The design of measurement-based underwater acoustic channel simulators using the INLSA algorithm

Abstract

This paper utilizes the iterative nonlinear least square approximation (INLSA) algorithm for designing measurement-based wideband shallow underwater acoustic (UWA) channel simulators. Measurement-based channel simulators are essential for the test, optimization, and performance analysis of UWA communication systems. The aim is to fit the time-variant channel impulse response (TVCIR) of the simulation model to that of the measured UWA channel. The performance of the designed UWA channel simulator is assessed by comparing the time-frequency correlation function (TFCF), the power delay profile (PDP), and the probability density function (PDF) of the channel envelope with the corresponding quantities of the measured channel. The results of the assessment show an excellent match between the statistical properties of the UWA channel simulator, designed by the INLSA method, and those of the real-world UWA channel. It is also shown that the distribution of the channel envelope of our measurement data, which is collected from a shallow-water environment, follows closely the Rayleigh distribution.