ITC/USA 2011 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Seventh Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2011 / Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper reports the analysis of L-band channel sounding experiments conducted along the flight line at Cairns Army Airfield, Ft. Rucker, Alabama. Propagation data from multiple antennas on a helicopter to multiple receiving antennas on the ground are used to compute power delay profiles. Analysis of the results reveals delay spreads of the multipath channels between 200 ns and 400 ns, with the longer delay spreads resulting when using a receive antenna with lower gain and higher sidelobe levels. The data also shows that on average, diversity signaling from three aircraft-mounted antennas can lead to gains in signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 13 dB, with the gain dependent on the multipath characteristics observed by the ground antenna.

Ultrawideband (UWB) is one of the most promising communication technologies in recent times with the promise of high data rates and spectral reuse. This work analyses the outdoor and outdoor-to-indoor propagating characteristics of the UWB pulse, which can be of the order of a few gigahertz in bandwidth. The aim of the thesis is to provide the parameters needed in order to develop a channel model for such cases. The channel model would then play an important role in determining physical layer (PHY) solutions to optimally exploit these characteristics. The measurements carried out on the Virginia Tech campus are used to compute parameters such as path loss, penetration loss and delay statistics. These are carried out in multiple frequency bands and the results are compared across frequency bands to determine effect of different frequency levels on the parameters. Finally the results are analyzed with respect to similar parameters obtained in other measurement campaigns in an attempt to evaluate the performance of Ultrawideband vis-à-vis narrowband systems. / Master of Science

The radio wave propagation prediction is one of the key elements for designing an efficient radio network system. WRAP International has developed a software for spectrum management and radio network planning.This software includes some wave propagation models which are used to predict path loss. Current propagation models in WRAP perform the calculation in a vertical 2D plane, the plane between the transmitter and the receiver. The goal of this thesis is to investigate and implement a 3D wave propagation model, in a way that reflections and diffractions from the sides are taken into account.The implemented 3D wave propagation model should be both fast and accurate. A full 3D model which uses high resolution geographical data may be accurate, but it is inefficient in terms of memory usage and computational time. Based on the fact that in urban areas the strongest path between the receiver and the transmitter exists with no joint between vertical and horizontal diffractions [10], the radio wave propagation can be divided into two parts, the vertical and horizontal part. Calculations along the horizontal and vertical parts are performed independently, and after that, the results are combined. This approach leads to less computational complexity, faster calculation time, less memory usage, and still maintaining a good accuracy.The proposed model is implemented in C++ and speeded up using parallel programming techniques. Using the provided Stockholm high resolution geographical data, simulations are performed and results are compared with real measurements and other wave propagation models. In addition to the path loss calculation, the proposed model can also be used to estimate the channel power delay profile and the delay spread.

[pt] Sistemas com múltiplas antenas transmissoras e receptoras, também conhecidos como sistemas MIMO (Multiple Input-Multiple Output), têm sido apontados como uma solução para aumentar a capacidade de enlaces sem fio, permitindo aos usuários utilizar aplicações com altas taxas de dados. Isto é extremamente importante em sistemas onde a capacidade obtida com as técnicas tradicionais é bastante limitada devido às características do ambiente de propagação. Com o sistema MIMO, algumas destas características são exploradas para criar canais paralelos e obter aumento expressivo de capacidade. A análise da capacidade de sistemas MIMO se baseia em uma modelagem desenvolvida a partir do comportamento estatístico dos pares de enlaces existentes entre as múltiplas antenas transmissoras e receptoras. Existe, portanto, um grande interesse em medir este comportamento para situações típicas bem como em relacioná-lo a determinados parâmetros do sistema. Nesta tese apresentam-se os resultados de uma campanha de medidas visando caracterizar canais MIMO de faixa estreita e faixa larga em ambientes fechados (indoor) com uma freqüência de portadora de 2GHz. A partir dos dados medidos, avalia-se a capacidade e diversos parâmetros do canal espaço-temporal. Os parâmetros do canal MIMO são estimados através do algoritmo FD-SAGE e as dispersões temporal e espacial do canal são calculadas a partir dos parâmetros estimados. Uma análise dos autovalores da matriz do canal MIMO é realizada com o objetivo de relacionar os valores da capacidade ao número de canais paralelos. É analisada, ainda, a correlação entre a capacidade e os parâmetros físicos do canal, tais como espaçamento entre os elementos do arranjo, espalhamento angular, espalhamento dos retardos, número e potência dos multipercursos. / [en] Multiple antenna systems known as MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) systems have been proposed as an effective way to address the user demand for high data rate applications in wireless systems. This is especially important in systems where the capacity attained with traditional techniques is very limited due to the adverse characteristics of the propagation environment. With MIMO, some of these characteristics are used to create parallel channels producing significant increase in capacity. The analysis of MIMO capacity is based on models developed from the statistical behavior of the multiple links between the transmitting and receiving antennas, and therefore there has been large interest in measuring these characteristics in typical scenarios and in relating the data to system parameters. In this thesis the results of a MIMO wideband measurement campaign carried out in an indoor scenario with a carrier frequency of 2 GHz is presented. The wideband and narrowband channel capacity and several channel parameters are evaluated from the measured data. The channel parameters are estimated using the frequency domain Space-Alternating Generalized Expectation maximization (FD- SAGE) algorithm. Temporal and spatial dispersions of the multipath channel are calculated from the estimated parameters and an eigenvalue analysis is performed seeking to relate the capacity values to the number of parallel channels. In addition, the correlation between channel capacity and physical parameters as antenna spacing, angle spread, delay spread, number and power of multipath components is investigated.

[pt] No cenário atual das telecomunicações móveis, os arranjos de antenas voltaram a receber grande atenção dos pesquisadores, especialmente quando esquemas adaptativos de modificação de seus diagramas de radiação são utilizados. Uma das aplicações que exploram o potencial dos arranjos de antenas é o seu uso como forma de aumentar consideravelmente a eficiência espectral dos sistemas móveis atuais e da próxima geração. A outra aplicação em evidência está voltada para sistemas de localização de posição, pois algumas das técnicas conhecidas envolvem a estimação de ângulos-de-chegada usando arranjos de antenas. Diante destas possibilidades, cresce em importância o estudo das variações do canal de propagação rádio móvel no domínio em que o uso dos arranjos de antenas atua: o espacial. O presente trabalho procura contribuir para o contexto em questão, com uma investigação experimental do canal real rádio-móvel nos domínios temporal (retardos) e espacial (ângulos-de-chegada). No que se refere ao contexto nacional, contribuições similares baseadas em simulações já são encontradas; baseadas em medidas não. Em particular, sondagens na faixa de 1,8 GHz em ambientes internos típicos foram realizadas. Duas técnicas distintas de sondagem temporalespacial foram implementadas, tomando por base uma sonda de canal faixa-larga montada e testada com sucesso, como contribuição principal de uma dissertação de mestrado recentemente apresentada por um integrante do mesmo grupo de pesquisa ao qual esta tese está vinculada. Uma das técnicas sintetiza o arranjo realizando as sondagens com uma única antena que é sucessivamente deslocada para ocupar as posições correspondentes às dos elementos do arranjo. A outra técnica emprega um arranjo real. Em ambas, a configuração mais simples para um arranjo foi utilizada: a linear uniforme. As sondagens não forneciam diretamente os espectros espaciais-temporais. As estimativas dos espectros foram processadas posteriormente, aplicando técnicas como o correlograma para o domínio do retardo, e quatro técnicas distintas para o domínio espacial, que foi o foco principal deste trabalho: duas convencionais; e duas paramétricas, com potencial de aumentar a resolução das estimativas, assumindo hipóteses razoáveis sobre as respostas esperadas. De posse das respostas espectrais estimadas, comparações com estimativas teóricas permitiram uma análise de desempenho das técnicas utilizadas. Adicionalmente à investigação experimental do canal espacial, procurou-se verificar o potencial da aplicação da teoria de wavelets ao estudo do canal rádiomóvel. Em especial, uma das principais aplicações daquela teoria foi testada como técnica de pós-processamento das respostas espectrais no domínio do retardo. A supressão de ruído por decomposição wavelet foi aplicada a um vasto conjunto de medidas de canal disponíveis, fruto de trabalhos anteriores do grupo de pesquisa ao qual esta tese está vinculada, com resultados expressivos. / [en] In the present mobile communications scenario, researchers have turned once again special attention to antennae arrays, particularly when adaptive schemes are employed to modify its radiation patterns. One of its main applications results in considerable increases to the spectral efficiency of present and next generation mobile systems. The other major application is headed towards position location systems, since some of the known techniques comprise angle-of-arrival estimation using antennae arrays. Under such possibilities, mobile radio propagation channel variations studies grow in relevance, specially regarding the antennae arrays main domain of action: the spatial domain. The present work tries to contribute to the overstated context, experimentally investigating the actual mobile radio channel over the temporal (delays) and spatial (angles of arrival) domains. Regionally speaking, similar contributions based on simulations are already found, but none based on measurements. In special, 1.8 GHz indoor soundings have been carried out. Two different temporal spatial sounding techniques have been deployed, based on na available wideband channel sounder successfully assembled and tested as the major contribution of a MSc. dissertation recently presented by a member of the same research team to which this thesis belongs. One of such techniques sinthesyzes the array carrying the sounding out with a single antenna, which is successively moved to occupy the spots corresponding to the array elements. The other method employs an actual array. For both cases, the simplest array configuration has been used: the uniform linear one. Space-time spectra were not directly available in real time during the soundings. Its estimates have been processed later, applying techniques such as the correlogram over the delay domain, and four distinct methods over the spatial domain, the main focus of the present work. Two conventional methods have been used, as well as two parametric ones, potentially capable to increase the estimates resolution, assuming reasonable hypotheses regarding the expected responses. With the estimated spectral responses in hands, comparisons with theoretical estimates allowed a performance assessment of the employed methods. In addition to the spatial channel experimental investigation, the wavelets theory potential of application to the mobile-radio channel study has been checked out. Notably, one of the wavelets theory major applications has been tested as a post-processing technique to improve delay-domain spectral responses. Wavelet decomposition based de-noising has been applied to a huge measurements ensemble, available as the product of previous works of the research group to which this thesis is attached, leading to remarkable results.

Disertační práce je zaměřena na měření a modelování kanálu uvnitř a vně vozidla pro komunikaci a lokalizaci. Pro účely vytvoření integrovaného inteligentního dopravního systému ITS (Intelligent transportation system) je důležitý odhad vlastnosti kanálů pro vnitřní a venkovní scénáře. Za tímto účelem je vhodné provést řadu činností, které jsou obsahem disertační práce: Simulace fyzické vrstvy 802.11p, její srovnávání s 802.11a, měření kanálu pro různé scénáře pro 802.11p a pro širokopásmový systém (UWB), vytvoření modelů kanálů pro 802.11p a UWB a výzkum vlastností lokalizace založené na měření v pásmu UWB. Výzkum komunikace vozidla s okolím založená na IEEE 802.11p standardu. Jedním z cílů disertační práce je ukázat rozdíly mezi standardy fyzické vrstvy IEEE 802.11a a IEEE 802.11p prostřednictvím simulace s použitím modelu kanálu HIPERPLAN/2. V práci je uvedena simulace přenosu signálu 802.11p kanálem ITU-R M.1225 s odlišným zpožděním a středním výkonem (pro chodce a vozidla). Vliv kanálu na signál je analyzován za použití simulace v prostředí MATLABu pomocí vyhodnocení chybovosti. Určení vlastností kanálů v kmitočtovém pásmu 5,8 GHz pro standard IEEE 802.11p a UWB. Experimenty byly prováděny pro vnitřní a vnější prostředí vozidla. Bylo zjištěno, že pro protokol 802.11p může být trend (dlouhodobý vývoj) profilu PDP (power delay profile) nejlépe aproximován pomocí modelu obsahujícího dvě klesající exponenciální funkce, na rozdíl od Saleh-Valenzuelova (S-V) modelu, který je více vhodný pro UWB systémy pracující v pásmu 3 až 11 GHz. Vytvoření odpovídající impulzní odezvy (CIR) s využitím trendu PDP. Informace o CIR byla použita pro simulaci 802.11p za účelem vyhodnocení chybovosti při použití Ricianova modelu. Výsledky odhadu BER ukazují vhodnost protokolu pro vnitřní a vnější prostředí bezdrátových aplikací. Výsledky simulací dále ukazují, že se chybovost zásadně nemění a proto je možné určit střední křivku BER pro celou sadu změřených dat. Určení vlivu malé změny polohy antény na vlastnosti kanálu. Práce ukazuje náhodnost parametrů UWB kanálu pro malé změny polohy antény okolo vozidla, zaparkovaného v podzemní garáži. Ztráty šířením jsou monotónně rostoucí se vzdáleností, avšak náhodně se mění v závislosti na úhlu a výšce antén, a proto je vyhodnocení vzdálenosti pomocí síly signálu pro tyto scénáře nevhodné. Na druhé straně může být pro spolehlivé určení vzdálenosti bez ohledu na úhel nebo výšku antény použita doba příchodu prvního svazku. Ověření vlivu změn konfigurace kanálu na parametry S-V modelu. Práce demonstruje závislost parametrů Saleh-Valenzuela modelu v na vzdálenosti a výšce antén, avšak ukazuje, že jejich průměrné hodnoty jsou blízké IEEE 802.15.3 standardu. Ověření možnosti lokalizace pomocí metody TOA (time of arrival). Vzdálenost mezi anténami byla určena z profilu PDP s využitím lineární závislosti vzdálenosti na zpoždění. Souřadnice vysílací antény byly nalezeny pomocí dvou přijímacích antén pomocí 2-D lokalizační techniky TOA. Porovnání vypočtených souřadnic s původními vykazuje chybu menší než 6%, což ukazuje vhodnost navrženého přístupu pro lokalizaci vozidel.