Personal Area Network
Formal
A computer network used for data transmission among digital devices. Interconnected devices are operating in the range of a single person, typically 10 meters. PANS are mostly or exclusively wireless, making the term basically indistinguishable from Wireless PANs (WPAN).
Practical
Interconnected devices operating in the range of a single person, typically 10 meters. PANS are mostly or exclusively wireless, making the term basically indistinguishable from Wireless PANs (WPAN). WPAN is based on the IEEE 802.15 standard and does not necessarily require an uplink to the Internet. The PAN concept was first developed by Thomas Zimmerman and others at the M.I.T. Media Lab.
