Abstract: The reliable prediction of coverage footprint resulting from an airborne wireless radio base station, is at utmost importance, when it comes to the new emerging applications of air-to-ground wireless services. These applications include the rapid recovery of damaged terrestrial wireless infrastructure due to a natural disaster, as well as the fulfillment of sudden wireless traffic overload in certain spots due to massive movement of crowds. In this paper, we propose a statistical propagation model for predicting the air-to-ground path loss between a low altitude platform and a terrestrial terminal. The prediction is based on the urban environment properties, and is dependent on the elevation angle between the terminal and the platform. The model shows that air-to-ground path loss is following two main propagation groups, characterized by two different path loss profiles. In this paper we illustrate the methodology of which the model was deduced, as well as we present the different path loss profiles including the occurrence probability of each.

Abstract: Large-scale blockages such as buildings affect the performance of urban cellular networks, especially at higher frequencies. Unfortunately, such blockage effects are either neglected or characterized by oversimplified models in the analysis of cellular networks. Leveraging concepts from random shape theory, this paper proposes a mathematical framework to model random blockages and analyze their impact on cellular network performance. Random buildings are modeled as a process of rectangles with random sizes and orientations whose centers form a Poisson point process on the plane. The distribution of the number of blockages in a link is proven to be a Poisson random variable with parameter dependent on the length of the link. Our analysis shows that the probability that a link is not intersected by any blockages decays exponentially with the link length. A path loss model that incorporates the blockage effects is also proposed, which matches experimental trends observed in prior work. The model is applied to analyze the performance of cellular networks in urban areas with the presence of buildings, in terms of connectivity, coverage probability, and average rate. Our results show that the base station density should scale superlinearly with the blockage density to maintain the network connectivity. Our analyses also show that while buildings may block the desired signal, they may still have a positive impact on the SIR coverage probability and achievable rate since they can block significantly more interference.

Abstract: This article presents empirically-based largescale propagation path loss models for fifthgeneration cellular network planning in the millimeter-wave spectrum, based on real-world measurements at 28 GHz and 38 GHz in New York City and Austin, Texas, respectively. We consider industry-standard path loss models used for today’s microwave bands, and modify them to fit the propagation data measured in these millimeter-wave bands for cellular planning. Network simulations with the proposed models using a commercial planning tool show that roughly three times more base stations are required to accommodate 5G networks (cell radii up to 200 m) compared to existing 3G and 4G systems (cell radii of 500 m to 1 km) when performing path loss simulations based on arbitrary pointing angles of directional antennas. However, when directional antennas are pointed in the single best directions at the base station and mobile, coverage range is substantially improved with little increase in interference, thereby reducing the required number of 5G base stations. Capacity gains for random pointing angles are shown to be 20 times greater than today’s fourth-generation Long Term Evolution networks, and can be further improved when using directional antennas pointed in the strongest transmit and receive directions with the help of beam combining techniques.

Abstract: Millimeter wave (mmW) cellular systems will require high gain directional antennas and dense base station (BS) deployments to overcome high near field path loss and poor diffraction. As a desirable side effect, high gain antennas provide interference isolation, providing an opportunity to incorporate self-backhauling--BSs backhauling among themselves in a mesh architecture without significant loss in throughput--to enable the requisite large BS densities. The use of directional antennas and resource sharing between access and backhaul links leads to coverage and rate trends that differ significantly from conventional microwave ($\mu$W) cellular systems. In this paper, we propose a general and tractable mmW cellular model capturing these key trends and characterize the associated rate distribution. The developed model and analysis is validated using actual building locations from dense urban settings and empirically-derived path loss models. The analysis shows that in sharp contrast to the interference limited nature of $\mu$W cellular networks, the spectral efficiency of mmW networks (besides total rate) also increases with BS density particularly at the cell edge. Increasing the system bandwidth, although boosting median and peak rates, does not significantly influence the cell edge rate. With self-backhauling, different combinations of the wired backhaul fraction (i.e. the faction of BSs with a wired connection) and BS density are shown to guarantee the same median rate (QoS).

Abstract: The spectrum congestion experienced in today's common cellular bands has led to research and measurements to explore the vast bandwidths available at millimeter waves (mmWaves). NYU WIRELESS conducted E-band propagation measurements for both mobile and backhaul scenarios in 2013 in the dense urban environment of New York City using a sliding correlator channel sounder, by transmitting a 400 Mega chip per second (Mcps) PN sequence with a power delay profile (PDP) multipath time resolution of 2.5 ns. Measurements were made for more than 30 transmitter-to-receiver location combinations for both mobile and backhaul scenarios with separation distances up to 200 m. This paper presents results that support the use of directional steerable antennas at mmWave bands in order to achieve comparable path loss models and channel statistics to today's current cellular systems and at 28 GHz. These early results reveal that the mmWave spectrum, specifically the E-band, could be used for future cellular communications by exploiting multipath in urban environments with the help of beam-steering and beam combining.

Abstract: Existing cellular network analyses, and even simulations, typically use the standard path loss model where received power decays like $\|x\|^{-\alpha}$ over a distance $\|x\|$. This standard path loss model is quite idealized, and in most scenarios the path loss exponent $\alpha$ is itself a function of $\|x\|$, typically an increasing one. Enforcing a single path loss exponent can lead to orders of magnitude differences in average received and interference powers versus the true values. In this paper we study \emph{multi-slope} path loss models, where different distance ranges are subject to different path loss exponents. We focus on the dual-slope path loss function, which is a piece-wise power law and continuous and accurately approximates many practical scenarios. We derive the distributions of SIR, SNR, and finally SINR before finding the potential throughput scaling, which provides insight on the observed cell-splitting rate gain. The exact mathematical results show that the SIR monotonically decreases with network density, while the converse is true for SNR, and thus the network coverage probability in terms of SINR is maximized at some finite density. With ultra-densification (network density goes to infinity), there exists a \emph{phase transition} in the near-field path loss exponent $\alpha_0$: if $\alpha_0 >1$ unbounded potential throughput can be achieved asymptotically; if $\alpha_0 <1$, ultra-densification leads in the extreme case to zero throughput.

Abstract: Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication is an enabler for improved traffic safety and congestion control. As for any wireless system, the ultimate performance limit is determined by the propagation channel. A particular point of interest is the shadowing effect of large vehicles such as trucks and buses, as this might affect the communication range significantly. In this paper we present measurement results and model the propagation channel, in which a bus acts either as a shadowing object or as a relay between two passenger cars. The measurement setup is based on a Wireless Open-Access Research Platform (WARP) Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) software radio as transmitter and a Tektronix RSA5106A real-time complex spectrum analyzer as receiver. We analyze the influence of the bus location and car separation distance on the path loss, shadowing, small-scale fading, delay spread, and cross correlation. The main effect of the bus is that it is acting as an obstruction creating an additional 15- to 20-dB attenuation and an increase in the root-mean-square delay spread by roughly 100 ns. A Nakagami distribution is found to well describe the statistics of the small-scale fading, by using Akaike's Information Criterion and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The distance dependence of the path loss is analyzed and a stochastic model is developed.

Abstract: Radio signal propagation modeling plays an important role in designing wireless communication systems. The propagation models are used to calculate the number and position of base stations and predict the radio coverage. Different models have been developed to predict radio propagation behavior for wireless communication systems in different operating environments. In this paper we shall limit our discussion to the latest achievements in radio propagation modeling related to tunnels. The main modeling approaches used for propagation in tunnels are reviewed, namely, numerical methods for solving Maxwell equations, waveguide or modal approach, ray tracing based methods and two-slope path loss modeling. They are discussed in terms of modeling complexity and required information on the environment including tunnel geometry and electric as well as magnetic properties of walls.

Abstract: We propose forwarding-function (FF) based routing protocol for underwater sensor networks (UWSNs): improved adaptive mobility of courier nodes in threshold-optimized depth-based-routing (iAMCTD). Unlike existing depth-based acoustic protocols, the proposed protocol exploits network density for time-critical applications. In order to tackle flooding, path loss, and propagation latency, we calculate optimal holding time (HT) and use routing metrics: localization-free signal-to-noise ratio (LSNR), signal quality index (SQI), energy cost function (ECF), and depth-dependent function (DDF). Our proposal provides on-demand routing by formulating hard threshold (Hth), soft threshold (Sth), and prime energy limit (Rprime). Simulation results verify effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed iAMCTD.

Abstract: There is growing interest in using millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies for future access communications based on the enormous amount of available spectrum. To characterize the mmWave channel in urban areas, wideband propagation measurements at 73 GHz have recently been made in New York City. Using the measurements, a ray-tracing study has been conducted using databases for the same environments as the measurements, allowing a simple ray-tracer to predict measured statistics such as path loss and angles of arrival in the same physical environment of the measurements. In this paper a preliminary 3GPP-style 3D mmWave channel model is developed with special emphasis on using the ray tracer to determine elevation model parameters. The channel model includes distancedependent elevation modeling which is critical for the expected 2D arrays which will be employed at mmWave. Keywords—channel modeling; 3D channel model; ray tracing; millimeter wave, 73 GHz, channel sounding.

Abstract: This paper provides a unified framework to study the performance of successive interference cancellation (SIC) in wireless networks with arbitrary fading distribution and powerlaw path loss. An analytical characterization of the performance of SIC is given as a function of different system parameters. The results suggest that the marginal benefit of enabling the receiver to successively decode k users diminishes very fast with k, especially in networks of high dimensions and small path loss exponent. On the other hand, SIC is highly beneficial when the users are clustered around the receiver and/or very low-rate codes are used. In addition, with multiple packet reception, a lower per-user information rate always results in higher aggregate throughput in interference-limited networks. In contrast, there exists a positive optimal per-user rate that maximizes the aggregate throughput in noisy networks. The analytical results serve as useful tools to understand the potential gain of SIC in heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs). Using these tools, this paper quantifies the gain of SIC on the coverage probability in HCNs with nonaccessible base stations. An interesting observation is that, for contemporary wireless systems (e.g., LTE and WiFi), most of the gain of SIC is achieved by canceling a single interferer.

Abstract: In this paper, the wireless communication over indoor Terahertz (THz) channels is studied. The physical mechanisms governing a wireless transmission in the 0.1–10 THz band are a very high molecular absorption and spreading loss which result in a very high and frequency-selective path loss for the line-of-sight (LOS) links. For the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation, a very high reflection loss depending on the shape, material, and roughness of the reflecting surface affects the THz wave propagation. Taking these peculiarities of the THz radiation into account and applying a ray tracing approach for scattered rays, a novel deterministic equivalent channel model is developed that accounts for both the LOS and NLOS propagation cases. Furthermore, the channel capacity of the proposed model is investigated. Simulation results demonstrate that for distances, up to 1 m, data rates in the order of Terabit per second (Tbps) are obtained for a transmit power of 1 Watt. Moreover, the capacity of only the NLOS component is around 100 Gigabit per second (Gbps). These results are highly motivating to develop future wireless THz communication systems.

Abstract: Near sea-surface line-of-sight (LoS) radiowave propagation at 5 GHz was investigated through narrowband measurements in this paper. Results of the received signal strength with a transmission distance of up to 10 km were examined against free space loss model and 2-ray path loss model. The experimental results have good agreement with the predicted values using the 2-ray model. However, the prediction ability of 2-ray model becomes poor when the propagation distance increases. Our results and analysis show that an evaporation duct layer exists and therefore, a 3-ray path loss model, taking into consideration both the reflection from sea surface and the refraction caused by evaporation duct could predict well the trend of LoS signal strength variations at relatively large propagation distances in a tropical maritime environment.

Abstract: One of promising transmission technologies in wireless body area networks (BANs) is ultra-wideband (UWB) communication, which can provide high data rate for real-time transmission, and extremely low power consumption for increasing device longevity. However, UWB signals suffer from large attenuation in a wireless communication link, especially in implant BANs. Although several investigations on channel characterization have been far thus conducted for evaluating the UWB transmission performance, they have been limited to either computer simulations or experiments with biological-equivalent phantoms. Experimental evaluation with a living body has rarely been conducted, i.e., the performance in real implant BANs has been scarcely discussed. In this paper, therefore, we focus on a living animal experimental evaluation on the UWB transmission performance. To begin with, we develop an ultra-wideband impulse radio (UWB-IR) communication system with a multipulse pulse position modulation scheme, and then analyze the fundamental characteristics of the developed UWB-IR communication system by a liquid phantom experiment. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the developed UWB-IR communication system via the living animal experiment. From the experimental results, although we have observed that the path loss is more than 80 dB, the developed system can achieve a bit error rate of 10-2 within the communication distance of 120 mm with ensuring a high data rate of 1 Mb/s. This result first time gives a quantitative communication performance evaluation for the implant UWB transmission in a living body.

Abstract: The performance of multi-beam antenna equal gain combining for improving signal quality in future millimeter-wave cellular systems is evaluated in this article Employing experimental data obtained from 28 GHz and 73 GHz propagation measurements in the dense urban environment of New York City, we present the impact of coherent bi-beam, tri-beam and quad-beam combining on path loss and shadow factors The results reveal that a maximum of 249 dB improvement in path loss at 28 GHz and 348 dB at 73 GHz for 100 m T-R (transmitter-receiver) separation distances can be achieved via combining the strongest four received signals from distinct beams, when compared to the case of signals at the receiver with randomly pointed beams Comparable path loss values are achieved at both 28 and 73 GHz bands This paper demonstrates the potential of utilizing spatial filtering and beam combining to significantly improve received signal levels and link margins at millimeter-wave frequencies

Abstract: In this letter, we present a path loss characterization of the vehicular-to-vehicular (V2V) propagation channel. We have assumed a path loss model suitable for vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) simulators. We have investigated the value of the model parameters, categorizing in line-of-sight (LOS) and non-LOS (NLOS) paths. The model parameters have been derived from extensive narrowband channel measurements at 700 MHz and 5.9 GHz. The measurements have been collected in typical expected V2V communications scenarios, i.e., urban, suburban, rural, and highway, for different road traffic densities, speeds, and driven conditions. The results reported here can be used to simulate and design the future vehicular networks.

Abstract: Omnidirectional path loss models are vital for radiosystem design in wireless communication systems, as they allow engineers to perform network simulations for systems with arbitrary antenna patterns. At millimeter-wave frequencies, channel measurements are frequently conducted using steerable highgain directional antennas at both the transmitter and receiver to make up for the significant increase in free space path loss at these frequencies compared to traditional cellular systems that operate at lower frequencies. The omnidirectional antenna pattern, and resulting omnidirectional received power must therefore be synthesized from many unique pointing angles, where the transmit and receive antennas are rotated over many different azimuth and elevation planes. In this paper, the equivalent omnidirectional antenna pattern and omnidirectional received power are synthesized by summing the received powers from all measured unique pointing angles obtained at antenna halfpower beamwidth step increments in the azimuth and elevation planes, and this method is validated by demonstrating that the synthesized omnidirectional received power and path loss are independent of antenna beamwidth, through theoretical analyses and millimeter-wave propagation measurements using antennas with different beamwidths. The method in this paper is shown to provide accurate results while enhancing the measurement range substantially through the use of directional antennas.

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce a sophisticated path loss model into the stochastic geometry analysis incorporating both line-of-sight (LoS) and non- line-of-sight (NLoS) transmissions to study their performance impact in small cell networks (SCNs). Analytical results are obtained on the coverage probability and the area spectral efficiency (ASE) assuming both a general path loss model and a special case of path loss model recommended by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards. The performance impact of LoS and NLoS transmissions in SCNs in terms of the coverage probability and the ASE is shown to be significant both quantitatively and qualitatively, compared with previous work that does not differentiate LoS and NLoS transmissions. From the investigated set of parameters, our analysis demonstrates that when the density of small cells is larger than a threshold, the network coverage probability will decrease as small cells become denser, which in turn makes the ASE suffer from a slow growth or even a notable decrease. For practical regime of small cell density, the performance results derived from our analysis are distinctively different from previous results, and shed new insights on the design and deployment of future dense/ultra-dense SCNs. It is of significant interest to further study the generality of our conclusion in other network models and with other parameter sets.

Abstract: In this paper, optical wireless has been addressed as a promising technology to provide high-bandwidth services for underwater communications. However, the significant attenuation degree due to high absorption and scattering of optical transmission in the water confines the achievable range of optical links to only few meters. One way to achieve transmission at long distances is to employ a dense network configuration where information can be transferred through a series of intermediate nodes acting as relays. In this study, we consider optical wireless network arrangements where nodes are floating at different depths into a service aquatic medium. We deploy an effective path loss model which incorporates the key factors that deteriorate the optical power, and we derive the achievable transmission range to satisfy connectivity criteria assuming intensity-modulation direct detection (IM/DD) with on-off keying (OOK). A set of numerical results is presented in order to reveal the interaction between various parameters such as error probability, wavelength, node density, transmitted power, data rate, etc., in order to achieve k-connectivity. The proposed analysis could be the basis of deploying reliable underwater optical networks suitable to deliver broadband services at far distances.

Abstract: In the recent years the millimeter wave spectrum is being explored as a prospective band for the next generation (5G) cellular communications. In this paper we study the propagation of the the millimetre wave spectrum using ray tracing model for an urban environment. We consider the ISM bands in 24GHz and 61GHz in particular and conduct ray tracing simulations to study the path loss behaviour in terms of the path loss exponent and the shadowing variance for both Line of Sight and Non Line of Sight conditions. As a potential application we examine the device to device (D2D) communication, which is currently being developed for LTE-A standard. The resulting pathloss exponents and the shadow variances are presented here based on ray tracing simulations for an ITU-R statistical urban model, moreover this paper shows that intelligent beam steering can significantly improve the throughput for the considered D2D scenarios.

Abstract: Wireless energy transfer (WET) via far-field radio signal has emerged as a new solution for powering wireless networks. To overcome the significant path loss in wireless channels, multi-antenna or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques have been proposed to enhance the transmission efficiency and distance for WET. However, in order to reap the large energy beamforming gain in WET, acquiring channel state information (CSI) at the energy transmitter (ET) is an essential task. This task is particularly challenging for WET systems, since existing channel training and feedback methods used for communication receivers cannot be implemented at the energy receiver (ER) due to the hardware limitation. To tackle this problem, in this paper we consider a point-to-point MIMO WET system with transmit energy beamforming, and propose a new channel learning method that requires only one feedback bit from the ER to ET per feedback interval. Each feedback bit indicates the increase or decrease of the harvested energy by the ER between the present and previous intervals, which can be measured without changing the existing hardware at the ER. Based on such feedback information, the ET adjusts transmit energy beamforming in different intervals and at the same time obtains an improved estimate of the MIMO channel by applying the analytic center cutting plane method (AC-CPM). By numerical examples, we show the performance of our proposed new channel learning algorithm for MIMO WET systems in terms of convergence speed and energy transfer efficiency, as compared to existing algorithms.

Abstract: In radio system deployment, the main focus is on assuring sufficient coverage, which can be estimated with path loss models for specific scenarios. When more detailed performance metrics such as peak throughput are studied, the environment has to be modeled accurately in order to estimate multipath behavior. By means of laser scanning we can acquire very accurate data of indoor environments, but the format of the scanning data, a point cloud, cannot be used directly in available deterministic propagation prediction tools. Therefore, we propose to use a single-lobe directive model, which calculates the electromagnetic field scattering from a small surface and is applicable to the point cloud, and describe the overall field as fully diffuse backscattering from the point cloud. The focus of this paper is to validate the point cloud-based full diffuse propagation prediction method at 60 GHz. The performance is evaluated by comparing characteristics of measured and predicted power delay profiles in a small office room and an ultrasonic inspection room in a hospital. Also directional characteristics are investigated. It is shown that by considering single-bounce scattering only, the mean delay can be estimated with an average error of 2.6% and the RMS delay spread with an average error of 8.2%. The errors when calculating the azimuth and elevation spreads are 2.6° and 0.6°, respectively. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the applicability of a single parameter set to characterize the propagation channel in all transmit and receive antenna locations in the tested scenarios.

Abstract: Shadowing from other vehicles can degrade the performance of vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems significantly. It is thus important to characterize and model the influence of common shadowing objects like trucks in a proper way. However, the scenario of a truck as an obstacle in highly dynamic rural and highway environments is not yet well understood. In this paper we analyze the distance dependent path loss and the additional shadowing loss due to a truck through dynamic measurements. We further characterize the large scale fading and the delay and Doppler spreads as a measure of the channel dispersion in the time and frequency domains. It has been found that a truck as an obstacle reduces the received power by 12 and 13 dB on average, for roof antennas, in rural and highway scenarios, respectively. Also, the dispersion in time and frequency domains is highly increased when the line-of-sight is obstructed by the truck.

Abstract: In this paper, we present an indoor channel measurement system at 28 GHz and analysis result of propagation characteristics. The measurement system consists of a vector network analyzer (VNA) and a pair of 26 dBi horn antennas. It makes reliable wireless links with a maximum distance up to 30 meters. Measurement campaign was conducted in Beijing with three different indoor scenarios including office, corridor and hall. Power delay profiles (PDPs) are derived from raw data measured in four transmitter locations and 101 receiver locations. On this basis, three types of propagation characteristics including path loss, root mean square (RMS) delay spread and power angular profiles (PAPs) are analyzed. The results show that indoor environments can enhance received signal power in LOS case. However, in NLOS condition penetration loss caused by wall and door may bring considerable attenuation, which implies that smaller cells will play an important role on increasing the probabilities of LOS links for the future communication systems. Multipath components (MPCs) can be detected in several directions although using high-directional antennas.

Abstract: In the last few years, the mobile data traffic has grown exponentially making evident the importance of wireless networks. To ensure an acceptable level of quality of service for users in a wireless data network, network designers rely on signal propagation path loss models. To provide adaptability, the use of machine learning techniques has been considered to predict characteristics of the wireless channel. In this work, we propose a method for predicting path loss in an urban outdoor environment using support vector regression. Simulation results indicate that, depending on the employed kernel and its parameters, the performance obtained using support vector regression is similar and with lower computational complexity to that obtained by a multilayer perceptron neural network. Keywords—wireless networks, propagation models, machine learning, nonlinear regression.

Abstract: Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) provide an effective approach for underground pipeline inspection. Such WSNs comprise sensor nodes (SNs) and relay nodes (RNs) for information sensing and communication. WSNs can perform accurate and realtime inspection, especially in adverse environments. However, transmitting information between underground and aboveground nodes is very challenging. First, in-pipe SNs conducting controlled maneuvers underground are mobile. Second, SNs need to transmit the information wirelessly to aboveground base stations (BSs). In addition, radio propagation is complex because radio waves travel in a multi-medium environment. Finally, the SNs have limited energy supply. Therefore, proper deployment of a WSN is critical to providing reliable communications and efficient inspection. This paper presents a channel-aware methodology for deploying aboveground RNs in WSNs for underground pipeline inspection. Specifically, first, the paper provides a path loss model for radio propagation over multiple transmission media. Then, based on the path loss model a method is developed for optimum placement of the RNs so as to minimize the energy use of SNs and allow reliable communications. This method takes into account characteristics of the wireless channels, power consumption constraint, pipeline coverage requirement, and the limit of the number of the RNs. We provide an algorithm for optimization of RN placement and SN's power consumption. Simulation results show the efficacy of the proposed framework.

Abstract: Indoor localization based on Received Signal Strengths (RSS) or on some form of power measurements is a low-cost and low-complexity solution gaining more and more interest in the research and commercial worlds. Typically, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) signals are employed for such purpose, due to the fact that they are widely spread in indoor environments. Nevertheless, any wireless signal available in indoor scenarios can be used for positioning based on similar power measurement approaches. One example is the radio frequency identification (RFID), which enable portable localization systems in the form of wearable REID tags. Such RFID-enabled systems are highly demanded for health-state monitoring, object tracking, and security. These applications are mostly indoor applications, and thus, we can envision a near future where multiple RFID and WLAN signals will co-exist on multiple frequency bands. The existing signal diversity can offer a benefit in indoor positioning, providing that the signal propagation effects for both WLAN and RFID are well understood and taken into account. However, measurement-based studies on indoor channel modeling, including path loss and shadowing effects of RFID signals are still missing. A comparison between RFII) and WLAN channel models for positioning purpose has yet to be made. It is the purpose of our paper to address the path-loss channel models and shadowing effects for WLAN and RFID signals based on extensive measurement campaigns in an office environment.

Abstract: The introduction of the IEEE802.15.6 standard (15.6) for wireless-body-area networks signals the advent of new medical applications, where various wireless nodes in, on or around a human body monitor vital signs. Radio communication often dominates the power consumption in the nodes, thus low-power transceivers are desired. Most state-of-the-art low-power transceivers support only proprietary modes with OOK or FSK modulations, and have poor sensitivity or low data rate [1,2]. In this work, a 15.6-compliant transceiver with enhanced performance is proposed. First, the data-rate is extended to 4.5Mb/s to cover multi-channel EEG applications. Second, while a best-in-class energy efficiency of 0.33nJ/b is achieved in the high-speed mode, a dedicated low-power mode reduces the RX power further in low-data-rate operation. Third, a sensitivity 5 to 10dB better than the 15.6 specification is targeted to accommodate extra path loss due to shadowing effects from human bodies.

Abstract: Wireless localization using the received signal strength (RSS) can have tremendous savings over using specialized positioning infrastructures. In this work, we explore improving RSS localization performance in multipath environments by varying the transmitter's signal power and frequency. We first derive and analyze the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) of RSS-based localization based on the frequency dependent path loss propagation model that considers the transmitter's signal power and frequency. The derived CRLB shows the feasibility of improving localization performance by applying frequency and power level selection for RSS-based localization. Using this analysis, we develop two new selection metrics based on the observed standard deviations of RSS as well as residuals. We then show a set of selection methods that attempt to select the combinations of power and frequencies which minimize the localization error in a representative class of localization algorithms. Our simulation results confirm the proposed selection methods can improve the localization accuracy under CRLB. Additionally, using active RFID tags, we experimentally characterize the effect of using multiple signal powers and frequencies on a wide spectrum of RSS-based algorithms. We found that the performance of all the algorithms improves when leveraging on multiple power levels and frequencies, although different algorithms present different sensitivity in terms of localization accuracy under different selection methods.