Ultra Wideband (UWB): Technology, design and applications

In this presentation, Ultra Wideband (UWB) systems operating in 3.1–4.5GHz band are shown to have interesting properties within dense multipath channels and metallic structures. First the IEEE standard UWB channel model is presented and discussed, then our combined deterministic-statistical channel modeling method is shown to have more applicability and better accuracy in real-world scenarios and complex environments. The UWB channel modeling method we proposed based on a combination of ray-tracing and statistical dithering, enables interactive channel simulation and dynamic coverage estimation for system design and development. Advanced Error Control Coding (ECC) techniques using adaptable and low complexity codes (such as the Quasi-Cyclic LDPC codes), could then be employed to sacrifice a percentage of the data rate to further improve link stability and range or to decrease transmission power. Measurement results for DS-UWB and MB-OFDM operating in some non-conventional environments such as metallic bulkheads are reviewed at the end of the session.