Special Sessions at EuCAP 2019
Date: 31 March – 5 April 2019
Location: Krakow, Poland
EuCAP has now become one of the flagship conferences on antennas and propagation, attracting researchers from across the world. With approximately 1200 to 1500 attendees, it is one of the largest conferences of its type.
The comprehensive conference programme features 5 busy days jam-packed with regular, plenary, poster and convened sessions.
- Plenary keynote speeches and semi-plenary talks from top-level academic and industry experts
- Scientific workshops and short courses, which are an excellent educational opportunity for all aspiring and practising researchers
- Extensive peer-reviewed presentations, showcasing the latest research from around the world
EuCAP 2019 is held at the modern ICE Krakow Congress Centre. Because of ICE’s facilities, which include a 1960-seat auditorium with highly acclaimed acoustics, EuCAP for the first time has a full philharmonic concert evening event.
Monday, April 1, 14:00 – 16:00
CS19 COST CA15104 (IRACON): BAN CS19 COST session CA15104 (IRACON): Measurements and Simulations in Channel Modelling in Wireless Body Area Network
Wireless Networks and Defense and Security / Convened Session / Propagation
Room: Oral Sessions: G2- Opole
Chairs: Luis M. Correia (IST/INESC-ID – University of Lisbon & INESC, Portugal), Krzysztof K. Cwalina (Gdansk University of Technology, Poland), Patrick Van Torre (Ghent University, Belgium)
14:00 Long-range Body-To-Body LoRa Link at 868 MHz
Patrick Van Torre (Ghent University, Belgium); Thomas Ameloot (Ghent University – imec, Belgium); Hendrik Rogier (Ghent University, Belgium)
For the Internet of Things, LoRa is an important standard for low-power wide area sensor networks. LoRa communication employs chirp spread spectrum modulation in sub- GHz frequency bands, combining the benefits of both in order to enable low-power kilometer-range wireless data communication. LoRa modulation provides a high link budget and additionally, sub-GHz bands
possess excellent radio propagation characteristics. A LoRa transceiver was integrated onto a textile substrate integrated- waveguide antenna in order to perform long-range body-to-body communication. The unit is a fully autonomous wearable wireless sensor node, including a transceiver, processor, sensors, flash memory and a flat battery, all integrated at the back of a textile
antenna. The design and characteristics of the unit are described, including radiation patterns of the fully assembled unit. Finally, an outdoor long-range performance test is performed as a proof of concept.
14:20 Modeling of Shadowing States of On-Off Body Propagation of Wireless Body Area Network During Human Walking Using Simple Geometrical Calculation
Takahiro Aoyagi (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan)
Propagation channel of body area networks fluctuates by shadowing caused by human movement. In this paper, on-off body propagation of body area network during human walking for seven on-body antennas and an external access point is geometrically modeled by plane wave incident direction parameters; zenith and azimuth. By shadowing state estimation using ray tracing
technique, LOS/NLOS state is calculated for each zenith and azimuth parameters. The LOS/NLOS boundary of shadowing state for individual time frame and receiving position is approximated by two boundary lines with four parameters. As a result, time variation of the on-off body shadowing parameters of human walking between the receiving position on right hand and the external
access point is shown. To investigate other human movements and exhibit derived parameters are left for further report.
14:40 Wideband Off-Body Channel Characteristics with Dynamic User
Kenan Turbic (IST – University of Lisbon & INESC-ID, Portugal); Slawomir J. Ambroziak (Gdansk University of Technology, Poland); Luis M. Correia (IST/INESC-ID – University of Lisbon & INESC, Portugal); Marko Beko (ULHT/UNINOVA & UNINOVA, Caparica, Portugal)
This paper presents the preliminary results of a dynamic off-body channel characterisation study, based on wideband measurements at 5.8 GHz in an indoor environment. The Channel Impulse Response (CIR) was measured for a scenario with the user approaching and departing from the off-body antenna. A CIR deconvolution procedure was performed jointly in two polarisations, and
the received signal power, Cross-Polarisation Discrimination (XPD), delay mean and standard deviation were calculated based on the estimated path delays and amplitudes. The statistical analysis is performed, and the obtained results show large variations of the CIR parameters. The XPD is observed to vary up to 21.3 dB.
15:00 Impact of the Variability of the EM Properties of Biological Tissues on UWB Channel Modelling for Implanted Devices
Alejandro Fornes-Leal (Institute of Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications, Spain); Concepcion Garcia-Pardo (Universitat Politècnica de València & Institute of Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM), Spain); Sofia Perez-Simbor (Univeristat Politècnica de València, Spain); Narcis Cardona (The Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain)
Wireless Body Area Networks are being massively developed nowadays. Wireless capsule endoscope, implanted sensors and wearable devices are a few examples of applications of this kind. Antennas for these networks are designed taking into account the electromagnetic properties of the surrounding biological tissues. However, many authors just consider the typical values rather
than the whole range of possible electromagnetic properties. The same occurs when modeling the radio channel between transmitting and receiving side, where the body tissues are the propagation medium itself. In this paper, we aim at presenting how this variability can affect the propagation characteristics of the channel as well as the performance of in-body and on-body antennas
in UWB frequencies. To this end, electromagnetic software simulations are carried out using a human CAD model with skin, fat and muscle tissues in the 3.1 – 5.1 GHz band. In addition, the fitting coefficients of a 2-pole Debye equation of the average, maximum and minimum permittivities of these tissues are provided, using the data gathered in a previous measurement campaign.
Results showed that the dielectric variability has a great impact on the system losses, especially in the upper simulated frequencies, and that it may affect as well the reflection coefficient of WBAN antennas. However, it is worth mentioning that this variability will not have the same impact regardless the antenna tested, so in their design process researchers should check that they are
versatile enough to work with some detuning of the surrounding electromagnetic properties.
15:20 Distributed Antenna Systems Used for Indoor UE to Access Point Communications at 60 GHz
Seong Ki Yoo and Lei Zhang (Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom (Great Britain)); Simon Cotton (Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom (Great Britain)); Hien Ngo (Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom (Great Britain))
This paper empirically investigates the performance of distributed antenna systems (DAS) based on switched diversity combining for indoor user equipment (UE) to access point (AP) communications at 60 GHz. Among the candidate pool of switched diversity combining techniques, the pure selection combining (PSC), switch-and-examine combining (SEC) and SEC with post-examining
selection (SECps) schemes are utilized to combine the received composite fading signals. Unlike the PSC scheme, the performance and complexity of the SEC and SECps schemes vary according to the switching threshold that is used, highlighting the importance of the selection of an appropriate switching threshold level. Also in this study, diversity specific equations are developed
under the assumption of independent and identically distributed F composite fading channels. These are then utilized to model the composite fading behavior observed at the output of each of the combiners. Over all of the measurement scenarios considered in this study, it is found that the theoretical models provided an adequate fit to the composite fading observed at the output of
each of the combiners.
15:40 Applicability Limits of Simplified Human Blockage Models at 5G mm-Wave Frequencies
J. Samuel Romero-Peña (Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain); Narcis Cardona (The Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain)
This paper analyzes the feasibility of using a simple diffraction model to compute the blocking of the human body to millimeter wave radio frequencies in indoor environments. The model makes a set of approximations that are evaluated to determine the applicability limits of such simplified approach, in particular for the human body blockage case. The work presented here: (1)
describes briefly the mathematical support that is used to model the concealment using the Knife-Edge model, (2) identifies the potential simplifications applicable to the mathematical model implementation that allow a 3D geometric human body to be modelled with simple 2D shapes, (3) characterizes the polarization influence on the mm-wave blocking for such simplified human body
models.
Wednesday, April 3, 8:40 – 12:30
CS7 IET / COST session CA15104 (IRACON): CS7 IET / COST session CA15104 (IRACON): Propagation measurements and modelling for 5G and beyond
High Data-rate Transfer / Convened Session / Propagation
Room: Oral Sessions: G1- Gniezno
Chairs: Sana Salous (Durham University, United Kingdom (Great Britain)), Enrico M. Vitucci (University of Bologna, Italy)
8:40 A Study on Dual-Directional Mm-wave Indoor Channel Characteristics
Enrico M. Vitucci, Fan Yu, Leonardo Possenti and Marco Zoli (University of Bologna, Italy); Franco Fuschini (DEI – Bologna, Italy); Marina Barbiroli and Vittorio Degli-Esposti (University of Bologna, Italy); Ke Guan (Beijing Jiaotong University, P.R. China & Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany); Thomas Kuerner (Braunschweig Technical University, Germany)
The dual-directional characteristics of propagation in a medium-size indoor environment at two frequency bands, 10 GHz and 60 GHz, are assessed in this work through directional measurements and ray tracing simulation. Ray Tracing is used as a tool to interpret measurement results, but also as a propagation model to simulate mm-wave propagation. For what concerns the latter
aspect, ray tracing has been calibrated vs. measurements and the accuracy in terms of dual-directional simulation of the channel has been evaluated.
9:00 300 GHz Channel Characterization of Chip -to- Chip Communication in Metal Enclosure
Jinbang Fu, Prateek Juyal and Alenka Zajic (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)
This paper presents the characterization of Terahertz (THz) wireless channel inside a desktop size metal box with focus on line-of-sight (LoS) and reflected-non-line-of-sight (RNloS) propagation. Measurements for LoS propagation inside the metal box show that path loss varies with respect to the transceiver’s height from the bottom wall, and for some heights, the path loss is lower
than the free space value. By analyzing the relationship between the path loss and the antenna’s height, the results show that the first six modes of TE mode dominate the resonating modes inside the box. Also, the path loss analysis indicates that the resonating modes combined with the reflections happened inside the box should be responsible for the strong ripples on the path loss
curve. Finally, the RNLoS measurements with dual-in-line-memory-module (DIMM) as the reflecting surface show that the differences between the average path losses measured inside the metal box and in free space are limited to 1 dB.
9:20 Indoor 1-40 GHz Channel Measurements
Maria-Teresa Martinez-Ingles (University Centre of Defence at the Spanish Air Force Academy, MDE-UPCT, Spain); Juan Pascual-García (Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain); Davy P Gaillot (University of Lille, France); Concepcion Sanchis Borras (University San Antonio from Murcia, France); Jose-Maria MolinaGarcia-Pardo (Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain)
This work presents a multidimensional measurement campaign from 1 GHz to 40 GHz in an indoor environment. MIMO channel transfer functions were obtained using a Vector Network Analyzer and Optical-Radio transceivers. The Path Loss, RMS delay spread and K factor were computed from measured data. One of the main novelties in this contribution is the channel sounder, where
39 GHz are measured simultaneously, without distance limitation due to use of fiber optics
9:40 Clutter Loss Measurements and Simulations at 26 GHz and 40 GHz
Belen Montenegro-Villacieros (European Commission – Joint Research Center, Italy); James Bishop and Jean Marc Chareau (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Italy)
The World Radiocommunication Conference 2015, WRC-15, identified candidate frequency bands between 24.25 GHz and 86 GHz for future 5G systems. The Radio Spectrum Policy Group of the European Commission selected the 26 GHz band as pioneer for introducing next-generation 5G terrestrial wireless systems in the Union, and the 32 GHz and 40 GHz bands as promising and
viable options in the longer term for 5G use. Sharing and compatibility studies for assuring the protection of services to which these bands are allocated on a primary basis are required before the WRC-19 allocates these frequencies to 5G services. These studies need propagation models to calculate interference levels at receivers. New propagation models are needed for the new
frequencies and scenarios identified for 5G. New propagation models are developed through simulations or experimental measurement campaigns, each method having its pros and cons. The Joint Research Centre has started an activity working on both. This paper presents preliminary findings on use of a ray-tracing tool to produce clutter loss data and first comparisons with real
experimental data, with the aim of validating the ray-tracing tool for the generation of new clutter loss data.
10:00 Directional Delay Spread Characteristics of Outdoor-to-Indoor Propagation Based on Millimeter-Wave Measurements
Juyul Lee, Kyung-Won Kim, Myung-Don Kim and Jae-Joon Park (ETRI, Korea)
This paper empirically investigates the directional delay spread characteristics for outdoor-to-indoor (O2I) propagation environments. These directional characteristics are obtained by considering only a particular portion of multipath components (rather than considering all the omnidirectional multipath components) that are spatially filtered by a narrow-beamwidth antenna. In
millimeter-wave systems, directional characteristics are useful when employing high-gain directional beamforming techniques. Based on 32 GHz O2I measurements conducted in two building sites, which were carefully selected to follow the ITU-R building classification, we extract directional delay dispersion characteristics as a function of changes in antenna beamwidth. Our analysis
results show that the root-mean-square (r.m.s.) directional delay spread characteristics are dependent not only on building type but also on antenna beamwidth. Interestingly, the thermally efficient building exhibits more dispersive characteristics than the traditional building, which is due to a smaller peak multipath component (MPC). The r.m.s.~delay spread increases as the antenna
beamwidth increases, since a wider beamwidth antenna captures more MPCs. These characteristics will be useful for the determination of dynamic cyclic-prefix length in an OFDM-based system.
10:20 Coffee Break
10:50 62.5-GHz Phased-Array Channel Sounder for Double-Directional Angle Estimation
Peter Papazian, Derek Caudill, Camillo Gentile, Jack Chuang and Nada Golmie (NIST, USA)
The paper describes implementation of phased array antennas for use in a channel sounding system. The antennas are prototype array operations at 62.5 GHz printed on a circuit board. Each array boards two 16 element arrays with separate RF ports and IF sections which can scan ±45° with a fixed elevation beamwidth. The system uses 4 boards at the receiver oriented at 90° to allow
omni direction coverage when scanning. The receiver consists of two boards also implemented at 90° allows 180° transmitter coverage. Using a timing system and Rubidium clocks at both the transmitter and receiver this enables direction of departure and direction of arrival multipath measurements. The objective of the system is to test prototype phased array boards and tracking
algorithms which rely on array antennas narrow beamwidth and scanning abilities at millimeter wave frequencies
11:10 Frequency Selectivity of Window Attenuation Up to 100 GHz
Jonas Medbo and Satyam Dwivedi (Ericsson Research, Sweden)
This paper presents highly accurate measurements of glass pane attenuation for radiowave transmission in the range 5-60 GHz. For this purpose, a measurement setup and analysis method for minimizing the impact of multipath in a scattering environment has successfully been developed. The obtained results match perfectly the textbook theory for multilayer slabs provided by ITU-R
Recommendation P.2040. Moreover, the P.2040 model for complex permeability, including parameter values for glass, matches the measurements very well. Only slight adjustments of corresponding parameter values are required in some cases. Also, in the case of metalized glass the match between model and measurements is very good. The perfect match between model and
measurements proves that the modelling provided in P.2040 is reliable for use in any window attenuation simulations. Though no measurements were performed for multiple panes it is expected that the model is valid also for this case.
11:30 Development and Experimental Validation of an Ultra-wideband Channel Sounder
Wei Fan (Aalborg University, Denmark); Allan Mbugua (University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Italy); Xuesong Cai and Kim Olesen (Aalborg University, Denmark)
Vector network analyzer (VNA) has been extensively utilized for radio channel sounding purposes. Due to its slow channel sounding speed, it has been mainly used for channel measurements in static propagation scenarios. The main limitation with VNA based channel sounder is its small measurement range, due to signal attenuation in the coaxial cable setup. Employing radio over fiber
(RoF) can effectively eliminate the cable loss and hence enables the VNA for long range channel sounding. However, optical cables are sensitive to phase changes in optical cables in practical usage scenarios. In this paper, two phase correction strategies, i.e. two-branch scheme and bi-directional scheme, are discussed and experimentally validated to remove the random phase change
in the cable. The bi-directional scheme is shown to be highly effective in removing the phase change in the measurements. The virtual array VNA channel sounder employing RoF technique and phase correction scheme is highly attractive, since it supports channel sounding with arbitrary frequency carrier setting, ultra-wideband, large-scale (virtual) antenna settings with a large
measurement range.
11:50 Impact of Precipitation on Millimetre Wave Fixed Links
Sana Salous, Yusheng Cao and Xavier Raimundo (Durham University, United Kingdom (Great Britain))
The paper gives an overview of the experimental set up to study the impact of precipitation on fixed links in the 25.84 GHz and 77.52 GHz bands. Preliminary results of dual polarised measurements are presented with disdrometer data which give several parameters including rain-fall rate and drop size distribution. The measurements are compared with two models based on the rain
data parameters.
12:10 Development of a Nation-Wide Research Platform for Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA)
Albert A. Lysko (Council for Industrial and Scientific Research & CSIR Meraka Institute, South Africa); Luzango Mfupe and Mofolo Mofolo (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa); David L Johnson (University of Cape Town & Ammbr Research Labs South Africa, South Africa); Lebogang Rakgolela, Gabriel Montja, Mla Vilakazi, Sydney Sebopetse and Nosipho Khumalo (Council for Industrial and Scientific Research, South Africa); Magdeline Lamola and Natasha Zlobinsky (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
The paper overviews the progress made in developing a country-wide research platform for spectrum monitoring – assisted dynamic spectrum access (DSA) in South Africa, with 6 universities participating. The paper also describes a simple method of incorporating this “spectrum sensing” type of inputs into GLSD decision making towards robust and accurate allocation of spectrum
bands in real time.