Consist-to-Consist communications in the trains: Is it time to use ultra wide-band?

Abstract

In spite of the popularity of Ultra Wide-Band (UWB) technology, its applications are still scanty. In this paper we assess UWB technology in the scope of its application to Consist-to-Consist (C2C) communication in the trains (i.e. communication between carriages) by evaluating its performance with respect to three performance indicators: coexistence with licensed wireless communications technologies, data rate and Bit Error Rate (BER). The first metric poses challenges in terms of coexistence of UWB with Primary Users (PU). We, therefore, assess the Detect and Avoid (DAA) cognitive mechanism which is applied for successful operation of UWB in the same spectrum with other technologies. In particular, we present an experimental evaluation of detection of the WiMAX signal (PU) in the 3.5 GHz range using the UWB DAA equipment. The evaluation of data rate is carried out in 3.5 and 4.7 GHz frequency bands using different UWB equipment. The evaluation of BER of UWB links with respect to various physical data rates and transceiver-receiver distance is conducted in 4.7 GHz frequency band. Our experimental results demonstrate the high potential of UWB toward replacing wired C2C link.