Systems & Technology Research LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: Systems & Technology Research (STR) together with our partner, The Ohio State Universi

Description

Systems & Technology Research (STR) together with our partner, The Ohio State University ElectroScience Laboratory (OSU/ESL), is pleased to provide this proposal to develop foliage propagation modeling algorithms and techniques to support new communications concepts. Our innovative approach to this problem will combine efficient computational electromagnetic methods (CEM) that capture the salient foliage scattering phenomenology, analysis of measured data and communications systems analyses that exercise the CEM-based model for performance prediction. We propose to extend the well-established 4-layer model to a general N-layer model, and within each of the lower foliage layers incorporate a random distribution of tree trunks. Trunks are randomly distributed with random diameters. Larger tree trunks extend through the lower canopy into the upper canopy. Through rigorous numerical Monte Carlo studies and closed-form analytical techniques, we propose to derive channel models appropriate for different communications frequency bands. Models will include path loss, delay spread, dispersion and correlation between channels. The parameters of the models will be adjusted to fit experimental data based on inputs such as average tree spacing and diameter, dielectric loss factors for ground and foliage, canopy height, polarization, etc. These studies will reveal optimum communications link designs and coding schemes for a given scenario.