High-resolution and low-complexity topology estimation for power line communication networks

Power line communication (PLC) is a promising solution for smart grid and smart home applications. However, the topology of a PLC network is not always available, and it is often hard to obtain. The existing topology estimation approaches either require installation of a large number of PLC modems or have a limited resolution. We propose a time-frequency domain reflectometry (TFDR) based topology estimation scheme for PLC networks, which requires measurement at only one PLC modem and has a much higher resolution than the frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) based method. We also propose an enhanced topology reconstruction algorithm, which is much more computationally efficient than a reference searching algorithm.