Wireless characterization and assessment of an UWB-Based system in industrial environments

The advent of Indsutrial Internet of Things is one of the main drivers for the implementation of Industry 4.0 scenarios and applications, in which wireless communication systems play a key role in terms of flexibility, mobility and deployment capabilities. However, the integration of wireless communication systems poses challenges, owing to variable path loss conditions and interference impact. In this work, an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) system for indoor location in very large, complex industrial scenarios is presented. Precise wireless channel characterization for the complete volume of a logistical plant is performed, based on 3D hybrid ray launching approximation, in order to aid network node design process. Wireless characterization, implementation and measurement results are obtained for both 4 GHz and 6 GHz frequency bands, considering different densities of scatterers within the scenario under test. Time domain estimation results have been obtained and compared with time of flight measurement results, showing good agreement. The proposed methodology enables to perform system design and performance tasks, analyzing the impact of variable object density conditions in wireless channel response, providing accurate time of flight estimations without the need of complex channel sounder systems, aiding in optimal system planning and implementation.This work was supported in part by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Stardust-Holistic and Integrated Urban Model for Smart Cities) under Grant 774094, in part by the Ministerio de Ciencia through the Innovación y Universidades, Gobierno de España (Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional—FEDER, European Union) under Grant RTI2018-095499-B-C31 IoTrain, and in part by the Gobierno de Navarra-Departamento de Desarrollo Económico under Grant 0011-1365-2019-000097 OEE LOG