In Time-of-Arrival (TOA) based indoor human tracking system, the human body mounted with the target sensor can cause non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenario and result in significant ranging error. In this thesis, we measured the TOA ranging error in a typical indoor environment and analyzed sources of inaccuracy in TOAbased indoor localization system. To quantitatively describe the TOA ranging error caused by human body, we introduce a statistical TOA ranging error model for body mounted sensors based on the measurement results. This model separates the ranging error into multipath error and NLOS error caused by the on-body creeping wave phenomenon. Both multipath error and NLOS error are modeled as a Gaussian variable. The distribution of multipath error is only relative to the bandwidth of the system while the distribution of NLOS error is relative to the angle between human facing direction and the direction of Transmitter-Receiver, signal to noise ratio (SNR) and bandwidth of the system, which clearly shows the effects of human body on TOA ranging. An efficient way to fight against the TOA ranging error caused by human body is to employ site-specific channel models by using ray-tracing technology. However, existing ray-tracing softwares lack the propagation model that takes the effects of human body into account. To address that issue, this thesis presents a empirical model for near human body ultra-wideband (UWB) propagation channel that is valid for the frequency range from 3GHz to 8GHz. It is based on measurements conducted in a anechoic chamber which can be regarded as free space. The empirical model shows the joint propagation characteristics of the on body channel and the channel between body surface and external access point. It includes the loss of the first path, arrival time of the first path and the total pathloss. Models for all three aspects have been partitioned into two sections by a break point due to the geometrical property of human body and the creeping wave phenomenon. The investigation on first path behavior can be regarded as a theoretical basis of raytracing technique that takes the effects of human body into consideration.

<p>Image rendering is the process of creating realistic computer images from  geometric models and physical laws of light and reflection. This master thesis deals mainly with the numerical intricacies of implementing an image renderer using spherical harmonics. It investigates how to calculate the reflection of light in a surface using the Phong model, and employs ray tracing to create a realistic image of a geometric model. Further, it investigates different ways of calculating the spherical harmonic representation of a function defined on the sphere. The thesis also deals with the implementation of self-shadowing, and the effects of adding this component to the rendering equation.</p>

Image rendering is the process of creating realistic computer images from  geometric models and physical laws of light and reflection. This master thesis deals mainly with the numerical intricacies of implementing an image renderer using spherical harmonics. It investigates how to calculate the reflection of light in a surface using the Phong model, and employs ray tracing to create a realistic image of a geometric model. Further, it investigates different ways of calculating the spherical harmonic representation of a function defined on the sphere. The thesis also deals with the implementation of self-shadowing, and the effects of adding this component to the rendering equation.

Spectrum sensing plays a key role for radio resource awareness in cognitive radio. To enhance the capabilities of cognitive radio nodes, exploiting the spatial resource in addition to frequency and time re-sources seems reasonable. This thesis investigates the possibility of exploiting the spatial resources during sensing and transmission using sector antennas which is also termed as directional spectrum sensing and transmission. The measured radiation patterns from fabricated antenna and radiation patterns obtained from analytical expressions representing circular array of dipole are used for performance analysis. A ray tracer tool is used for modelling the urban environment as well as for wave propagation simulation. The power angular profiles obtained at different locations are further processed in MATLAB using measured and analytical radiation patterns to evaluate the performance in terms of spatial opportunity and detection of weak primary signals. The results show that exploiting the spatial dimension in spectrum sensing using sector antennas increase the opportunities for secondary communication and also improves the detection of primary signals as compared with an omni-directional antenna. Additionally, directional sensing and trans-mission are studied together using analytical radiation patterns. The results show that the service probability as well as range of communica-tion increases with an increase in number of sectors but saturation is achieved when nine sectors are used, indicating that six sectors antenna is the optimum choice for exploring the spatial resource in cognitive radio in a typical multipath urban environment.

ITC/USA 2012 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Eighth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2012 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / The extremely large electrical-size and complexity of terrain scene poses great challenge in channel modeling of aeronautic telemetry. It becomes even more difficult if severe multipath and fading present due to scattering and attenuation of ground, terrain objects and precipitation [Rice, 2004]. This is critical in more sophisticated test scenarios involving low flying unmanned air vehicles and helicopters tested over water at high sea states, in hilly terrain, or even over urban environment. Conventional ray tracing and simple Fresnel reflection are not sufficient to characterize such complex channels. Hence, the novel bidirectional analytic ray tracing and radiative transfer (RT²) is proposed for advanced telemetry channel modeling.

The health, safety, comfort and productivity of a room’s occupants is greatly influenced by the sound field within it. An acoustical engineer is often consulted during the design of a room to prevent or alleviate unwanted acoustical problems. Prediction models are often used to find the most cost-effective solution to a given acoustical problem. The accuracy of sound-field prediction varies with the particular model, as do the parameters predicted. Most models only predict sound-pressure levels. Many only predict energetic quantities, ignoring wave phase and, therefore, interference and modal effects in rooms. A ray-tracing model, capable of predicting sound-pressure level, reverberation time and lateral energy fraction was translated into MATLAB code and modified to increase accuracy by including phase. Modifications included phase effects due to path length travelled and phase changes imparted by surface reflections as described by complex reflection coefficients. Further modifications included predicting steady-state and transient sound-intensity levels, providing information on the direction of sound-energy flow. The modifications were validated in comparison with free-field theory and theoretical predictions of sound fields in the presence of a single surface. The complex reflection coefficients of four common building materials were measured using two methods—an impedance tube and the spherical-decoupling method. Using these coefficients, the modified program was compared with experimental data measured in configurations involving one or more surfaces made of these materials, in an anechoic chamber, a scale-model room, and a full-scale office space. Prediction accuracy in the anechoic chamber, and in the presence of a single reflecting surface, greatly improved with the inclusion of phase. Further comparison with full-scale rooms is required before the accuracy of the model in such rooms can be evaluated definitively.

In this report a radar model is modeled and implemented in a simulation framework called Flames. The focus is to investigate how and if electromagnetic waves emitted from the radar antenna can be simulated by different methods and how these methods can be implemented to work in real-time simulations. The radar model developed in this report is based on ray tracing and ray propagation techniques developed by the author. The model considers varying refractive indices that describes both standard atmospheres and atmospheres where ducting occur. Preparatory studies are also made to model ground reflection by ray tracing techniques. Other simulation techniques, such as the Finite-Difference Time-Domain method and the Split-Step Parabolic Equation method, are furthermore considered for radar simulation applications. The results show that ray tracing in conjunction with geometrical optics is a valid method for simulating electromagnetic waves in simple atmosphere models.

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The wavefront construction (WFC) method is an effective tool to compute seismic ray fields and has wide applications. This paper applies the WFC method to a heterogeneous earth model represented as a 3-D grid instead of a sequence of smooth layers, as the layered model is insufficient for the regions with complex geological structures. In order to utilize gridded models, highly heterogeneous models must be smoothed for reliable numerical results. A new velocity gradient smoothing method is proposed that is able to control quantitatively the smoothness of the velocity model while preserving the main structural characteristics of the original model. A modified inverse distance weighting method is applied to obtain velocities or densities at an arbitrary point in the model for successive wavefront propagation. A very complex 3-D grid model based on the standard Marmousi reference model is tested to compare the new approach to alternative smoothing schemes, and the first arrival travel times from the WFC method are compared with results from an eikonal solver. These results are obtained more quickly, but the algorithm is restricted to computing only first arrivals. However, comparison helps to establish the accuracy of the WFC solutions and assess the influence of the smoothing schemes. The modeling comparisons verify the effectiveness of the proposed smoothing methods and the enhanced performance of the WFC algorithm with the 3-D grid model.

The health, safety, comfort and productivity of a room’s occupants is greatly influenced by the sound field within it. An acoustical engineer is often consulted during the design of a room to prevent or alleviate unwanted acoustical problems. Prediction models are often used to find the most cost-effective solution to a given acoustical problem. The accuracy of sound-field prediction varies with the particular model, as do the parameters predicted. Most models only predict sound-pressure levels. Many only predict energetic quantities, ignoring wave phase and, therefore, interference and modal effects in rooms. A ray-tracing model, capable of predicting sound-pressure level, reverberation time and lateral energy fraction was translated into MATLAB code and modified to increase accuracy by including phase. Modifications included phase effects due to path length travelled and phase changes imparted by surface reflections as described by complex reflection coefficients. Further modifications included predicting steady-state and transient sound-intensity levels, providing information on the direction of sound-energy flow. The modifications were validated in comparison with free-field theory and theoretical predictions of sound fields in the presence of a single surface. The complex reflection coefficients of four common building materials were measured using two methods—an impedance tube and the spherical-decoupling method. Using these coefficients, the modified program was compared with experimental data measured in configurations involving one or more surfaces made of these materials, in an anechoic chamber, a scale-model room, and a full-scale office space. Prediction accuracy in the anechoic chamber, and in the presence of a single reflecting surface, greatly improved with the inclusion of phase. Further comparison with full-scale rooms is required before the accuracy of the model in such rooms can be evaluated definitively.