Near-field magnetic induction communication device for underground wireless communication networks

Abstract

Electromagnetic (EM) waves are the most versatile and widely adopted physical layer technology for underground wireless communication networks (UWCNs). However, they are not suitable for underground communication especially when coils are buried in soil. Magneto-inductive (MI) communication is a promising technique for UWCNs; it is not affected by large propagation delays, multipath propagation, and fading. Furthermore, MI communication has lower transmitting power and smaller antenna size than EM. A near-field low-power communication device with an electrically small antenna for low-frequency UWCNs is proposed in this study. The device can be easily buried underground. The proposed device is analyzed in terms of basic communication metrics, i.e., magnetic field intensity, bandwidth, path losses, and received power. Comparison of these four metrics shows that the experimental data closely match those of the theoretical model, and the maximum communication distance of 28.5 m, can be achieved. Moreover, according to the experimental results of our device, we further propose the modified received power model. Results show that the device exhibits good performance and can be used as a stand-alone module in directional underground wireless communication.

概要

创新点

相比于传统电磁(EM)波通信, 磁感应(MI)通信由于具有天线尺寸小、低衰落、低能耗和无多径效应等优点, 更适合需要将设备埋设在土壤中的透地通信. 本文提出一种基于电小天线的近场低能耗通信设备, 此设备可用于地下透地通信. 同时, 本文在磁场强度, 带宽, 路径损耗, 和接收功率四方面对设备进行理论仿真和实验测量的对比. 通过这四个指标的比较表明, 测量数据和理论仿真几乎完全匹配, 并且, 该设备的最大的通信距离课达到28.5米. 此外, 根据本装置的实验结果, 我们进一步提出了改进的接收功率模型. 结果表明, 该装置具有良好的性能, 可以作为定向井下无线通信的一个独立的模块.