On the Effect of Antenna Height on the Characterization of the Indoor UWB Channel

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is being proposed for several short range wireless applications. Some of the applications, such as position location devices for rescue personnel, may require the antenna height to be close to the ground. In scenarios where the antenna height is very low (from 0 to 30 cm), propagation characteristics and channel modeling are needed to provide important insights for the application design. This paper presents time-domain measurements and channel characterization of the indoor UWB channel at three different antenna heights (7.5 cm, 26.5 cm, and 108.5 cm). The transmitting and receiving antennas are placed at heights referred to as near ground, middle ground, and above ground. The effects of the antenna height on the channel characteristics are analyzed. Both large and small-scale characteristics are evaluated and the results for different antenna heights are compared. The results show that large scale characteristics exhibit monotonic behavior with respect to antenna height while small scale characteristics do not follow this behavior. The possible explanations for the obtained results are also discussed.

[1]  Li-Chun Wang,et al.  Co-channel interference analysis of shadowed Rician channels , 1998, IEEE Communications Letters.

[2]  Haris Volos,et al.  Measurement and characterization of the near-ground indoor ultra wideband channel , 2006, IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference, 2006. WCNC 2006..

[3]  K. Pahlavan,et al.  UWB Channel Measurements for Accurate Indoor Localization , 2006, MILCOM 2006 - 2006 IEEE Military Communications conference.

[4]  Chia-Chin Chong,et al.  UWB indoor propagation channel measurements and data analysis in various types of high-rise apartments , 2004, IEEE 60th Vehicular Technology Conference, 2004. VTC2004-Fall. 2004.

[5]  Desmond P. Taylor,et al.  A Statistical Model for Indoor Multipath Propagation , 2007 .

[6]  Theodore S. Rappaport,et al.  Wireless communications - principles and practice , 1996 .

[7]  Qiang Li,et al.  Measurement and analysis of the indoor UWB channel , 2003, 2003 IEEE 58th Vehicular Technology Conference. VTC 2003-Fall (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37484).

[8]  A. Annamalai,et al.  Further results on Nakagami-m parameter estimation , 2004, IEEE 60th Vehicular Technology Conference, 2004. VTC2004-Fall. 2004.

[9]  Jeffrey R. Foerster.  The effects of multipath interference on the performance of UWB systems in an indoor wireless channel , 2001, IEEE VTS 53rd Vehicular Technology Conference, Spring 2001. Proceedings (Cat. No.01CH37202).

[10]  Moe Z. Win,et al.  The ultra-wide bandwidth indoor channel: from statistical model to simulations , 2002, IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun..

[11]  Vahid Tarokh,et al.  UWB indoor path loss model for residential and commercial buildings , 2003, 2003 IEEE 58th Vehicular Technology Conference. VTC 2003-Fall (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37484).

[12]  B. Allen,et al.  A new twist on UWB pathloss modelling , 2004, 2004 IEEE 59th Vehicular Technology Conference. VTC 2004-Spring (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37514).

[13]  Andreas F. Molisch,et al.  Channel models for ultrawideband personal area networks , 2003, IEEE Wireless Communications.

[14]  A.A.M. Saleh,et al.  A Statistical Model for Indoor Multipath Propagation , 1987, IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun..

[15]  G. Romano,et al.  Simulation analysis and performance evaluation of an UWB system in indoor multipath channel , 2002, 2002 IEEE Conference on Ultra Wideband Systems and Technologies (IEEE Cat. No.02EX580).

[16]  G. Pottie,et al.  Near ground wideband channel measurement in 800-1000 MHz , 1999, 1999 IEEE 49th Vehicular Technology Conference (Cat. No.99CH36363).

[17]  W. G. Newhall,et al.  Near-ground channel measurements over line-of-sight and forested paths , 2005 .

[18]  Thad Welch,et al.  Very near ground radio frequency propagation measurements and analysis for military applications , 1999, MILCOM 1999. IEEE Military Communications. Conference Proceedings (Cat. No.99CH36341).