Channel Emulator for Wireless Network Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless network testing methods in laboratory environments are limited by the inability to accurately simulate network-wide performance due to fixed or predefined wireless device locations, which biases performance measurements and fails to represent real-world conditions effectively.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where wireless devices are logically placed at random locations within the network using a channel emulator, allowing for extensive testing across various locations to evaluate network performance uniformly and unbiasedly, thereby accurately emulating geographic coverage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If wireless devices are placed at fixed or predefined locations for channel emulation, then the testing setup is simple and controllable, but the performance measurements are biased and do not represent system-wide performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic wireless device location assignment where devices are randomly assigned to different geographic locations during testing. This transforms the static, fixed-location approach into a dynamic system that samples multiple locations, thereby eliminating measurement bias and accurately representing system-wide performance without requiring complex manual location management
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically handles location assignment and performance aggregation across multiple random locations. The channel emulator and testing system self-manage the complexity of coordinating multiple locations, eliminating the need for manual intervention and reducing operational complexity while improving measurement accuracy
2Measurement precision
If hundreds or thousands of wireless devices are deployed for over-the-air capacity testing, then comprehensive network coverage is achieved, but the testing cost becomes prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a channel emulator to create virtual copies of wireless channel conditions instead of deploying physical wireless devices. The emulator replicates the electromagnetic propagation effects of multiple device locations through software-based channel modeling, allowing comprehensive network capacity testing with a single physical test setup rather than requiring hundreds of actual devices
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical system of deploying actual wireless devices with RF cables and operators with a virtualized channel emulation system. The channel emulator uses software algorithms to simulate wireless channel characteristics, substituting physical device deployment with computational modeling that achieves the same measurement objectives at fraction of the cost
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus for emulating a wireless network is provided. The apparatus includes processing circuitry configured to: generate a random number corresponding to an angle between a boresight of an antenna of a network node and a direction of a first wireless device, generate a random number corresponding to a path loss between the first wireless device and the antenna of the network node, determine network performance of the first wireless device based at least in part on the generated random number corresponding to the angle between the boresight of the antenna of the network node and the direction of the first wireless device and the generated random number corresponding to the path loss between the first wireless device and the antenna of the network node, and determine performance of the wireless network based at least in part on the determined network performance of the first wireless device.