MR-FDPF Method

The problem of radio wave propagation simulation is very important to help operators installing their networks. Two principal kinds of models have been used on the litterature.
The former, called empirical, are based on measurements and statistics. They are very easy to implement and very fast because they only consider the distance between the emitter and the receiver, but they are not accurate enough, because they do not take into account the different objects of the environment.
The later, called deterministic, exploit phycial laws to simulat the signal propagation. The most famous are the wellknown ray-tracing like models, based on the computation of the different path according to the geometrical optic laws. On the other side, the discrete models based on the resolution of Maxwell's equations, are very accurate but have been rarely used due to the high complexity especially in large environments.

The MR-FDPF model is a TLM like model (Transmission Line Matrix Method) in the frequency domain. It exploits a regular grid to propagate the field along wires. For a narrow-band system, a steady-state study can be performed leading to a linear inverse problem in the frequency domain. A multi-resolution decomposition of the problem has been proposed. In this approach Multi-Rresolution node is defined as a rectangular aggregate of usual TLM nodes. Its own scattering matrix relates its outward flows as a function of its inward flows. It has been shown in [13] that this scattering matrix can be computed from those of its children nodes defined in a topdown recursion. The MR-FDPF algorithm is divided into two stages:

- A preprocessing step, representing most of the complexity of the problem, where the MR-nodes binary tree and their scattering matrices are computed. This processing does not depend on the emitters positions but only on the obstacles positions and materials.

- A propagation step where the emitters coverages are computed, using the properties of the source and a bottom-up phase to compute equivalent sources and a top-down phase to compute the received signal in each pixel. The resolution of the coverage map can be adapted, depending on the users speed and accuracy requirements.

It is interesting to notice that, due to the preprocessing, the computation of a NxN pixels coverage map with the maximal resolution is solved in O(log2(N).N2), instead of O(N3) for standard discrete models. An other important point is that all the reflexions and diffractions are computed contrary to ray-tracing like models. Because the propagation step is very quick (a few seconds on a standard PC), and the accuracy very high (less than 4 dB), this model is very well adapted to indoor network planning where a high number of positions and parameters must be tested. The MR-FDPF model has been mainly used in indoor in its 2D, 2.5D and 3D versions. An outdoor implementation has been proposed in 2D only due to memory requirements.

Technical Reports

MR-FDPF Theory:

MR-FDPF implementation:

Scientific Publications

Journals:

[5] Guillaume de la Roche, Paul Flipo, Zhihua Lai, Guillaume Villemaud, Jie Zhang and Jean-Marie Gorce "Implementation and Validation of a New Combined Model for Outdoor to Indoor Radio Coverage Predictions". Hindawi Publishing Corporation EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, 2010: 215352.

[4] Jean-Marie Gorce, Katia Jaffrès-Runser, and Guillaume De La Roche. A Deterministic Approach for Fast Simulations of Indoor Radio Wave Propagation. IEEE Trans on Antennas and Propagation, 55(3,2):938-948, 2007.

[3] Katia Jaffrès-Runser, Jean-Marie Gorce, and Stéphane Ubéda. Mono- and Multiobjective Formulations for the Indoor Wireless LAN Planning Problem. Journal of Computers and Operations Research. Special Issue on Telecommunications Network Engineering,doi:10.1016/j.cor.2007.02.011, 2007.

[2] Guillaume De La Roche, Katia Jaffrès-Runser, and Jean-Marie Gorce. On predicting Indoor WLAN coverage with a fast discrete approach. International Journal of Mobile Network Design and Innovation, 2007.

[1] Katia Jaffrès-Runser, Jean-Marie Gorce, and Stéphane Ubéda. QoS constrained wireless LAN optimization within a multiobjective framework. IEEE Wireless Communications, 13(6):26-33, 2006.

Conferences:

[14] Jean-Marie Gorce, Guillaume Villemaud, Paul Flipo. "On Simulating Propagation for OFDM/MIMO Systems with the MR-FDPF Model". In European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP 2010), Barcelona, Spain, April 2010.

[13] Guillaume De La Roche, Paul Flipo, Zhihua Lai, Guillaume Villemaud, Jie Zhang, J-M. Gorce. "Combination of Geometric and Finite Difference Models for Radio Wave Propagation in Outdoor to Indoor Scenarios". In European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP 2010), Barcelona, Spain, April 2010.

[12] Guillaume De La Roche, Jean-Marie Gorce, and Guillaume Villemaud. On predicting fast fading strength from indoor 802.11 simulations. In in Proc. International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications, Torino, Italy, 2007.

[11] J-L. Lu, K. Runser, J-M. Gorce, and F. Valois. Indoor WLAN Planning with a QoS constraint based on a Markovian Performance Evaluation Model. In 2nd International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications (WiMob), Montreal, Canada, pages 152-158, June 2006. IEEE.

[10] G. De La Roche, X. Gallon, J-M. Gorce, and G. Villemaud. 2.5D extensions of the Frequency Domain ParFlow Algorithm for Simulating 802.11b/g Radio Coverage in multifloored buildings. In IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference Fall (VTC-Fall 2006), Montreal, Canada, September 2006.

[9] G. De La Roche and J-M. Gorce. Full-3D MR-FDPF Method for the Simulation of Indoor Radio Propagation. In European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP 2006), Nice, France, November 2006.

[8] G. De La Roche, R. Rebeyrotte, K. Jaffrès-Runser, and J-M. Gorce. A QoS-based FAP criterion for Indoor 802.11 wireless LAN optimization. In IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC2006), volume 12, Istanbul, Turkey, pages 5676-5681 keywords = Propagation prediction, WLAN planning, June 2006.

[7] G. Villemaud, G. De La Roche, and J-M. Gorce.. Accuracy Enhancement of a Multi-Resolution Indoor Propagation Simulation Tool by Radiation Pattern Synthesis. In IEEE AP-S International Symposium, Albuquerque, New Mexico, pages 2153-2156, July 2006.

[6] J.-M. Gorce, K. Runser, and G. De La Roche. FDTD based efficient 2D simulations of Indoor propagation for wireless LAN.. In IMACS, World Congress Scientific Computation, Applied Mathematics and Simulation, Paris, France, July 2005.

[5] G. De La Roche, R. Rebeyrotte, K. Runser, and J-M. Gorce. A new strategy for indoor propagation fast computation with MR-FDPF algorithm. In IASTED International Conference on Antennas, Radar and Wave Propagation, Banff, Canada, July 2005.

[4] K. Runser and J.M. Gorce. Assessment of a new indoor propagation prediction model based on a multi-resolution algorithm. In Vehicular Technology Conference Spring (VTC-Spring 2005), volume 1, Stockholm, Sweden, pages 35-38, May 2005.

[3] J-M. Gorce, E. Jullo, and K. Runser. An adaptive multi-resolution algorithm for 2D simulations of indoor propagation. In Twelfth International Conference on Antennas and Propagation (ICAP), volume 1, IEE, London, UK, pages 216-219, 2003. Note: Best Paper.

[2] K. Runser, E. Jullo, and J-M. Gorce. Wireless LAN planning using the multi-resolution FDPF propagation model. In Twelfth International Conference on Antennas and Propagation (ICAP), volume 1, IEE, London, UK, pages 80-83, 2003.

[1] Jean-Marie Gorce and Stéphane Ubeda. Propagation simulation ith the ParFlow method : fast computation using a multi-resolution scheme. In IEEE 54th Vehicular Technology Conference, volume 3, Atlantic City, NJ, USA, pages 1603-1607, October 2001.

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