Impulse-based Ultrawideband (UWB) is a form of signaling which uses streams of pulses of very short duration, typically on the order of a nanosecond. Impulse-based UWB systems possess the ability to fuse accurate position-location with low-data rate communication, and provide covertness for tactical applications and robustness in dense multipath propagation environments. These features can be leveraged in the design wireless ad hoc position-location networks (PoLoNets) for accurate location tracking and monitoring where GPS is not available, especially indoors. Location information is sequentially propagated through a network of reference nodes in order to create a framework for the tracking of mobile nodes, as well as a multi-hop message-passing infrastructure between mobile nodes and control nodes located outside the area of deployment. The applications of such networks include the location and command-and-control of fire-fighters in emergency scenarios, the location of military personnel deployed in urban or indoor environments, and the guidance of robots through large multi-room indoor environments. The main objective of this dissertation is to derive design principles, techniques and analytical models for UWB PoLoNets that are useful in the development of practical solutions. Some of the fundamental obstacles to obtaining accurate location information in indoor environments are non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signal propagation, limited connectivity between nodes, and the propagation of localization inaccuracies when using sequential estimation approaches in ad hoc scenarios. Several techniques and algorithms that mitigate these effects, thereby allowing the design of PoLoNets with requisite localization accuracy, are presented. Although these techniques are developed from the perspective of a UWB physical layer, the majority are applicable to generic PoLoNets. / Ph. D.

A new methodology is presented for characterizing an antenna system both in the time and frequency domain with one set of parameters using a singularity expansion method representation. A minimal set of parameter modeling antenna systems using the Matrix-Pencil method has been demonstrated. It has been shown that it is possible to obtain frequency-domain patterns from pole/residue models of antenna realized effective length. Thus, a pole/residue model of the antenna realized effective length presents a complete description in both the time and frequency domains. Once such a model is available, one can obtain the antenna pattern, directivity and gain in the frequency domain and the radiated transient waveform for an arbitrary excitation waveform and an arbitrary antenna orientation. / Ph. D.

No / Near field imaging using microwaves in medical applications has gained much attention recently as various researchers have shown its capability and accuracy in identifying features of interest compared to well-known screening tools. This paper documents microwave imaging experiments for breast cancer detection. A simple phantom consisting of a plastic container with a low dielectric material imitating fatty tissue and a high dielectric constant object emulating tumor is scanned with a UWB microstrip antenna between 4 to 8 GHz. The measured results indicate that the prototype is a good candidate for imaging application.

Indoor localization systems have a variety of applications such as tracking of assets, indoor robot navigation, and monitoring of people (e.g. patients) in hospitals or at home. Global positioning system (GPS) offers location accuracy of several meters and is mainly used for outdoor location-based applications as its accuracy degrades significantly in indoor scenarios. Wireless local area networks (WLAN) have also been used for indoor localization, but the accuracy is too low and power consumption of WLAN terminals is too high for most applications. Ultra-wideband (UWB) localization is superior in terms of accuracy and power consumption compared with GPS and WLAN localization, and is thus more suitable for most indoor location-based applications [1-4]. The accuracy and precision requirements of localization systems depend on the specific characteristics of the applications. For example, centimeter or even millimeter localization accuracy is required for dynamic part tracking, while decimeter accuracy might be sufficient for tracking patients in hospitals or at home. Note that accuracy is not the only aspect of the overall performance of the system. Factors such as cost, range, and complexity should also be considered in system design. In the first part of this dissertation, a centimeter-accurate UWB localization system is developed. The technical challenges to achieve centimeter localization accuracy are investigated. Since all the receivers are synchronized through wire connection in this system, a wireless localization system with centimeter accuracy is introduced in order to make the system easier for deployment. A two-step synchronization algorithm with picosecond accuracy is presented, and the system is tested in a laboratory environment. The second part of this dissertation focuses on reducing the complexity of UWB localization systems when the localization accuracy requirement is relaxed. An UWB three-dimensional localization scheme with a single cluster of receivers is proposed. This scheme employs the time-of-arrival (TOA) technique and requires no wireless synchronization among the receivers. A hardware and software prototype that works in the 3.1-5.1 GHz range is constructed and tested in a laboratory environment. An average position estimation error of less than 3 decimeter is achieved by the experimental system. This TOA scheme with receivers in a single unit requires synchronization between the transmitter and the receiver unit. In order to further reduce system complexity, a new time-difference-of-arrival localization scheme is proposed. This scheme requires multiple units, each operating on its own clock. It avoids synchronization between the transmitter and receivers, and thus makes the development of the transmitter extremely simple. The performance of this system is simulated and analyzed analytically, and turns out to be satisfactory for most indoor localization applications. / Graduation date: 2013

Ultrawideband (UWB) wireless systems employ signals with bandwidths in excess of 500 MHz or with relative bandwidth more than 20%. The radiated signals have low power spectral density. A decade ago, UWB wireless systems were deemed to be the technology that will deliver 'Gigabit-wireless' for short range communications. However, the performance of current systems is significantly below the initial expectations. This thesis explores the UWB wireless channel and shows how its properties limit the performance of current UWB systems. Furthermore, it is shown that if the knowledge of the channel is fully exploited a significant performance improvement of UWB systems can be achieved. The thesis begins with exploration of the channel properties. Unlike previous work, that has investigated either the 'classical narrowband' channel with bandwidth <100 MHz or the UWB channel with bandwidth >1 GHz, this work studies the transition between the narrowband channels with bandwidth of 1 MHz to the extremely wide band channels with bandwidths of up to 10 GHz. The thesis concludes that for signals with bandwidth <1 GHz UWB antennas and antenna arrays can be described by the classical means of gain and array factor, i.e. they treat such signals as 'narrowband'. In contrast, wireless propagation for signals with bandwidth > 100 MHz has properties 'like UWB channels' with bandwidths in the GHz range. Additionally, the thesis suggests a correction to the IEEE802.15.4a model for channel impulse response because as will be shown in the thesis many multi paths in the model are manifes- tations of the antenna impulse response. Hence multiple multipaths in the IEEE802.15.4a model actually represent a single multipath component. This reduces the number of multipath components in the model by approximately factor of five. The understanding of the transition between narrowband and ultrawideband channel is used to improve the spectral efficiency of impulse radio systems which traditionally use signals with bandwidth> 1 GHz. It is shown that the optimum signal bandwidth for impulse radio systems is in the range 150-450 MHz. Such systems balance the robustness against frequency selective fading with the reduction of duty cycle. Hence, the data-rate of impulse radio systems can be significantly improved. The frequency selective fading is shown to be the main limiting factor for the performance of the commercial UWB WiMedia systems with OFDM. It is shown that adaptive loading of OFDM sub carriers , which is compatible with the frequency selectivity of the channel, is more suitable for UWB OFDM systems than the use of strong Forward-Error-Correction measures. The introduction of the adaptive OFDM is not a significant change to the design of the scheme because the commercial WiMedia standard already foresees pilot OFDM symbols for channel estimation. The adaptive OFDM for UWB has already been considered by some authors. Unlike previous works, this thesis explores the performance of such a system in a large number of measured wireless channels. Finally, the thesis studies the MIMO techniques for UWB systems. Suitable schemes for fixed and adaptive OFDM are discussed. A realistic simulation using measured wireless channel shows that a 4x 1 system with a low complexity beam-steering and adaptive OFDM can deliver a data-rate of 400 Mbps over a range of 9 m. This performance is for a system with bandwidth 528 MHz (like in the WiMedia standard). A further increase can be achieved with the increase of the system's bandwidth.

In this report the feasibility of using a dual-tag setup in an indoor positioning system was investigated. The reason for the dual-tag setup was to be able to estimate both position and orientation. The system was designed using UWB-technology, with an time of flight trilateration algorithm to calculate the position. The orientation was then estimated from the relative position between the two tags. The system was tested both with stationary tags, but also with the tags moving along two paths. These tests were conducted for different separation distance between the tags, namely 20 cm, 30 cm and 40 cm. The result was that the mean position error for stationary tags was less than 8 cm for all separations and the mean orientation error was less than 3$^\circ$ for all separations. For the moving tag tests a decrease of the error in orientation of about 30 \% could be observed for a separation of 30 and 40 cm compared to 20 cm. However this difference is small in absolute values so more tests are needed to draw any conclusion about whether 30 and 40 cm tag separation performs better than 20 cm tag separation. The performance of the system could also be increased further by optimizing the anchor placement as well as the calibration of the antenna delays of the UWB-modules.

Architectures of matched filter in packet detector, CFO corrector, FFT output reorder buffer and phase tracking block are optimized for low complexity. Implemented in O.13-mum CMOS technology, the proposed baseband receiver system has the core area of 2.5 mm2 and the estimated power consumption is 170 mW, which is equivalent to the energy efficiency of 88 pJ/b at 480 Mbps data rate. The implementation results verify the robustness, low complexity and power efficiency of the proposed MB-OFDM UWB baseband receiver. / As an OFDM-based system, MB-OFDM UWB is vulnerable and sensitive to carrier frequency offset (CFO). We employ multipartite table method (MTM) to implement arctangent and sin/cos functions for frequency synchronization. Compared with traditional algorithms, MTM has the advantages of low cost, low power consumption and higher processing speed. Residual phase distortion is corrected by a highly simplified phase tracking method, which also has better performance compared with traditional phase tracking scheme. / Synchronization plays the key role for the performance of the whole baseband receiver system. In this dissertation, a dual-threshold (DT) packet detection scheme is proposed for timing synchronization. Compared with traditional cross-correlation algorithm, DT has much better detection performance, especially in high noise environment. / Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, targeting at wireless personal area networks (WPANs),brings the convenience of high-speed and short-range wireless interconnects. As a novel communication technique, multi-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) UWB has the features of high spectrum efficiency, multiple access capability and robustness against narrow band interference. However, its inherent high complexity and the requirement of powerful processing for good performance are the obstacles for practical application. / Fan, Wen. / Adviser: Choy Chiu-Sing. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-04, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-112). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

Advances in Multimedia communications have shown the need for high data rate wireless links over short distances. This is to enhance flexibility, accessibility, portability and mobility of devices in home and enterprise environment thereby making users more productive. In 2004, the WiMedia group proposed the Multiband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex Ultra Wideband (MB-OFDM UWB) system with a target of delivering data rate of 480Mbps over 3 metres. However, by now no existing commercial UWB product can meet this proposed specification. The project aims to investigate the reason why UWB technology has failed to realise its potential by carrying out detailed analysis and to seek ways of solving the technical problems. Detailed system analyses were carried out on the UWB technology using a commercial UWB product and a MB-OFDM UWB Evaluation kit. UWB channel measurements of different scenarios were carried out in order to characterise both time varying and time invariant channels. The scenarios are the realistic environments where UWB devices are operating with human subjects in various movement patterns. It gives insight into the effects of human object blocking on the MB-OFDM system performance and estimates an acceptable feedback rate in a UWB time varying channel when implementing an adaptive modulation. The adaptive modulation was proposed and implemented in the MB-OFDM system model to demonstrate the improved Bit Error Rate (BER) performance. Modulating bits are varied across the sub-channels depending on the signal to noise ratio (SNR). Sub-channels experiencing severe fading employ lower or no bit-loading while sub-channels with little or no fading utilise higher bit-loading to maintain a constant system data rate. Spatial diversity was employed to exploit different properties of the radio channel to improve performance. Good diversity gain of two receiving diversity systems using maximal ratio combining and antenna selection techniques is demonstrated in the measurements with the different antenna orientations. An antenna selection circuit is designed and implemented working together with AT90CAP9 UWB Evaluation kit, verifying an improved performance of the UWB system in an indoor environment. The maximal ratio combining technique is also implemented and demonstrated to give a better system performance on a test bed after post-processing.

Finally, we extend the threshold optimization algorithm to solve a more general N-state distributed estimation problem. We combine multiple observations of a signal process via the maximum function for decision-making and find out that the optimal decision function can be implemented by means of thresholds under suitable technical conditions. We propose here a training sequence based algorithm for threshold adjustment. The algorithm is a variation of the Kiefer-Wolfowitz algorithm with expending truncations and randomized differences. Convergence of this algorithm is also established. / Prior to timing jitter robust receiver design, a measurement campaign was carried out on indoor UWB signal propagation in order to characterize the UWB indoor channel and provide a simulation platform. Channel parameters are analyzed based on measurement data, including path loss, RMS delay spread, amplitude distribution and correlation properties. / Ultra-wideband (UWB) technique has been the subject of extensive research in recent years due to its unique capabilities and potential applications, particularly in short-range multiple access wireless communications. Despite of many advantages over traditional narrow band systems, UWB impulse radio is sensitive to timing jitter effect. In this thesis, we devote to design a high speed UWB receiver which is robust under timing jitter. The basic idea is that the received signal is over-sampled within the sampling window and its maximum value or maximum absolute value is selected as the decision variable and to be compared with a threshold. A main advantage of this scheme is that its performance will not degrade if the timing jitter is shorter than half of the window length. Therefore, the proposed scheme is robust against timing jitter and no precise synchronization between the transmitter and receiver is required. However, how to determine the optimal threshold value is a critical issue for this new scheme. In this thesis, we propose a simple stochastic approximation (SA) approach to adjust the threshold recursively. The approach is based on a version of SA known as the Kiefer-Wolfowitz (KW) algorithm with expanding truncations and randomized differences. Corresponding to two different decision-making structures, two SA algorithms are presented and their convergence properties are analyzed, respectively. The proposed algorithms are effective in threshold optimization and the convergence rate is fast, as demonstrated by the numerical results. / Li Qiang. / "June 2005." / Adviser: Wing Shing Wong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: B, page: 0440. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 133-138). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Falls are a cause of concern for the elderly since it can render a person immobile. A monitoring system can summon immediate aid by the automatic detection of fall events. The application of ultra-wideband (UWB) signals for a monitoring system was chosen due to its unique characteristics such as wide spectrum, immunity to interference, penetrability, and application for the detection of people. Part of this monitoring system is boundary detection with the purpose of isolating the location of fall events and to function as a mask to define an area of interest. A study of various localizing methods using measurements such as power, distance, and angle with ultra-wideband is presented. A frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) based system is an acceptable solution for boundary detection. A FMCW system measures distance with UWB signals. With the addition of a unique reflector, the system is able to identify the reflector via the return frequency-spectrum fingerprint. With distance and the addition angle measurements, the system can determine the boundary with a sensor located at a single location.