A New Modeling Methodology for Multipath Parameter Estimation in Ultrawideband Channels

Abstract

A new modeling methodology for estimation of the parameters of the underlying multipath structure in an ultrawideband (UWB) indoor propagation channel is proposed in this article based on measurement campaign data available for a typical modern laboratory building. Issues inherent in generic multipath parameter estimation procedures such as limitations of curve fitting techniques, ambiguity in identifying cluster regions, and arbitrariness in estimating cluster and ray parameters accentuate a lack of transparency in the whole parameter estimation process and prevent the performance evaluation of different UWB physical layer proposals. A ramification of such techniques is that they are often too complex and intractable. The proposed approach, in this article, addresses these issues and offers a simple, tractable, easy to implement, and accurate solution based on a rationale proposing that the true behavior of the multipath structure is dependent on the structure of the considered environment itself and not on any additional reflectors. The results obtained from the proposed model are compared against the IEEE 802.15.4a CM1 and CM2 channel models. The proposed model establishes a normative to compare and evaluate performances between different UWB propagation models in realistic environments.