the antennas and the blocker's body size and orientation. Results are fitted to modified path loss models and compared against 3GPP models. The work shows that average attenuation grows steadily with frequency while also documenting an 18 dB improvement in received power when antenna separation increases from 1 m to 2.5 m. Orientation of the body produces variations up to 4.6 dB.

Core claim

Experimental data establish that human blockage produces average attenuation that increases from 42 dB at 75 GHz to 56 dB at 215 GHz, with additional dependence on blocker-antenna distance and body orientation.

What carries the argument

Wide-frequency-band power measurements with a human blocker placed at controlled distances and orientations between transmitter and receiver.

If this is right

  • Path-loss models for frequencies above 100 GHz must incorporate stronger human-blockage terms than those used at lower mmWave bands.
  • An 18 dB improvement in received power occurs when Tx-Rx separation grows from 1 m to 2.5 m even in the presence of a blocker.
  • Body orientation alone can alter blockage loss by as much as 4.6 dB.
  • Fitted models provide a basis for comparing against 3GPP blockage alternatives at sub-THz frequencies.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • Network planning tools for 6G bands may need to treat human blockage as a frequency-dependent obstacle rather than a fixed loss.
  • The measured distance dependence suggests that slightly larger cell sizes or relay placements could partially offset blockage.

Load-bearing premise

Laboratory conditions and the specific antennas and equipment capture typical real-world human blockage without large unmodeled biases that would change the reported attenuation values.

What would settle it

New measurements at the same frequencies but with different antennas, environments, or blocker positioning that fail to show attenuation increasing from roughly 42 dB to 56 dB would challenge the reported frequency dependence.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2411.13191 by Alejandro Ram\'irez-Arroyo, Jos\'e-Mar\'ia Molina-Garc\'ia-Pardo, Juan E. Galeote-Cazorla, Juan F. Valenzuela Vald\'es, Mar\'ia-Teresa Mart\'inez-Ingl\'es.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: Panoramic of the measurement setup at UPCT facilities. [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p002_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: Example of blockage event measured for f = 75 GHz and d = 1 m (normalized with respect to the LoS component). The red line results from removing the fast fading effects of the measurement. 75 92.5 110 127.5 145 162.5 180 197.5 215 Frequency (GHz) -100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 Blockage Gain (dB) FI model (a) 1 1.75 2.5 Distance (m) -100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 Blockage Gain (dB) (b) [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p0… view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: BG samples (scatter plot) and probability density estimate (violin diagram) per studied (a) frequency and (b) distance. The fit with the modified floating-intercept (FI) model is included as a black line in subfigure (a). III. ANALYSIS AND MODELING OF BLOCKAGE GAIN Applying the aforementioned definition, the BG parame￾ter was computed for each captured blockage event. Next, it was analyzed in terms of the … view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: Geometrical description of the carried out measurements applied to [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_4.png] view at source ↗
Figure 5
Figure 5. Figure 5: Comparison between the CI, ABG, and CIF blockage gain fitting models (blue, red and yellow lines) with the 3GPP-A and 3GPP-B blockage gain [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_5.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

The fifth generation (5G) of mobile communications relies on extremely high data transmission rates utilizing a wide range of frequency bands, including FR1 (sub-6 GHz) and FR2 (mmWave). Future mobile communications systems are envisaged to operate at the electromagnetic spectrum beyond FR2, above 100 GHz, known as sub-THz band. These new frequencies open up challenging scenarios where communications will have to rely on a major contribution such as the line-of-sight (LoS) component. To the best of the authors' knowledge, for the first time in the literature this work studies the human blockage effects over an extremely wide frequency band from 75 GHz to 215 GHz considering: (i) the distance between the blocker and the antennas and (ii) the body size and orientation. The obtained results are fitted to modifications of the classical path loss models and compared to 3GPP alternatives. The average attenuation increases from 42 dB to 56 dB when frequency rises from 75 GHz to 215 GHz. On the other hand, an 18 dB increment in the received power is observed when the Tx--Rx separation is increased from 1 m to 2.5 m. Finally, variations of up to 4.6 dB are found depending on the blocker's orientation.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

0 major / 3 minor

Summary. The manuscript reports an experimental study of human blockage attenuation for wireless links operating from 75 GHz to 215 GHz. Measurements vary the blocker-antenna distance (1 m to 2.5 m), body size, and orientation, yielding an average attenuation increase from 42 dB to 56 dB with rising frequency, an 18 dB received-power gain when Tx-Rx separation increases from 1 m to 2.5 m, and orientation-induced variations up to 4.6 dB. The data are fitted to modified classical path-loss models and compared against 3GPP alternatives; the authors claim this is the first such study over this extremely wide frequency span.

Significance. If the reported attenuation values and frequency dependence hold under the stated conditions, the work supplies empirical data that can directly inform sub-THz channel models for 6G systems, where LoS dominance makes human blockage a first-order impairment. The breadth of the frequency range and the explicit parametric sweeps on distance, size, and orientation constitute a useful addition to the propagation literature.

minor comments (3)
  1. [§3] §3 (Measurement Setup): although the full text supplies the previously missing protocol details, the text should explicitly state the number of independent trials per configuration, the criterion for data exclusion, and whether error bars or standard deviations accompany the reported average attenuations.
  2. [§4] §4 (Model Fitting): the precise functional form of the 'modifications' applied to the classical path-loss models should be written out (including any additional parameters introduced) so that readers can reproduce the fits without ambiguity.
  3. [Figures 4-5] Figure 4 and Figure 5: axis labels and legends should distinguish the three body-size categories and the four orientation angles more clearly; current captions leave some curves difficult to map to the experimental conditions.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

0 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the positive assessment of our work and the recommendation of minor revision. The provided summary accurately captures the experimental scope, frequency range, and key parametric findings on human blockage attenuation.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity; purely experimental measurements

full rationale

This is an experimental measurement study reporting direct observations of human blockage attenuation (42–56 dB across 75–215 GHz) under controlled variations in blocker distance, body size, and orientation. The manuscript describes the lab setup, equipment, and data collection protocol; results are empirical data points fitted to standard path-loss model modifications and compared against 3GPP references. No load-bearing derivations, self-definitional equations, fitted-input predictions, or self-citation chains reduce any central claim to its own inputs by construction. The frequency dependence and distance effects are reported as measured outcomes, not as outputs forced by the paper's own modeling assumptions.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

1 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim rests on experimental measurements and the assumption that modified standard path-loss models adequately describe the observations; no new entities are postulated.

free parameters (1)
  • parameters of modified path loss models
    Results are fitted to modifications of classical path loss models, implying parameters adjusted to the measured data.
axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Standard path loss models can be modified to account for human blockage at these frequencies
    The obtained results are fitted to modifications of the classical path loss models and compared to 3GPP alternatives.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5810 in / 1307 out tokens · 52519 ms · 2026-05-23T17:15:43.087197+00:00 · methodology

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Reference graph

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