How bad is the flat earth assumption? Effect of topography on wireless systems

Fraida Fund, Regina Lin, Thanasis Korakis, Shivendra S. Panwar

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

A common simplifying assumption made in wireless simulation and modeling is that the world is flat, i.e. to ignore the effect of the terrain in which the wireless signal propagates. In this paper, we show with empirical measurements from an urban wireless network testbed how the terrain affects the spatial and temporal correlation of the wireless signal, and in turn, the distance or duration over which the wireless signal remains consistent. Furthermore, we suggest that this effect has practical implications for systems that make assumptions about the duration over which wireless signal quality stays roughly the same, such as adaptive transmission schemes or applications that buffer data to smooth over variations in signal quality.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2016 14th International Symposium on Modeling and Optimization in Mobile, Ad Hoc, and Wireless Networks, WiOpt 2016
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781509013111
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 15 2016
Event14th International Symposium on Modeling and Optimization in Mobile, Ad Hoc, and Wireless Networks, WiOpt 2016 - Tempe, United States
Duration: May 9 2016May 13 2016

Publication series

Name2016 14th International Symposium on Modeling and Optimization in Mobile, Ad Hoc, and Wireless Networks, WiOpt 2016

Other

Other14th International Symposium on Modeling and Optimization in Mobile, Ad Hoc, and Wireless Networks, WiOpt 2016
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityTempe
Period5/9/165/13/16

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Control and Optimization
  • Modeling and Simulation

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