Double Directional Channel Characterization on Board Ships

Due to the metallic structure of decks, bulkheads and watertight (WT) doors, wireless communications are a serious challenge in the particular environment of ships. In order to deploy reliable shipboard wireless networks, wireless devices (access points, routers, sensor nodes, etc) must be located at strategic locations ensuring full radio coverage and network connectivity. Strategic locations can be determined from the identification of the main propagation directions of electromagnetic (EM) waves within a ship. This paper presents the results of a radio propagation measurement campaign performed on board a ship. A dual-band Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) channel sounder and antenna arrays have been used. Measurement data have been processed with a classic beamforming technique and a high resolution algorithm to extract dominant paths. A ray-tracing based simulation tool has been used to understand measurement results. Obtained results are used for optimal placement of radio devices when deploying shipboard wireless networks. Keywords-propagation; channel sounding; ray-tracing; ships