1st International ICST Conference on Communications and Networking in China

Research Article

UWB-based sensor networks and the IEEE 802.15.4a standard - a tutorial

  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.1109/CHINACOM.2006.344917,
        author={Andreas F. Molisch and  Philip Orlik and Zafer  Sahinoglu and Jin  Zhang},
        title={UWB-based sensor networks and the IEEE 802.15.4a standard - a tutorial},
        proceedings={1st International ICST Conference on Communications and Networking in China},
        publisher={IEEE},
        proceedings_a={CHINACOM},
        year={2007},
        month={4},
        keywords={},
        doi={10.1109/CHINACOM.2006.344917}
    }
    
  • Andreas F. Molisch
    Philip Orlik
    Zafer Sahinoglu
    Jin Zhang
    Year: 2007
    UWB-based sensor networks and the IEEE 802.15.4a standard - a tutorial
    CHINACOM
    IEEE
    DOI: 10.1109/CHINACOM.2006.344917
Andreas F. Molisch1,2,*, Philip Orlik2,*, Zafer Sahinoglu2,*, Jin Zhang2,*
  • 1: Department of Electroscience, Lund University, Sweden.
  • 2: Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, Cambridge, MA, USA.
*Contact email: molisch@merl.com, porlik@merl.com, zafer@merl.com, jzhang@merl.com

Abstract

This paper gives a tutorial overview of ultrawide-band communications systems for sensor networks. In particular, we describe the IEEE 802.15.4a standard, which is currently being developed. While most nodes (reduced-function devices) in sensor networks usually have to consume little energy, and are constrained with respect to the complexity of the processing they can perform, some nodes (full-function devices) do not show these restrictions. We describe a hybrid modulation, coding, and multiple access scheme that is particularly suited for heterogeneous networks that contain both FFDs and RFDs. The scheme is a generalization of the well-known time-hopping impulse radio (TH-IR). It employs systematic coding, joint pulse-position modulation and phase shift keying, as well as a combination of polarity scrambling and time-hopping. We also describe two-way ranging algorithms that serve as the basis for geolocation in 802.15.4a, and we discuss the methods for how the ranging information can be kept secret from snoopers.