Statistical modelling comparison of wearable UWB signal propagation in antithetical corridor environments

Abstract

We explore the potential of mathematically modelling the ultra-wideband (3.1-6.3 GHz) off-body radio channel using the same statistical distribution for corridor environments. Radio channel descriptive parameters of received signal strength, mean excess delay ( τ mean ) and root mean square (RMS) delay spread ( τ RMS ) are presented, modelled and compared for five indoor corridor environments. Statistical distributions for these corridors exhibit strong similarities despite each possessing starkly different geometrical and physical characteristics, and test arrangements. Each of the corridor environments was best modelled by the Rician distribution for the line-of-sight (LOS) received power and the Lognormal distribution for the non-LOS (NLOS) received power. Distribution of tmean was best modelled by the normal distribution for both LOS and NLOS scenarios. The distribution of τ RMS was likewise best modelled by the normal distribution for both LOS and NLOS arrangements. For corridors 1 and 2 (considered to exhibit the greatest differences), a finite element study was conducted to substantiate that the results cannot be dismissed as statistical anomalies created by the averaging effect over long journey paths. This work is relevant for the mathematical modelling of UWB off-body channel sounding in interior corridors and may reduce efforts required to model future indoor corridor variants.