Smart underground antenna arrays: A soil moisture adaptive beamforming approach

Abdul Salam, Mehmet C. Vuran

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

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

Current wireless underground (UG) communication techniques are limited by their achievable distance. In this paper, a novel framework for underground beamforming using adaptive antenna arrays is presented to extend communication distances for practical applications. Based on the analysis of propagation in wireless underground channel, a theoretical model is developed which uses soil moisture information to improve wireless underground communications performance. Array element in soil is analyzed empirically and impacts of soil type and soil moisture on return loss (RL) and resonant frequency are investigated. Accordingly, beam patterns are analyzed to communicate with underground and above ground devices. Depending on the incident angle, refraction from soil-air interface has adverse effects in the UG communications. It is shown that beam steering improves UG communications by providing a high-gain lateral wave. To this end, the angle, which enhances lateral wave, is shown to be a function of dielectric properties of the soil, soil moisture, and soil texture. Evaluations show that this critical angle varies from 0° to 16° and decreases with soil moisture. Accordingly, a soil moisture adaptive beamforming (SMABF) algorithm is developed for planar array structures and evaluated with different optimization approaches to improve UG communication performance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationINFOCOM 2017 - IEEE Conference on Computer Communications
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781509053360
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2 2017
Event2017 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications, INFOCOM 2017 - Atlanta, United States
Duration: May 1 2017May 4 2017

Publication series

NameProceedings - IEEE INFOCOM
ISSN (Print)0743-166X

Other

Other2017 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications, INFOCOM 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAtlanta
Period5/1/175/4/17

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Computer Science
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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