Contact: Ruben Merz
Site: UWB
In 2005, we started the implementation of a state-of-the-art software radio testbed for ultra-wide band physical layers (UWB). The main characteristics of an UWB physical layer is its very wide bandwidth (> 500 Mhz to several GHz, by comparison, 802.11 radios use only 20 MHz) and the very peculiar kind of transmitted signal, in our case pulses with a length around a nanosecond. Thanks to its very wide bandwidth, UWB physical layers are extremely attractive for wireless localisation and ranging applications. In 2006, the Geodetic Engineering Laboratory of the ENAC Faculty acquired a localisation system based on UWB. This system allows to track a UWB transmitter in real-time with a precision of a few centimeters.
Project Goals:
The goal of this project is twofold. First to test the robustness of a localisation system in the presence of interference created by another UWB transmitter (in this case, our testbed). Secondly, to perform a statistical analysis of the interference created by an UWB transmitter on a UWB receiver. In this case, by the tranmitter of the localisation system on the receiver of our testbed. This project is conducted in collaboration with the Geodetic Engineering Laboraty of the ENAC Faculty and with various partners within MICS. You can consult http://icawww1.epfl.ch/uwb/mics for more information.
Benefits:
Practical experience with ultra-wide band physical layer technology. Exposure to state of the art techniques and digital communications algorithms.
Domain:
Protocol design and implementation