In recent years, many researchers have investigated automated progress tracking for construction projects. These efforts range from 2D photo-feature extraction to 3D laser scanners and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. A multi-sensor data fusion model that utilizes multiple sources of information would provide a better alternative than a single-source model for tracking project progress. However, many existing fusion models are based on data fusion at the sensor and object levels and are therefore incapable of capturing critical information regarding a number of activities and processes on a construction site, particularly those related to non-structural trades such as welding, inspection, and installation activities. In this research, a workflow based data fusion framework is developed for construction progress, quality and productivity assessment. The developed model is based on tracking construction activities as well as objects, in contrast to the existing sensor-based models that are focussed on tracking objects. Data sources include high frequency automated technologies including 3D imaging and ultra-wide band (UWB) positioning. Foreman reports, schedule information, and other data sources are included as well. Data fusion and management process workflow implementation via a distributed computing network and archiving using a cloud-based architecture are both illustrated. Validation was achieved using a detailed laboratory experimental program as well as an extensive field implementation project. The field implementation was conducted using five months of data acquired on the University of Waterloo Engineering VI construction project, yielding promising results. The data fusion processes of this research provide more accurate and more reliable progress and earned value estimates for construction project activities, while the developed data management processes enable the secure sharing and management of construction research data with the construction industry stakeholders as well as with researchers from other institutions.

The objective of this research is to realize compact and reconfigurable antennas for next generation Ultra Wide Band (UWB) and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) applications. The contributions of this research are, a methodology for designing compact UWB antennas, a compact WLAN prototype antenna with reconfigurable characteristics in both radiation pattern and frequency of operation, and compact UWB antennas with reconfigurable WLAN band rejection characteristics. For the completion of this dissertation, five research projects have been studied. First, a double exponentially tapered slot antenna with conformal shape, high gain, and consistent radiation patterns is implemented. The radiation pattern consistency results in minimum distortion for any transmitted pulse. The second and third projects involve an elliptical slot with a tuning uneven U-shaped stub and two cactus-shaped monopoles. The elliptical slot demonstrates omni-directional radiation patterns and compact size. As an improved iteration of the elliptical slot antenna, two cactus-shaped monopoles are implemented. The two prototypes occupy only 60% and 40%, respectively, of the area that the original elliptical slot occupies resulting in a significant size reduction, while maintaining omni-directional radiation patterns. Through the cactus-shaped monopoles some general design methodologies for UWB antennas are introduced and successfully applied. The fourth research topic introduced, concerns the study of compact elliptical UWB monopoles. Several prototypes of different geometrical characteristics were designed and tested. Broadband matching techniques and the integration of reconfigurable features on the elliptical radiator are investigated. For the reconfigurable UWB antenna, resonating elements are used to create a rejection band in the frequency range that is occupied by WLAN applications. The performance of several of the introduced slot and monopole antennas are tested when the antennas under detection are mounted and operate on non-planar surfaces. Finally, a reconfigurable annular slot antenna operating at the wireless local area network (WLAN) band is implemented. The proposed antenna demonstrates reconfigurable characteristics in both radiation pattern and return loss. All of the UWB antennas are fabricated on liquid crystal polymer (LCP) and can be easily integrated with active components on the same module using system on package (SoP) technology.

Les systèmes Ultra Wide Band (UWB) représentent une solution prometteuse pour le développement de nouveaux types de réseaux locaux sans-fils. L'UWB a été un domaine de recherche actif depuis 20 ans et pourrait être la couche physique pour de futurs réseaux sans fils à accès multiples à très haut débit ainsi qu'à bas débit avec consommation énergétique minimale, tout en offrant des possibilités de localisation à haute précision. Nous nous intéressons dans cette thèse aux réseaux ad-hoc de capteurs UWB en partant de la couche physique pour remonter aux couches plus élevées : optimisation d'antenne, modélisation d'interférence, conception de récepteurs et transmetteurs, optimisation de débit et schémas coopératifs. Une première contribution concerne la non Gaussianité des interférences multi utilisateurs : nous avons développé un critère de performance qui prend en compte les paramètres du système et la distribution des MUI afin de calculer la capacité des communications et le débit utile. Nous avons montré que le débit peut être maximisé en contrôlant l'impulsivité des interférences et nous avons montré l'impact de la conception de l'antenne sur cette impulsivité et par conséquent sur la capacité des systèmes UWB. A partir de l'étude des MUI, une autre contribution concerne de nouveaux récepteurs et émetteurs IR-UWB. Le récepteur proposé modélise la densité de probabilité des interférences comme une distribution mélangée. Nous avons également étudié un nouvel émetteur basé sur le retournement temporel combiné à l'IR UWB et étudié le gain apporté par le retournement temporel lorsque la complexité est assumée par le transmetteur à la place du récepteur, i.e. quand le nombre de doigts du pre-filtre est augmenté et quand le nombre de doigts du récepteur à râteau est diminué. Nous avons également montré que le time réversal combiné à l'IR UWB change la distribution des interférences. Les recherches ont ensuite porté sur des schémas coopératifs. Nous avons proposé dans une première étude un schéma de relayage incrémental qui utilise plusieurs relais mais avec un retour imparfait et proposé finalement une règle simple de sélection distribuée des relais.

Through-the-wall Imaging (TWI) is crucial for various applications such as law enforcement, rescue missions and defense. TWI methods aim to provide detailed information of spaces that cannot be seen directly. Current state-of-the-art TWI systems utilise ultra-wideband (UWB) signals to simultaneously achieve wall penetration and high resolution. These TWI systems transmit signals and mathematically back-project the reflected signals received to image the scenario of interest. However, these systems are diffraction-limited and encounter problems due to multipath signals in the presence of multiple scatterers. Time reversal (TR) methods have become popular for remote sensing because they can take advantage of multipath signals to achieve superresolution (resolution that beats the diffraction limit). The Decomposition Of the Time-Reversal Operator (DORT in its French acronym) and MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) methods are both TR techniques which involve taking the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) of the Multistatic Data Matrix (MDM) which contains the signals received from the target(s) to be located. The DORT and MUSIC imaging methods have generated a lot of interests due to their robustness and ability to locate multiple targets. However these TR-based methods encounter problems when the targets are behind an obstruction, particularly when the properties of the obstruction is unknown as is often the case in TWI applications. This dissertation introduces a novel total sub-MDM algorithm that uses the highly acclaimed MUSIC method to image targets hidden behind an obstruction and achieve superresolution. The algorithm utilises spatio-temporal windows to divide the full-MDM into sub-MDMs. The summation of all images obtained from each sub-MDM give a clearer image of a scenario than we can obtain using the full-MDM. Furthermore, we propose a total sub-differential MDM algorithm that uses the MUSIC method to obtain images of moving targets that are hiddenbehind an obstructing material.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-01-26T18:48:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DiegoRamalhoMinervino_DISSERT.pdf: 2172898 bytes, checksum: a8bff6e742ddc2345c999d514911b306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-01-28T20:40:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DiegoRamalhoMinervino_DISSERT.pdf: 2172898 bytes, checksum: a8bff6e742ddc2345c999d514911b306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-28T20:40:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DiegoRamalhoMinervino_DISSERT.pdf: 2172898 bytes, checksum: a8bff6e742ddc2345c999d514911b306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-26 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Este trabalho apresenta um estudo da integra??o de filtros e antenas de microfita, originando dispositivos denominados como filtennas, para aplica??es em sistemas de comunica??es sem fio. A concep??o destas estruturas surgiu da observa??o de filtennas baseadas na integra??o entre antenas cornetas e superf?cies seletivas de frequ?ncia (FSS), usadas na banda X. A op??o por estruturas de linhas de microfita para o desenvolvimento de uma nova configura??o de filtennas se justifica pela larga aplica??o dessas linhas de transmiss?o, nas ?ltimas d?cadas, resultando sempre na fabrica??o de circuitos planares com estruturas leves, de dimens?es reduzidas, de baixo custo, f?ceis de construir e, principalmente, f?ceis de integrar com outros circuitos de micro-ondas. Al?m disso, a estrutura de antena considerada para a composi??o das filtennas consiste de um monopolo planar de microfita com a integra??o de filtros de microfita na linha de alimenta??o da antena. Em particular, s?o considerados monopolos el?pticos de microfita (que operam em banda ultralarga, UWB) e filtros de microfita (em estruturas com se??es associadas em s?rie e/ou acopladas). Al?m disso, o monopolo de microfita apresenta uma largura de banda adequada e um diagrama de radia??o omnidirecional, de tal forma que a sua integra??o com filtros de microfita resulta na redu??o da largura de banda, por?m com pequenas altera??es no diagrama de radia??o. Os m?todos usados na an?lise dos monopolos, filtros e filtennas foram os dos elementos finitos e dos momentos, atrav?s da utiliza??o dos softwares comerciais Ansoft Designer e Ansoft HFSS, respectivamente. Especificamente, s?o analisadas as caracter?sticas principais das filtennas, tais como: diagrama de radia??o, ganho e largura de banda. Foram projetadas, constru?das e medidas, diversas estruturas de filtennas, para fins de valida??o dos resultados simulados. Tamb?m foram utilizadas ferramentas computacionais (CAD) no processo de constru??o de prot?tipos dos monopolos planares, dos filtros e das filtennas. Os prot?tipos foram constru?dos sobre substratos de fibra de vidro (FR4). As medi??es foram realizadas no Laborat?rio de Telecomunica??es da UFRN. Foram efetuadas compara??es entre resultados simulados e medidos, sendo observada uma boa concord?ncia nos casos considerados / This paper presents a study of the integration of filters and microstrip antennas, yielding devices named as filtennas for applications in wireless communications systems. The design of these structures is given from the observation of filtennas based integration between horn antennas and frequency selective surfaces (FSS), used in the band X. The choice of microstrip line structures for the development of a new configuration filtennas justifies the wide application of these transmission lines, in recent decades, always resulting in the production of circuit structures with planar light-weight, compact size, low cost, easy to construct and particularly easy to integrate with other microwave circuits. In addition, the antenna structure considered for the composition of filtennas consists of a planar monopole microstrip to microstrip filters integrated in the feed line of the antenna. In particular, are considered elliptical monopole microstrip (operating in UWB UWB) microstrip filters and (in structures with associated sections in series and / or coupled). In addition, the monopole microstrip has a proper bandwidth and omnidirectional radiation pattern, such that its integration with microstrip filters results in decreased bandwidth, but with slight changes in the radiation pattern. The methods used in the analysis of monopoles, and filters were filtennas finite elements and moments by using commercial software Ansoft Designer and HFSS Ansoft, respectively. Specifically, we analyze the main characteristics of filtennas, such as radiation pattern, gain and bandwidth. Were designed, constructed and measures, several structures filtennas, for validation of the simulated results. Were also used computational tools (CAD) in the process of building prototypes of planar monopoles, filters and filtennas. The prototypes were constructed on substrates of glass-fiber (FR4). Measurements were performed at the Laboratory for Telecommunications UFRN. Comparisons were made between simulated and measured, and found good agreement in the cases considered

Ultra-wideband (UWB) offers a high data rate transmission, however it only can be used in short distance communication due to its low power restricted by regulations, therefore it is applicable for an indoor scenario. Within an enclosed (indoor) scenario, there exist many possible multipaths of electromagnetic waves which lead to an effect known as fading [Big07]. Since SISO systems suffer severely from it, in contrast, multiple-output-multiple-input (MIMO) systems take advantage of this multipath/diversity effect. Typical MIMO system utilizes antenna arrays to generate subchannels, but it has no guarantee of orthogonal channels or maximum capacity. Using a new antenna synthesis algorithm, optimal subchannels can be computed by decomposing the MIMO channel into parallel SISO subchannels through the employment of sampling antennas. Thereafter optimal real word antennas can be designed according to the synthesized antenna radiation pattern which result in the reduced hardware. The goal of this thesis will be expressed as follows: Firstly, a good strategy planning to reduce computing effort should be realized since all the design parameters to be analyzed are frequency dependent. Furthermore, a systematic framework of the synthesis must be designed for the UWB band. Lastly, the corresponding real world antenna should be designed and verified. In this thesis, a systematic synthesis framework has be developed and analyzed for the UWB spectrum. The channel matrix acquisition, the design of the ‘sampling antennas’ along with the algorithm to decompose the MIMO channel into parallel independent SISO subchannels are discussed in detail. Two realizations of the real world antennas as well as all the challenges in the design process are also presented. As consequences, an antenna system with optimal radiation pattern has been synthesized. This antenna system radiates orthogonal channels with sufficient power and has fixed beamforming (direction optimized according to the scenario and with averaging over various positions along with rotations) at the transmitter and receiver. The maximum capacity takes into account the scenario, frequency band, physical available space for the antenna array and polarization (added degree of freedom). This work also organizes the antenna synthesis algorithm for UWB in a systematic framework, meeting the objectives of the project. / In this thesis, a UWB antenna synthesis based on the averaging strategies for the predefined indoor communication scenarios has been proposed, which contains both the indoor communication theoretical analysis and real world realization. The algorithm can be applied in an arbitrary indoor scenario over ultra wideband frequency. All synthesized results demonstrated that the designed sampling antenna configuration is able to provide optimized solutions. The synthesis method is based on computing optimal antenna configurations for a MIMO ultrawideband system. In order to maximize the throughput, there exists a sampling volume for both transmit and receive antennas. As such, the face-centered and body-centered cubic antenna arrays are utilized. Given that the system operates in the UWB band with a cognitive feature, the type of antenna, orientation, placement and MIMO diversity scheme have been well investigated. The radiation patterns of the antenna array cover the sampling volume and the bandwidth cover the UWB band. The goal of this thesis work concentrates on the analysis of an indoor communication to find an optimum solution on the antenna configuration and placement. The final objective was to design and realize an optimal MIMO-UWB antenna system. / Add: Waldhornstrasse 19, Karlsruhe, 76131, Germany Tel: +49 176 34467663

This thesis focuses on the design and implementation of the wireless localization module, using UWB technology with emphases on low-power firmwre based on RTOS. Wireless localization is based on TDoA algorithm.  The resulting HW module is designed as a four layer PCB, based on MCU crf52832 (ARM Cortex M4) and UWB module DevaWave DW1000. Firmware is implemented using FreeRTOS with emphasis on low power consumption. For hardware implementation, Eagle CAD was used. Firmware is implemented in C and Assembly programming languages.

Multi-agent robotic system have been proved to be more superior in undertaking functionalities, arduous or even impossible when performed by single agents. The increased efficiency in multi agent systems is achieved by the execution of the task in cooperative manner. But to achieve cooperation in multi agent systems, a good localization system is an important prerequisite. Currently, most of the multi-agent system rely on the use of the GPS to provide global positioning information which suffers great deterioration in performance in indoor applications, and also all to all communication between the agents will be required which is not efficient especially when the number of agents is large. In this regard, a real-time localization scheme is introduced which makes use of the robot’s on-board sensors and computational capabilities to determine the states of other agents in the multi agent system. This algorithm also takes the advantage of the swarming behaviour of the robots in the estimation of the states. This localization algorithm was found to produce more accurate agent state estimates as compared to a similar localization algorithm that does not take into account the swarming behaviour of the agents in simulations and real experiment involving two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

The thesis is focused on special corrugated reflectors for ultra-wideband antennas. Corrugated reflectors are divided into a type H and a type E. Both these types are mutually combined. All those reflectors are simulated and subsequently analyzed. The thesis also deals with different types of broadband dipoles, which are completed by investigated types of reflectors. Created reflector antennas are then compared. For antennas exhibiting the best parameters, we performed simulations of the transmission between two antennas. For the simulations, we used CST Microwave Studio. Selected antennas were manufactured and measured. Consequent simulations were aimed to detect differences between the simulated and measured results.

The aim of this work is study the standard for wireless sensor networks IEEE 802.15.4a. Design and implementation of a packet analyzer for ultra wideband technology com- pliant with IEEE 802.15.4a standard. Integrate packet analyzer to inspection software Wireshark and implement dissector for view packets. Finally, analyze and evaluate the parameters of the proposed packet analyzer.