An Intra-Volume Ad Hoc Array Concept for Improved Public-Safety Communications

Published

May 19, 2013

Author(s)

Christopher L. Holloway

Abstract

Here we report on the testing and measurements of an intra-volume ad hoc array concept suitable for public-safety communications in buildings. The overall concept is to use randomly located (or arbitrarily placed) wireless devices in a coordinated manner in order to increase the radio-frequency signal level at otherwise unreachable locations. A typical ad hoc network is limited to a coverage area achieved by the useable coverage of single nodes. We seek to extend the radio-frequency coverage by using two or more nodes as elements of an ad hoc phased array. The measurements results presented here, collected in real-world environments, along with simulations, based on real-world data, demonstrate that the ad hoc array technique can provide useful gain, up to 10 dB with only four elements. Both the measurements also indicate a typical gain of 2 dB to 6 dB using only two elements. Analysis of the phase indicates a phase alignment of ± 45° achieves within 1 dB of the maximum.

Citation

IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

ad hoc phased array, wireless arrays, emergency responders, multipath, radio communications, radio propagation experiments, weak-signal detection, public-safety communications.

Citation

Holloway, C. (2013), An Intra-Volume Ad Hoc Array Concept for Improved Public-Safety Communications, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=905779 (Accessed October 28, 2025)