Measurements and Analysis of an In-Car UWB Channel

Car manufacturers have been showing great interest in setting up ultra-wideband (UWB) systems due to the offered high data rates. In this paper, the fundamental features of the in-car UWB channel in terms of large-scale and small-scale parameters are investigated. These values are based on measurement data collected with a vector network analyzer (VNA) in the frequency band of 3-8 GHz. With the aid of the measurements, simple preliminary empirical models have been derived describing both, path loss as well as small-scale features of the channel. The results are shown for LOS and NLOS situations as well as for an empty car and a car occupied with persons.