Time domain channel sounder for underground mine applications

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Efficient and reliable wireless communication in underground mining has experienced rapid development and is changing the mining industry in terms of safety, security and productivity. In this area, wireless communication is used to establish connections from inside mines to ground stations through voice and video transmission, control machinery remotely, and track down people and hazardous materials. These communication systems must be able to maximize high data rates so that different applications and services can use the same bandwidth. Recently, Wireless Body Network (WBAN) technology has emerged as a promising communication scheme dedicated to industrial, entertainment, sport, medical and mining fields. Data of vital body parameters and movements are collected and communicated using wireless communication techniques to a command station. In fact, the shape, the structure of the walls and the dimensions of the tunnel along with the objects inside (such as miners and machinery) are of vital importance when characterizing and modeling radio propagation. In addition, the human body with its complex shape and different tissues, each with a different permittivity-conductivity, has a significant effect on the statistics of the signal. Therefore, the choice of the type of antenna is particularly important for systems, where transmit power is limited. Hence, the aim of this research program is the design of an efficient WBAN wireless communication system in underground mines. In this context, the characterization, modeling, and evaluation of the performance of mmWave WBAN channels will be performed in terms of channel impulse response (CIR), gain, and average spectral efficiency. To achieve this goal, we propose to build a time domain channel sounder that will support this area of research. As a result, several propagation parameters such as path loss, fast-fading characteristics, Doppler power spectrum, RMS Doppler spread, and capacity could be measured to evaluate their impact on transmission reliability and latency. We thus request funds to purchase an oscilloscope (to be used as a receiver) in order to perform measurements for the characterization and modeling of the dynamic radio channels in the mm-wave bands in underground mines. This time-domain channel sounder, which is based on the RF generator and the oscilloscope, enables measurements under fast-varying environments such as underground mines.