Ce travail de thèse porte sur la modélisation des phénomènes de propagation affectant les signaux de navigation par satellite en environnement urbain dense avec une focalisation particulière sur les multitrajets et l'aspect large bande du canal de propagation espace/Terre. Le simulateur de canal pseudo temps-réel développé, SCHUN (Simplified CHannel for Urban Navigation), repose sur une approche hybride physico-statistique. La composante statistique de la modélisation permet essentiellement de générer une ville virtuelle à partir de distributions de bâtiments connues. Le reste de la modélisation s'appuie sur une approche physique simplifiée où les interactions ondes électromagnétiques/ville virtuelle reposent d'une part sur un modèle de macro-diffusion à l'échelle des façades, (3CM (Three Component Model)), et d'autre part sur un modèle physique de masquage du trajet direct par les bâtiments. Les principales méthodes numériques sous-jacentes sont l'optique physique et la théorie uniforme de la diffraction. Le simulateur de canal SCHUN ouvre aujourd'hui des perspectives intéressantes pour la modélisation large bande du canal de propagation espace/Terre. Optimisé pour des temps de calcul raisonnables, alliant une composante statistique à une composante physique simplifiée, ce simulateur a été conçu et validé par des mesures expérimentales pour répondre à des besoins de simulation des systèmes à diversité de satellite, diversité de réception, diversité de polarisation ou encore diversité de fréquence pour des applications de navigation par satellite. / This PhD work deals with land mobile satellite channel modelling and addresses the specific issue of satellite navigation systems in urban environments with a particular focus on multipath modelling and wide-band representation of the channel. The developed land mobile satellite channel simulator, SCHUN (Simplified CHannel for Urban Navigation), is based on a hybrid physical-statistical approach satisfying fast computation requirements. The statistical component of the modelling is mainly used during the virtual city synthesis step based on known statistical distributions of building height and street width. The rest of the modelling comes from deterministic methods using simplified electromagnetic interaction models reproducing building macro-scattering (3CM model (Three Component Model)) and building blockage of the direct path. The main underlying electromagnetic methods are the physical optics and the uniform theory of diffraction. The SCHUN simulator now opens interesting perspectives for the modelling of wide-band land mobile satellite propagation channel in dense urban environments. Optimised for pseudo real-time constraints, it uses both physical and statistical approaches. Furthermore, the SCHUN simulator has been designed and validated against measurements to answer specific needs of satellite diversity, receiving diversity, polarisation diversity or frequency diversity for satellite navigation applications.

Cette thèse a apporté une contribution au défi de la caractérisation des canaux radios en bandes millimétriques ainsi que la validation d'un outil de simulation déterministe à travers un grand nombre de campagnes de mesures réalisées dans divers scénarios représentatives. Des questions de recherche liées à la caractérisation des canaux radio en bandes millimétriques et sa prédiction à travers un outil de simulation déterministe ont été abordées. Fournir des résultats précis et reproductibles est nécessaire dans le développement d'un système de communication. Ce défi peut être relevé en réalisant des campagnes de mesures qui capturent la réalité du canal de propagation constituant le point de départ. Dans cette thèse, les principales motivations scientifiques derrière ces campagnes de mesures étaient d'étudier la variabilité dans le temps et l'effet de l'environnement sur le canal de propagation dans les bandes millimétriques. Les bandes de fréquences adressées dans cette thèse sont identifiées comme étant importantes par l'UIT en vue d'un futur déploiement de la 5G à savoir 15, 28, 32 et 83 GHz. Les environnements considérés sont une conférence room, bureau, bibliothèque et micro-cellulaire. Les campagnes de mesures ont été menées en utilisant un sondage de canal fréquentiel avec l'utilisation d'un analyseur de réseau. L'exploitation des résultats de mesures ont permis d'apporter des éléments de réponses concernant le canal de propagation dans ces bandes de fréquences. D'autre part, les données de mesures ont été utilisés pour évaluer les performances et contribuer à la calibration d’un simulateur de canal radio à tracé de rayons (RT) reposant sur une approche déterministe. Le simulateur de canal déterministe utilisé dans cette thèse incorpore les mécanismes de propagation tels que le LOS, la réflexion et la diffraction. Le RT a permis de prédire le canal de propagation dans les bandes millimétriques avec une concordance acceptable avec les données de mesures. Ces résultats démontrent que le canal de propagation en bandes millimétriques a pour avantage d'être prédit avec de simple outil déterministe. / This thesis has contributed to the challenge of the radio channel characterizations in millimeter wave bands as well as the validation of a deterministic simulation tool through a large number of measurement campaigns carried out in various representative scenarios. Research questions related to the characterization of radio channels in millimetric bands and its prediction through a deterministic simulation tool were discussed. Providing accurate and repeatable results is necessary for the development of a communication system. This challenge can be meet by conducting measurement campaigns that capture the reality of the propagation channel and therefore constituting the starting point. In this thesis, the main scientific motivations behind these measurement campaigns were to study the time variability and the effect of the scattering environment of the propagation channel in the millimetric bands. The frequency bands addressed in this thesis are identified as important by the ITU for a future deployment of 5G, namely 15, 28, 32 and 83 GHz. The environments considered are a conference room, office, library and microcellular. The measurement campaigns were conducted using a frequency channel sounding technique with the use of a vector network analyzer. The exploitation of the measurement data provided some answers about the radio chennel propagation in these frequency bands. On the other hand, the measurements data were used to evaluate the performance and to contribute to the calibration of the ray-tracing tool (RT) based on a deterministic approach. The RT used in this thesis incorporates propagation mechanisms such as LOS, reflection and diffraction. The RT predicted the propagation channel in the millimeter bands with an acceptable level of agreement with respect to the measurement data. These results demonstrate that the propagation channel in millimetric bands has the advantage of being predicted with a simple deterministic tool.

[pt] A presente dissertação tem como tema de estudo a caracterização do canal do Global Positioning System (GPS) para ambientes urbanos. O objetivo do presente estudo é determinar a influência de diversos tipos de ambiente urbano no erro de posição horizontal do receptor GPS, com a finalidade de corroborar se, sob estas condições, o sistema oferece um serviço de posição de acordo com os requerimentos da Federal Communications Commission.Apresentam-se nos diferentes capítulos da dissertação os conceitos básicos do GPS, os procedimentos utilizados na campanha de medidas, as características mais importantes dos ambientes nos quais as mesmas se realizaram e os resultados obtidos, assim como suas análises. Além disso, apresentam-se as configurações dos ambientes utilizados nas simulações, os cálculos para determinar a relação entre azimute e elevação para cada um dos tipos de ambiente adotados, os resultados das simulações e as análises das mesmas. Finalmente, apresentam-se as conclusões para os resultados obtidos durante a campanha de medidas e as simulações, assim como indicações para estudos futuros. / [en] The present dissertation analyzes the propagation channel of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for urban environments. The objective of the study is to determine the influence of different types of urban environments in the error of the horizontal position provided by the GPS receiver. In particular, it investigates if, under degraded conditions, the system is still able to offer a positioning service in accordance to the requirements of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The different chapters of the dissertation present the basic GPS concepts, the adopted procedures to perform measurements, as well as the most relevant characteristics of the environments where measurements took place. In continuation, results are described, followed by their analysis. The configurations of environments used in the simulations are depicted, as well as the computations to determine the relationship between azimuth and elevation for each type of environment. Results of such computations and their corresponding analyses are presented for each simulation case. Finally, conclusions on the results obtained from the measurement campaigns and simulations, as well as suggestions for future studies are presented.

En transports guidés, la localisation précise des trains s’avère vitale pour une exploitation nominale du système de transport. Dans un environnement de propagation tel que celui d’une emprise ferroviaire, un capteur de localisation efficace est complexe à concevoir et à valider lorsqu’il doit opérer en présence de nombreux obstacles fixes et mobiles constitués par l’infrastructure et les trains. Afin de concevoir un tel capteur, nous proposons dans ce travail de thèse l’emploi de techniques innovantes dites de diversité spectrale que l’on retrouve également sous la dénomination de radio Ultra Large Bande (ULB). Dans ce travail, cette dernière est également associée à la technique de Retournement Temporel (RT) afin de tirer partie de cet environnement de propagation complexe. L’objectif visé est d’obtenir une localisation fiable et robuste des véhicules ferroviaires par focalisation de signaux ULB en direction des antennes sol ou trains. Des études théoriques alliées à des simulations ont été effectuées portant sur les propriétés de focalisation d’énergie de la technique de retournement temporel en tenant compte de plusieurs paramètres liés aux configurations antennaires, aux canaux de propagation rencontrés et à l’électronique utilisée. L’apport du retournement temporel sur la précision du système de localisation Ultra Large Bande a été quantifié en comparant le système de localisation ULB conventionnel, sans retournement temporel puis, en associant le RT. Les résultats théoriques et de simulations de la solution proposée ont été validés par des expérimentations menées en chambre anéchoïque ainsi qu’en environnement indoor. / In guided transport, the precise location of trains is vital for nominal operation of the transport system. In a propagation environment such as a railway line, an effective location sensor is complex to design and validate since it must operate in the presence of many fixed and mobile obstacles constituted by the infrastructure and the trains. In this thesis, to design such a sensor, we propose the use of so-called spectral diversity techniques also found under the name of Ultra Wideband radio (UWB). In this work, the latter is also associated with the Time Reversal (TR) technique to take advantage of the complex propagation environment. The objective is to obtain a reliable and robust location of rail vehicles by focusing UWB signals to antennas or ground trains. Theoretical studies combined with simulations were performed on the properties of energy focusing of TR technique taking into account several parameters related to antennal configurations, propagation channels and the railway environment. The contribution of TR on the accuracy of the positioning system was quantified by comparing the conventional UWB positioning system alone and then, combining it with TR. The theoretical results and simulations of the proposed solution have been validated by experiments carried out in an anechoic chamber and in indoor environment.

Different diversity techniques such as Maximal-Ratio Combining (MRC), Equal-Gain Combining (EGC) and Selection Combining (SC) are described and analyzed. Two branches (N=2) diversity systems that are used for pre-detection combining have been investigated and computed. The statistics of carrier to noise ratio (CNR) and carrier to interference ratio (CIR) without diversity assuming Rayleigh fading model have been examined and then measured for diversity systems. The probability of error (p_e) vs CNR and (p_e) versus CIR have also been obtained. The fading dynamic range of the instantaneous CNR and CIR is reduced remarkably when diversity systems are used [1]. For a certain average probability of error, a higher valued average CNR and CIR is in need for non-diversity systems [1]. But a smaller valued of CNR and CIR are compared to diversity systems. The overall conclusion is that maximal-ratio combining (MRC) achieves the best performance improvement compared to other combining methods. Diversity techniques are very useful to improve the performance of high speed wireless channel to transmit data and information. The problems which considered in this thesis are not new but I have tried to organize, prove and analyze in new ways.

The capability to detect, track and monitor human activities behind building walls and other non-line-of-sight environments is an important component of security and surveillance operations. Over the years, both ultrawideband and Doppler based radar techniques have been researched and developed for tracking humans behind walls. In particular, Doppler radars capture some interesting features of the human radar returns called microDopplers that arise from the dynamic movements of the different body parts. All the current research efforts have focused on building hardware sensors with very specific capabilities. This dissertation focuses on developing a physics based Doppler radar simulator to generate the dynamic signatures of complex human motions in nonline-of-sight environments. The simulation model incorporates dynamic human motion, electromagnetic scattering mechanisms, channel propagation effects and radar sensor parameters. Detailed, feature-by-feature analyses of the resulting radar signatures are carried out to enhance our fundamental understanding of human sensing using radar. First, a methodology for simulating the radar returns from complex human motions in free space is presented. For this purpose, computer animation data from motion capture technologies are exploited to describe the human movements. Next, a fast, simple, primitive-based electromagnetic model is used to simulate the human body. The microDopplers of several human motions such as walking, running, crawling and jumping are generated by integrating the animation models of humans with the electromagnetic model of the human body. Next, a methodology for generating the microDoppler radar signatures of humans moving behind walls is presented. This involves combining wall propagation functions derived from the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation with the free space radar simulations of humans. The resulting hybrid simulator of the human and wall is used to investigate the effects of both homogeneous and inhomogeneous walls on human microDopplers. The results are further corroborated by basic point-scatterer analysis of different wall effects. The wall studies are followed by an analysis of the effects of flat grounds on human radar signatures. The ground effect is modeled using the method of images and a ground reflection coefficient. A suitable Doppler radar testbed is developed in the laboratory for simulation validation. Measured data of different human activities are collected in both line-of-sight and through-wall environments and the resulting microDoppler signatures are compared with the simulation results. The human microDopplers are best observed in the joint timefrequency space. Hence, suitable joint time-frequency transforms are investigated for improving the display and the readability of both simulated and measured spectrograms. Finally, two new Doppler radar paradigms are considered. First, a scenario is considered where multiple, spatially distributed Doppler radars are used to measure the microDopplers of a moving human from different viewing angles. The possibility of using these microDoppler data for estimating the positions of different point scatterers on the human body is investigated. Second, a scenario is considered where multiple Doppler radars are collocated in a two-dimensional (2-D) array configuration. The possibility of generating frontal images of human movements using joint Doppler and 2-D spatial beamforming is considered. The performance of this concept is compared with that of conventional 2-D array processing without Doppler processing. / text

This work concentrates on the application of diversity techniques and space time block coding for future mobile wireless communications. The initial system analysis employs a space-time coded OFDM transmitter over a multipath Rayleigh channel, and a receiver which uses a selection combining diversity technique. The performance of this combined scenario is characterised in terms of the bit error rate and throughput. A novel four element QOSTBC scheme is introduced, it is created by reforming the detection matrix of the original QOSTBC scheme, for which an orthogonal channel matrix is derived. This results in a computationally less complex linear decoding scheme as compared with the original QOSTBC. Space time coding schemes for three, four and eight transmitters were also derived using a Hadamard matrix. The practical optimization of multi-antenna networks is studied for realistic indoor and mixed propagation scenarios. The starting point is a detailed analysis of the throughput and field strength distributions for a commercial dual band 802.11n MIMO radio operating indoors in a variety of line of sight and non-line of sight scenarios. The physical model of the space is based on architectural schematics, and realistic propagation data for the construction materials. The modelling is then extended and generalized to a multi-storey indoor environment, and a large mixed site for indoor and outdoor channels based on the Bradford University campus. The implications for the physical layer are also explored through the specification of antenna envelope correlation coefficients. Initially this is for an antenna module configuration with two independent antennas in close proximity. An operational method is proposed using the scattering parameters of the system and which incorporates the intrinsic power losses of the radiating elements. The method is extended to estimate the envelope correlation coefficient for any two elements in a general (N,N) MIMO antenna array. Three examples are presented to validate this technique, and very close agreement is shown to exist between this method and the full electromagnetic analysis using the far field antenna radiation patterns.

內容感知的應用在今日已經變的越來越熱門，而位置資訊的可知也因此衍生出許多研究的議題。這篇論文提出了一套精準的室內無線網路系統名為Precise Indoor Location System (PILS)。大部分擁有良好定位精準度的定位系統都必須在事情花費許多的人力在收集大量的訊號上面，使得定位系統的變的不實用與需求過多的人力資源。在這篇論文裡，我們將目標放在減少在建置訊號地圖上的人力資源耗費並且保持住定位系統的精準度在一個可以接受的範圍。我們也提出了在資料收集上、訊號內插上、以及位置估計上的模型。另外我們也考慮了一連串連續訊號的相關度來提高準確度。無線網路訊號傳遞的特性也是我們研究的一部份，大小範圍的遮蔽包含在我們所研究的訊號傳遞現象裡面。最後我們提出了一套學習的模型來調整我們的訊號地圖，以改進因為測量數目的減少所造成的精準度下降。 / Context-aware applications become more and more popular in today’s life. Location-aware information derives a lot of research issues. This thesis presents a precise indoor RF-based WLAN (IEEE 802.11) locating system named Precise Indoor Locating System (PILS). Most proposed location systems acquire well location estimation results but consume high level of manual efforts to collect huge amount of signal data. As a consequence, the system becomes impractical and manpower-wasted. In this thesis, we aim to reduce the manual efforts in constructing radio map and maintain high accuracy in our system. We propose the models for data calibration, interpolating, and location estimation in PILS. In the data calibration and location estimation models, we consider the autocorrelation of signal samples to enhance accuracy. Large scale and small scale fading are involved in the wireless channel propagation model. We also propose a learning model to adjust radio map for improving the accuracy down caused by calibrated data reduction.

Les études présentées dans cette thèse font l’objet d’un travail innovant concernant la conception des antennes pour les réseaux de type BAN et la modélisation des canaux associés. L’ouvrage de thèse est réparti en quatre chapitres. Deux chapitres sont consacrés à la modélisation de la propagation le long du corps où l’on montre que les formulations analytiques d’ondes de surface et d’ondes rampantes sont applicables dans ce contexte. L’effet des tissus adipeux est également pris en compte par le biais d’un modèle à trois couches (peau, graisse et muscle) et renseigne sur la variabilité du bilan de liaison suivant les personnes. Ce type de modélisation est le premier à inclure les formes du corps, les caractéristiques électriques des tissus biologiques et les caractéristiques de rayonnement des antennes. Une méthode basée sur l’autocorrélation du canal est également présentée afin de connaître les temps de cohérences des évanouissements lents et rapides. Par la suite, il est montré comment les évanouissements lents sont extraits par le biais d’un filtrage FFT fonction du temps de cohérence associé. L’étude des canaux se termine sur une série de mesures en chambre anéchoïde qui a permis de vérifier la validité des modèles analytiques. Des mesures en milieu indoor ont abouti à la proposition de plusieurs modèles statistiques basés sur une loi de Nakagami-m fonction de la distance sur le corps. Deux autres chapitres sont consacrés à la conception d’antennes à proximité de tissus biologiques et devant être intégrées dans des biocapteurs ou des vêtements. Pour cela, nous nous sommes particulièrement intéressés aux structures en F-inversé comme les IFA imprimées et les PIFA. Nous avons également réalisé des monopôles courts ayant un comportement de type magnétique. Nous montrons par le biais de simulations et de mesures sur un fantôme que seules les antennes du type monopôle et PIFA permettent une bonne excitation des ondes de surface. On montre par la suite l’influence du facteur de qualité d’une antenne sur son rendement et l’on en conclue qu’une antenne doit présenter un facteur de qualité faible pour avoir un bon rendement. La désensibilisation d’une antenne face au corps est également présentée. L’emploi de feuilles de ferrites aide à concentrer le champ réactif et limite ainsi les inévitables désadaptations dues au corps. Le coefficient de qualité joue également un rôle important dans le comportement de l’antenne face aux variabilités des tissus biologiques. L’estimation du rendement est un autre point difficile à réaliser lorsque les antennes sont sur le corps. Malgré tout nous proposons une nouvelle méthode que nous vérifions par simulation. Finalement, une structure à diversité est également proposée. Cette dernière tient compte des connaissances acquises au long de ce travail de recherche. Une sélection des meilleurs types d’antennes du point de vu canal et rendement est réalisée. La structure choisie est composée d’une PIFA et d’un monopôle court découplés par le biais de fentes λ/4. Des mesures in situ en milieu indoor donnent un gain en diversité maximum de 8.1 dB pour un schéma de type sélection / BAN antennas conception and channel modelling

This work concentrates on the application of diversity techniques and space time block coding for future mobile wireless communications. The initial system analysis employs a space-time coded OFDM transmitter over a multipath Rayleigh channel, and a receiver which uses a selection combining diversity technique. The performance of this combined scenario is characterised in terms of the bit error rate and throughput. A novel four element QOSTBC scheme is introduced, it is created by reforming the detection matrix of the original QOSTBC scheme, for which an orthogonal channel matrix is derived. This results in a computationally less complex linear decoding scheme as compared with the original QOSTBC. Space time coding schemes for three, four and eight transmitters were also derived using a Hadamard matrix. The practical optimization of multi-antenna networks is studied for realistic indoor and mixed propagation scenarios. The starting point is a detailed analysis of the throughput and field strength distributions for a commercial dual band 802.11n MIMO radio operating indoors in a variety of line of sight and non-line of sight scenarios. The physical model of the space is based on architectural schematics, and realistic propagation data for the construction materials. The modelling is then extended and generalized to a multi-storey indoor environment, and a large mixed site for indoor and outdoor channels based on the Bradford University campus. The implications for the physical layer are also explored through the specification of antenna envelope correlation coefficients. Initially this is for an antenna module configuration with two independent antennas in close proximity. An operational method is proposed using the scattering parameters of the system and which incorporates the intrinsic power losses of the radiating elements. The method is extended to estimate the envelope correlation coefficient for any two elements in a general (N,N) MIMO antenna array. Three examples are presented to validate this technique, and very close agreement is shown to exist between this method and the full electromagnetic analysis using the far field antenna radiation patterns.