Philippe De Doncker

The COST 2100 MIMO channel model

The COST 2100 channel model is a geometry- based stochastic channel model (GSCM) that can reproduce the stochastic properties of MIMO channels over time, frequency, and space. In contrast to other popular GSCMs, the COST 2100 approach is generic and flexible, making it suitable to model multi-user or distributed MIMO scenarios. In this article a concise overview of the COST 2100 channel model is presented. Main concepts are described, together with useful implementation guidelines. Recent developments, including dense multipath components, polarization, and multi-link aspects, are also discussed.

Dynamic Channel Modeling for Multi-Sensor Body Area Networks

A channel model for time-variant multi-link wireless body area networks (WBANs) is proposed in this paper, based on an extensive measurement campaign using a multi-port channel sounder. A total of 12 nodes were placed on the body to measure the multi-link channel within the created WBAN. The resulting empirical model takes into account the received power, the link fading statistics, and the link auto- and cross-correlations. The distance dependence of the received power is investigated, and the link fading is modeled by a log-normal distribution. The link autocorrelation function is divided into a decaying component and a sinusoidal component to account for the periodical movement of the limbs caused by walking. The cross-correlation between different links is also shown to be high for a number of specific on-body links. Finally, the model is validated by considering several extraction-independent validation metrics: multi-hop link capacity, level crossing rate (LCR) and average fade duration (AFD). The capacity aims at validating the path-loss and fading model, while the LCR and AFD aim at validating the temporal behavior. For all validation metrics, the model is shown to satisfactorily reproduce the measurements, whereas its limits are pointed out.

Sensitivity of Spectrum Sensing Techniques to RF Impairments

Cognitive radios are devices capable of sensing a large range of frequencies in order to detect the presence of primary networks and reuse their bands when they are not occupied. Due to the large spectrum to be sensed and the high power signal dynamics, low-cost implementations of the analog front-ends leads to imperfections. Two of them are studied in this paper: IQ imbalance and sampling clock offset (SCO). Based on a mathematical system model, we study analytically the impact of the two imperfections on the sensing performance of the energy detector and of the cyclostationarity detector. We show that the IQ imbalance does not impact the performance of the two detectors, and that the SCO only impacts significantly the performance of the cyclostationarity detector.

Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of a 60-GHz Off-Body Propagation Model

A fast computation and accurate analytical model for off-body propagation is derived in this paper. The paper discusses the off-body model propagation from an external source to a receiver located on the body. The model is developed for normal incident plane wave by describing the human body with a circular cylinder. We show that the total received electric field around the human body can be written as a creeping wave in the shadow region and as a geometrical optics result for the lit region. It is also shown that at 60 GHz, the shadow boundary width is negligible. The model shows perfect agreement with the experimental results conducted on a perfectly conducting cylinder. Measurements of the creeping wave path gain have been also conducted on a real body to assess the validity of the cylinder assumption. The results have shown a path gain of about 5 dB/cm for the TM case and 3 dB/cm for the TE case. The standard deviation between the measurements and the cylindrical model is about 3.5 dB for both TM and TE cases.

Spatial correlation functions for fields in three-dimensional Rayleigh channels

Starting from a continuous plane-wave representation of the electric and magnetic fields, spatial auto- and cross-correlation functions for field components and their modulus are derived in the three-dimensional Rayleigh channel case. It is shown that existing results, generally relying on two-dimensional or isotropic models, can significantly differ from those obtained thanks to a three-dimensional approach.

An Analytical Modeling of Polarized Time-Variant On-Body Propagation Channels with Dynamic Body Scattering

On-body propagation is one of the dominant propagation mechanisms in wireless body area networks (WBANs). It is characterized by near-field body-coupling and strong body-scattering effects. The temporal and spatial properties of on-body channels are jointly affected by the antenna polarization, the body posture, and the body motion. Analysis on the time variant properties of on-body channels relies on a good understanding of the dynamic body scattering, which is highly dependent on specific scenarios. In this paper, we develop an analytical model to provide a canonical description of on-body channels in both time and space domains to investigate the on-body propagation over the trunk surface of a walking human. The scattering from the arms and the trunk in different dimensions is considered with a simplified geometrical description of the body and of the body movements during the walk. A general full-wave solution of a polarized point source with multiple cylinder scattering is derived and extended by considering time evolution. The model is finally validated by deterministic and statistical comparisons to different measurements in anechoic environments.

Correlation for multi-frequency propagation in urban environment

The multi-frequency propagation in urban environment is investigated in this letter. An experimental measurement campaign is conducted to simultaneously measure the GSM-900, GSM-1800 and UMTS band of a cellular system in a suburban environment. The shadowing and small-scale fading parameters are extracted, and the correlation of these parameters across the different frequency bands is measured. It is shown that shadowing coeffcients are highly correlated, while small-scale fading is completely uncorrelated between different frequency bands.

Analytical Creeping Wave Model and Measurements for 60 GHz Body Area Networks

The propagation of 60 GHz electromagnetic waves around a human body is studied analytically and experimentally. The body is treated here as a circular lossy cylinder, which is an approximation of the human torso. Analytical formulations based on creeping wave theory are given and discussed for both vertical and horizontal polarizations. An exact path gain expression is derived from analytical formulations and a simpler first order approximation is given. Path gain coefficients are shown for frequencies spanning the world available 60 GHz unlicensed band and for several sizes of the torso. Finally, the results of an experimental campaign conducted in an anechoic chamber to isolate the contribution of on-body propagation are reported. The measurement of the distance dependence of the received power on a brass cylinder and on a human body for both vertical and horizontal polarizations confirmed theoretical predictions.

GSM 900 MHz radiation inhibits ants' association between food sites and encountered cues

The kinetics of the acquisition and loss of the use of olfactory and visual cues were previously obtained in six experimental colonies of the ant Myrmica sabuleti meinert 1861, under normal conditions. In the present work, the same experiments were conducted on six other naive identical colonies of M. sabuleti, under electromagnetic radiation similar to those surrounding GSM and communication masts. In this situation, no association between food and either olfactory or visual cues occurred. After a recovery period, the ants were able to make such an association but never reached the expected score. Such ants having acquired a weaker olfactory or visual score and still undergoing olfactory or visual training were again submitted to electromagnetic waves. Not only did they lose all that they had memorized, but also they lost it in a few hours instead of in a few days (as under normal conditions when no longer trained). They kept no visual memory at all (instead of keeping 10% of it as they normally do). The impact of GSM 900 MHz radiation was greater on the visual memory than on the olfactory one. These communication waves may have such a disastrous impact on a wide range of insects using olfactory and/or visual memory, i.e., on bees.

A time-variant statistical channel model for tri-polarized antenna systems

Polarized MIMO systems are an efficient solution for reducing inter-antenna correlation while maintaining compact terminal size. In this paper, a time-variant statistical channel model is proposed for tri-polarized antenna systems. The model is based on a coherent and a scattered component, where each component includes inter-channel correlation and cross-polar discriminations. The temporal variations of the channel are separated in slow and fast channel variations. A measurement campaign has been performed at 3.6 GHz to parameterize the model, in both static and mobile cases. A variant of the variogram technique has been adopted for extracting the slow-varying channel parameters. Experimental results are investigated and presented. The Doppler spectrum of the fast channel variations show fundamental differences between the static case and the mobile case. Finally, it is explained how the proposed model can be generated.