ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to thanks Mr. A. K. Choudhary principal of Apex college for
education research and tech. for providing the opportunity to work on this seminar
and help me to get necessary accessories.

I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of gratitude to my geode Mr.

Manoj Gupta (HOD) & all lecturer of department for their guidance and
suggestion at every stage of this seminar. They were a source of inspiration for
me to put in my best effort into this seminar

I am very much thankful to all teaching and non teaching staffs, official staffs
because their helps & suggestions are really mile stone to complete this seminar
report.

This acknowledgement will be incomplete if I fail to express my heartful

sense of obligation to all teaching & non teaching staffs of college, my family
members and their friends for their constant encouragement and inspiration.

PREFACE

AIET

An engineer has to serve the market, for that one must know about the demands
and requirements in the market, the way of tackling the hurdles and find a way of
working out for their solutions at the right place.

After the completion of degree course an engineer must have a thorough

knowledge about the presentation and communication in industries and
compnies For this prepare a topic of seminar report

To make the engineer good at presentational skills and communicational skills

the collage provides a seminar and seminar presentation on a selected topic .

We have been lucky to present and prepare aseminar report and this report help
me in future time. This report has been prepared on the basis of knowledge of
my topic ultra wideband wireless communications

Table of contents
UWB WIRELESS COMMUNICATION1

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1 Abstract6
2 Introduction..8
3 History and Background.10
3.1 UWB Concept.13
3.2 UWB Technology Overview..15
3.3 UWB and Heterogeneous Networking17
3.4 Regulation Situation....19
4 Towards Ultra Wide Band.20
4.1 UWB compared to current PANs and WLANs..20
4.2 The role of UWB21
4.2.1 Why home22
4.2.2 Telecom applications of UWB 23
5 Challenges for UWB.25
6 Advantage.31
7 Wider application Of UWB..38
8 Conclusions.42
9 Bibliography....44
9.1 References.44

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FIGURE INDEX

1. Heterogeneous wireless broadband network architecture.19

2. High mobility and coverage implies lower data rates21.
3. The role of UWB communications among current heterogeneous
communication technologies. 24
4. wireless universal serial bus (WUSB), IEEE 1394, the next generation of
Bluetooth, and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)39

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1 ABSTRACT

Ultra-wideband (aka UWB, ultra-wide band, ultraband, etc.) is a radio

technology that can be used at very low energy levels for short-range highbandwidth communications by using a large portion of the radio spectrum. UWB
has traditional applications in non-cooperative radar imaging. Most recent
applications target sensor data collection, precision locating and tracking
applications.
UWB communications transmit in a way that doesn't interfere largely with other
more traditional narrowband and continuous carrier wave uses in the same
frequency band. However first studies show that the rise of noise level by a number
of UWB transmitters puts a burden on existing communications services. This may
be hard to bear for traditional systems designs and may affect the stability of such
existing systems.
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is a technology for transmitting information spread over a
large bandwidth (>500 MHz) that should, in theory and under the right
circumstances, be able to share spectrum with other users. Regulatory settings of
FCC are intended to provide an efficient use of scarce radio bandwidth while
enabling both high data rate "personal area network" (PAN) wireless connectivity
and longer-range, low data rate applications as well as radar and imaging
systeUltra Wideband was traditionally accepted as pulse radio, but the FCC and
ITU-R now define UWB in terms of a transmission from an antenna for which the
emitted signal bandwidth exceeds the lesser of 500 MHz or 20% of the center
frequency. Thus, pulse-based systemswherein each transmitted pulse
instantaneously occupies the UWB bandwidth, or an aggregation of at least 500
MHz worth of narrow band carriers, for example in orthogonal frequency-division
multiplexing (OFDM) fashioncan gain access to the UWB spectrum under the
rules. Pulse repetition rates may be either low or very high. Pulse-based UWB
radars and imaging systems tend to use low repetition rates, typically in the range
of 1 to 100 megapulses per second. On the other hand, communications systems
favor high repetition rates, typically in the range of 1 to 2 giga-pulses per second,
UWB WIRELESS COMMUNICATION4

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thus enabling short-range gigabit-per-second communications systems. Each pulse

in a pulse-based UWB system occupies the entire UWB bandwidth, thus reaping
the benefits of relative immunity to multipath fading (but not to intersymbol
interference), unlike carrier-based systems that are subject to both deep fades and
intersymbol interferenc
A significant difference between traditional radio transmissions and UWB radio
transmissions is that traditional systems transmit information by varying the power
level, frequency, and/or phase of a sinusoidal wave. UWB transmissions transmit
information by generating radio energy at specific time instants and occupying
large bandwidth thus enabling a pulse-position or time-modulation. The
information can also be imparted (modulated) on UWB signals (pulses) by
encoding the polarity of the pulse, the amplitude of the pulse, and/or by using
orthogonal pulses. UWB pulses can be sent sporadically at relatively low pulse
rates to support time/position modulation, but can also be sent at rates up to the
inverse of the UWB pulse bandwidth. Pulse-UWB systems have been
demonstrated at channel pulse rates in excess of pulses per second using a
continuous stream of UWB pulses (Continuous Pulse UWB or "C-UWB"),
supporting forward error correction encoded data rates in excess of 675 Mbit/s.
Such a pulse-based UWB method using bursts of pulses is the basis of the IEEE
802.15.4a draft standard and working group, which has proposed UWB as an
alternative PHY layer.
One of the valuable aspects of UWB radio technology is the ability for a UWB
radio system to determine "time of flight" of the direct path of the radio
transmission between the transmitter and receiver at various frequencies. This
helps to overcome multi path propagation, as at least some of the frequencies pass
on radio line of sight. With a cooperative symmetric two-way metering technique
distances can be measured to high resolution as well as to high accuracy by
compensating for local clock drifts and stochastic inaccuracies.
Another valuable aspect of pulse-based UWB is that the pulses are very short in
space (less than 60 cm for a 500 MHz wide pulse, less than 23 cm for a 1.3 GHz
bandwidth pulse), so most signal reflections do not overlap the original pulse, and
thus the traditional multipath fading of narrow band signals does not exist.

UWB WIRELESS COMMUNICATION5

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However, there still is multipath propagation and inter-pulse interference for fast
pulse systems which have to be mitigated by coding techniques
Uses
The UWB characteristics are very well suited to short-distance applications. A
representative case is for PC Peripherals; see Wireless USB (implemented on top
of UWB).

2. INTRODUCTION
The recent rapid growthin technology and the successful commercial
deployment of wireless communications are significantly affecting our
daily lives. The transition from analog to digital cellular communications,
the rise of third- and fourth-generation radio systems, and the replacement
of wired connections with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are enabling consumers
to access a wide range of information from anywhere and at any time. As
the consumer demand for higher capacity, faster service, and more secure
wireless connections increases, new enhanced technologies have to find
their place in the overcrowded and scarce radio frequency (RF) spectrum.
This is because every radio technology allocates a specific part of the
spectrum; for example, the signals for TVs, radios, cell phones, and so on
are sent on different frequencies to avoid interference to each other. As a
result, the constraints on the availability of the RF spectrum become
Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology offers a promising solution to the RF
spectrum drought by allowing new services to coexist with current radio
systems with minimal or no interference. This coexistence brings the
UWB WIRELESS COMMUNICATION6

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advantage of avoiding the expensive spectrum licensing fees that providers

of all other radio services must pay.
It provides a comprehensive overview of ultra-wideband
communications, starting with its history and background. Next the discussion
turns to the concepts behind UWB technology, as well as its
advantages and challenges in wireless communications. The chapter also
eliminates the common misconception about UWB and spread spectrum,
and it examines the strengths and weaknesses of ultra-wideband
compared to narrowband and wideband communications. Further,
the single-band and multiband approaches that are two major UWB
techniques under consideration for IEEE standardization are explained.
Next we discuss the current Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulations for UWB deployment in the United States and briefly
address worldwide regulatory efforts. The chapter ends with a concise
overview of UWB applications; we present a detailed discussion of

present and future UWB applications and their potential markets inmore and more
strict with the introduction of new radio services

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3. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

Ultra-wideband communications is fundamentally different from all

other communication techniques because it employs extremely narrow
RF pulses to communicate between transmitters and receivers. Utilizing
short-duration pulses as the building blocks for communications directly
The United Kingdoms spectrum auction for next-generation wireless applications
generated $35.4 billion in April 2000 [1]. generates a very wide bandwidth and
offers several advantages, such aslarge throughput, covertness, robustness to
jamming, and coexistencewith current radio services (see Section 1.4).
Ultra-wideband communications is not a new technology; in fact, it was
first employed by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901 to transmit Morse code
sequences across the Atlantic Ocean using spark gap radio transmitters.
However, the benefit of a large bandwidth and the capability of implementing
multiuser systems provided by electromagnetic pulses were
never considered at that time.
Approximately fifty years after Marconi, modern pulse-based transmission
gained momentum in military applications in the form of impulse
radars. Some of the pioneers of modern UWB communications in the
United States from the late 1960s are Henning Harmuth of Catholic University
of America and Gerald Ross and K. W. Robins of Sperry Rand
Corporation [2]. From the 1960s to the 1990s, this technology was
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restricted to military and Department of Defense (DoD) applications

under classified programs such as highly secure communications. However,
the recent advancement in microprocessing and fast switching in
semiconductor technology has made UWB ready for commercial applications.
Therefore, it is more appropriate to consider UWB as a new name
for a long-existing technology.
As interest in the commercialization of UWB has increased over the past

several years, developers of UWB systems began pressuring the FCC to

approve UWB for commercial use. In February 2002, the FCC approved
the First Report and Order (R&O) for commercial use of UWB technology
under strict power emission limits for various devices. Sections 1.9
and 1.10 present a detailed recent history of the standardization and
worldwide regulation of UWB technology. Figure 11 summarizes the
development timeline of UWB.
with current radio services (see Section 1.4).
Ultra-wideband communications is not a new technology; in fact, it was
first employed by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901 to transmit Morse code
sequences across the Atlantic Ocean using spark gap radio transmitters.
However, the benefit of a large bandwidth and the capability of implementing
multiuser systems provided by electromagnetic pulses were
never considered at that time.
Approximately fifty years after Marconi, modern pulse-based transmission
UWB WIRELESS COMMUNICATION9

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gained momentum in military applications in the form of impulse

radars. Some of the pioneers of modern UWB communications in the
United States from the late 1960s are Henning Harmuth of Catholic University
of America and Gerald Ross and K. W. Robins of Sperry Rand
Corporation From the 1960s to the 1990s, this technology was
restricted to military and Department of Defense (DoD) applications
under classified programs such as highly secure communications. However,
the recent advancement in microprocessing and fast switching in
semiconductor technology has made UWB ready for commercial applications.
Therefore, it is more appropriate to consider UWB as a new name
for a long-existing technology.
As interest in the commercialization of UWB has increased over the past
several years, developers of UWB systems began pressuring the FCC to
approve UWB for commercial use. In February 2002, the FCC approved
the First Report and Order (R&O) for commercial use of UWB technology
under strict power emission limits for various devices. Sections 1.9
and 1.10 present a detailed recent history of the standardization and
worldwide regulation of UWB technology. Figure 11 summarizes the
development timeline of UWB.

1900 - Spark Gap Transmission, Hertz and Marconi

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1960 -1990 :- Military Radars and CovertCommunications

2002 - FCC Approves the Use of UnlicensedUWB for Commerical Purposes

Traditional business models of mobile communications, ones that are used in the
current highly vertical and closed markets, will be challenged in the near future.
New unregulated band wireless broadband networks will begin to complement
existing and next generation cellular networks and fixed networks in forming a
technologically heterogeneous environment. In this environment IP connectivity is
available everywhere, only the underlying technology and connection speeds vary.
Multimode terminals are needed in order to establish a network connection
according to the location of a moving user and the particular service to be used.

In addition to multimode terminals and heterogeneous IP networking also the need

for local very high data rate wireless products is emerging. Internet-based
streaming video services and high definition wireless video connections within the
home are an essential ingredient in the next phase of digital revolution. Ultra
Wideband (UWB) impulse radio technology will play a prominent role in enabling
these services and products with its high speed (up to 500 Mb/s), low cost (simpler
RF architecture) and low power consumption.

3.1 UWB CONCEPT

Traditional narrowband communications systems modulate continuouswaveform

(CW) RF signals with a specific carrier frequency to transmit
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and receive information. A continuous waveform has a well-defined signal

energy in a narrow frequency band that makes it very vulnerable to
detection and interception. Figure 12 represents a narrowband signal in
the time and frequency domains.
As mentioned in Section 1.2, UWB systems use carrierless, short-duration
(picosecond to nanosecond) pulses with a very low duty cycle (less
than 0.5 percent) for transmission and reception of the information. A
simple definition for duty cycle is the ratio of the time that a pulse is
present to the total transmission time. Figure 13 and Equation 11 represent
the definition of duty cycle.
Low duty cycle offers a very low average transmission power in UWB
communications systems. The average transmission power of a UWB system
is on the order of microwatts, which is a thousand times less than the
transmission power of a cell phone! However, the peak or instantaneous
power of individual UWB pulses can be relatively large,2 but because they
are transmitted for only a very short time (Ton < 1 nanosecond), the average
power becomes considerably lower. Consequently, UWB devices
require low transmit power due to this control over the duty cycle, which
directly translates to longer battery life for handheld equipment. Since
frequency is inversely related to time, the short-duration UWB pulses

Duty Cycle = Ton/(Ton+Toff)

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Low duty cycle offers a very low average transmission power in UWB
communications systems. The average transmission power of a UWB system
is on the order of microwatts, which is a thousand times less than the

transmission power of a cell phone! However, the peak or instantaneous

power of individual UWB pulses can be relatively large,2 but because they
are transmitted for only a very short time (Ton < 1 nanosecond), the average
power becomes considerably lower. Consequently, UWB devices
require low transmit power due to this control over the duty cycle, which
directly translates to longer battery life for handheld equipment. Since
frequency is inversely related to time, the short-duration UWB pulses

3.2 UWB Technology Overview

The focal point of the BROCOM project is in the UWB (Ultra Wideband)
technology and its applications. This report addresses the role of UWB in
communication networks as a technical building block. Other possible applications
of UWB technology, such as positioning and radar systems, are not covered in this
report.

UWB is fundamentally different from what we usually think of RF

communications. Instead of using a carrier frequency, as traditional systems like
FM radio or GSM networks do, UWB technology is based on sending and
UWB WIRELESS COMMUNICATION13

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receiving very high bandwidth carrierless radio impulses using extremely accurate
timing (Win and Scholtz, 1998). The radio impulses are transmitted in subnanosecond intervals, which inherently leads to very a high bandwidth (typically
several GHz) and on the other hand to a very accurate spatial resolution, which can
be taken advantage of in positioning applications. Very fast impulse rates enable
high connection speeds, even up to 1 Gb/s over short distances. Because UWB
signals occupy a very broad spectrum, low transmission powers must be used in
order not to interfere with existing RF systems. A common approach is to set UWB
power levels so low that the signals cannot be distinguished from external noise by
other systems operating in overlapping frequencies.

As an idea UWB is not new, it dates back to the 1980s (Foerster et al., 2001).
However, it has been used mainly in radar-based applications since the timing and
synchronization requirements of UWB communications have been too challenging
for making reasonable cost consumer products. Recent developments in
semiconductor technology have brought the applications closer to realization and
the regulatory steps taken in the US also indicate a trend towards accelerating
research efforts on the topic.

From a communications point of view, UWB is not well suited to be a cellular

technology, but instead an evolution of current WLAN and especially PAN
(Personal Area Network) technologies due to the small antenna range. It is
impossible or at least infeasible to build full coverage UWB networks with highspeed mobility features, as high speed movement would require an excessive
amount of handovers. That is, if a cellular-like basestation paradigm is applicable
to UWB at all. Other communication hierarchy models like ad hoc networking
must also be investigated. Taking into account techno-economic constraints, UWB
technology will be best applied to highly local networks in rooms, buildings,
corporation sites, public places and so on. This application field lets UWB excel in
what it is best at: very high bandwidth short- to medium-range wireless
connectivity at very low cost and very low power consumption.

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As opposed to traditional narrowband radios, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is a

wireless digital communication system exchanging data using short duration
pulses. The complexity of the analog front-end in UWB is drastically reduced due
to its intrinsic baseband transmission. Based on this simplification and the high
spreading gain it possesses, UWB promises low-cost implementation with fine
time resolution and high throughput at short distances without interfering with
other existing wireless communication systems
Low cost and power consumption with very high transmission speed is a
combination that will make UWB to be pulled onto the market instead of
engineering-driven pushing of a new technology. Video-on-demand and other
video related (or otherwise high bandwidth data intensive) consumer products and
services are there, they are just waiting for a technology like UWB to make those
services fast and easy, convenient enough for the customers.

3.3UWB and Heterogeneous Networking

UWB technology is not mobile but instead it is wireless. A marriage of these two
building blocks, mobile and wireless, is needed in order to achieve a single
subscription, single bill, variable bandwidth, total coverage IP service. For this
service a heterogeneous network model (Figure 1) is needed. Cellular technology
combined with wireless high bandwidth hot spot (WLAN) technology forms a
network environment in which multimode terminals can be used to obtain generic
IP connectivity regardless the place.

Heterogeneous networks consist of different network layers: a cellular layer, a hot

spot layer and a personal network layer (De Vriendt et al., 2002). The cellular layer
is for full coverage services with moderate data rates, typical services being speech
and multimedia messaging. This is the area of technologies like GSM with its
expansions and UMTS. The hot spot layer is for shorter range, higher data rate,
slow mobility services like WLAN. The personal network layer provides
connections between computers, PDAs, laptops and printers. Current wireless
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solutions in this area include IrDA and Bluetooth, wired alternatives are USB and
Firewire (IEEE 1394).

In terms of these layers, heterogeneous networking scenarios require a combination

of cellular and hot spot layers whereas the scope of UWB technology is in the hot
spot layer and especially in the personal network layer. For this reason we must
take all three layers into account in the following considerations on future wireless
communication business.

A current example of heterogeneous networking hardware is a GPRS & WLAN

enabled PCMCIA card for laptop computers like the Nokia D211, released in
February 2002. When used in conjunction with Sonera wGate (Nokia Corp., 2001)
service it enables the use of WLAN hot spots so that billing is integrated into
users mobile phone subscription based on SIM authentication. In the future this
concept can be gradually updated to support technologies like EDGE or UMTS
packet data (on the cellular layer) and next generation WLANs (hot spot layer) and
UWB (hot spot and personal layer).

The possible use of UWB technology in communications ranges from WLAN-like

networking and Internet access to wireless connectivity at home, office or on the
move, in areas where technologies like Bluetooth (wireless), Firewire, and USB
(wired) are used today. It might well be that in a decade UWB is the wireless
lingua franca between different information-related pieces of equipment, from cell
phones and computers to refridgerators, stereo systems and home security systems.

The heterogeneous network model for all-round communications is presented in

the following picture. Note that unlike others UWB is an acronym for a radio
access technology.

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GPRS / EDGE
WLAN
UWB
UMTS
UMTS

WLAN
UWB

GPRS / EDGE

Figure 1Heterogeneous wireless broadband network architecture.Different

connection technologies are used in different geographical areas based on
population density.

3.4 Regulation Situation

By September 2002 there are still a few questions open about UWB, regulation
being probably the most acute. Federal Communications Commission of the
United States (FCC) authorized the use of UWB in February 2002 in frequency
band 3.1-10.6 GHz taking a very conservative approach. FCC continues to work on
the regulations in order to come up with an updated and hopefully less stringent set
of rules in a time frame of six to twelve months (FCC, 2002).

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As opposed to the frequency band authorized by FCC, earlier UWB systems have
made use of frequencies ranging from near DC to a few GHz. If FCC is going to
keep the doors shut in the frequencies below 3 GHz, some rework and further
research is required.

4. Towards Ultra Wide Band

The different applications of UWB technology for short range communications,

metering and sensing are numerous and it is difficult to forecast which applications
will diffuse to the market. This report concentrates on evaluating the role of UWB
in communications. Personal area networks are the primaryor at least the first
application area of UWB. However, also larger scale IP connectivity solutions can
be envisioned, in which a heterogeneous networking model is needed to
complement UWB.

From heterogeneous networking point of view, the cellular mobile systems are
assumed as they are. That is, they exist already and will evolve according to
requirements specific to mobile telecommunications, which include wide
geographical coverage and high-speed mobility. The future of the other network
layers, hot spot and personal, is more exposed to consumer market dynamics
because on these layers the vertical market control is weaker. For this reason it is
important to evaluate the role of UWB with care and create globally compatible
standards for UWB implementations.

4.1 UWB compared to current PANs and WLANs

WLANs have only recently started taking off, IEEE 802.11b (commercially known
as Wi-Fi) being the dominant standard. Also Bluetooth has started gaining
popularity in personal area networks. As both operate in the unlicenced 2.4 GHz
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frequency range (Table 1), interference problems are likely to occur eventually
when both technologies become more and more popular. A gradual migration to 5
GHz WLANs would help this situation, but a contest of standards is going on
there. The 802.11a has a significant first-mover advantage over the European
standard, IEEE HiperLAN2, and is likely to become the dominant solution if
ongoing efforts to converge the 5 GHz WLAN systems fail. Current research on
UWB seems to concentrate on personal area networks, but other applications such
as small-scale WLAN implemented with medium-range UWB should not be
overlooked.

4.2The role of UWB

Derived from the basic laws of radio propagation and business economy, it is
logical that we need to make compromises when building mobile or wireless
communication systems. As the diagram below (Figure 2) suggests, the more
coverage and mobility is wanted, the more has to be given up on the data rate side.

Mobile
GSM

Slow

Fixed

M O BI L I T Y

UMTS

WL AN
D AT A RAT E

UWB

LAN

Fast

Figure 2High mobility and coverage implies lower data rates. Note that Bluetooth
is not present in the figure: as a personal layer technology Bluetooth has low
UWB WIRELESS COMMUNICATION19

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mobility but it also lacks high data rates being capable of less than 1 Mb/s. This
leaves a gap between fixed LANs and WLANs, a niche for short- to medium-range
UWB solutions.

As stated earlier, current research efforts concentrate on PAN applications for

UWB. Also the first commercial UWB products are likely to be in the personal
networking area. According to an article by Roy Mark (2002) companies like
Cisco, Intel and Motorola are going to introduce first products in this area as early
as by the end of 2003.

The probable killer application for UWB is replacing cables in the home and
enabling wireless high quality video. As an example of current state of the art,
Northern Virginia based XtremeSpectrum demonstrated in June 2002 a
transmission of six simultaneous MPEG-2 video streams (12 Mb/s each) over a
UWB connection. Especially wireless video could be the fuel for rapid UWB
adoption, example products including DLP projectors with UWB video
connections. Also digital cameras, digital video cameras, wireless multi-channel
digital audio systems, cell phones, PDAs, laptops, scanners, printers and of course
desktop PCs could be interconnected by UWB.

4.2.1 Why home?

In the beginning of UWB technology evolution the home seems to be the natural
environment for UWB applications. This is because of limited range and the
limited capabilities in handling bursty packet traffic due to relatively slow
synchronization of the radio channel. In contrast to the roughly 1 microsecond that
for example 802.11 WLAN systems take to synchronize, the synchronization time
(channel acquisition time) for current UWB systems is typically in the scale of a
few milliseconds (Ding et al., 2002). This is problematic when an arbitrary number
of users try to acquire the channel and transfer small bursts of data, just as is the
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case in multi-user wireless Internet environments. As opposed to traffic typical for

Internet browsing, home applications usually require more static connections (eg.
downloading pictures from digital camera or transferring a video signal), and in
this area UWB does well with its high throughput. Also, the regulatory aspects and
requirements of low emission and interference to other systems are more easily
dealt with within the home than in open air applications.

4.2.2Telecom applications of UWB

The UWB technology itself doesnt set any fixed limits for the range of
applications for UWB. Along with getting more practical experience on UWB
systems in the future and the consequently loosening regulations, the scale and
scope of UWB systems could be enlarged to cover functions handled by WLAN
today. This is, however, a more or less open question.

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Mobility

Bitrate

Coverage

G SM

UMTS

W LAN

UW B

B lu e t o o t h

LAN

Figure 3The role of UWB communications among current heterogeneous

communication technologies. Note: The presentation is qualitative; parameters are
not in a confom scale.

In general UWB has an appealing position due to its high bandwidth (see Figure
3). If only the issues concerning synchronization/MAC and range/interference can
be dealt with, UWB can have a tremendously large field of applications.
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A recent study on radio access selection for multi-standard terminals (Kalliokulju

et al., 2001) concluded that a combination of WLAN and GERAN/UTRAN (eg.
GPRS/UMTS) support in a mobile terminal would provide sufficient quality of
service in different usage scenarios of mobile IP-based services. Also Bluetooth
was covered in the study, but due to its significantly shorter range it did not appear
to be a suitable technology for mobile multimode networking. On these grounds
UWB researchers should actively address the issues related to range and channel
acquisition in order to make UWB a competitive solution also in heterogeneous
networking.

On the other hand, it may turn out that UWB is bound to home and office
applications only. After all, the different network layers (cellular, hot spot and
personal layer) have different requirements for the wireless technology by nature
and perhaps they all need accordingly optimized, different solutions for each.
Which, unfortunately, would mean that an omni-compatible terminal would need
to be equipped with at least three different radio modes, perhaps even four (GPRS,
UMTS, WLAN, and UWB for example) to achieve optimal connectivity in all
situations. In a laptop computer this might be reasonable, but in smaller low cost
terminals problems concerning space, price and power consumption arise.
Software-defined radio (SDR, see www.sdrforum.org) based solutions might help
the case with multiple radio interface standards, but it remains to be seen how this
technology could be used in conjunction with UWB radio.

5. Challenges for UWB

At this point, September 2002, UWB is still just a lot of promises. While
legislation adjustment is still in progress, some fundamental questions about the
technology should be answered. Some open questions and suggestions for aiming
the technical research are presented in the next subchapters.
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UWB technology for communications is not all about advantages. In fact,

there are many challenges involved in using nanosecond-duration pulses
for communications. Some of the main difficulties of UWB communications
are discussed in the following subsections.

5.1 PULSE-SHAPE DISTORTION

The transmission characteristics of UWB pulses are more complicated

than those of continuous narrowband sinusoids. A narrowband signal
remains sinusoidal throughout the transmission channel. However, the
weak and low-powered UWB pulses can be distorted significantly by the
transmission link. We can show this distortion mathematically with the
widely used Friis transmission formula:
where Pr and Pt are the received and transmitted signal power, respectively;
Gt and Gr are the transmitter and receiver antenna gains, respectively;
c is the speed of light;6d is the distance between the transmitter and
the receiver; and f is the signal frequency.
This formula shows that the received signal power will decrease quadratically
with the increase in frequency. In narrowband signals with a very
narrow frequency band, the change in frequency only minimally changes
the received power and hence can be overlooked. However, due to the

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wide range of frequencies that is covered by the UWB spectrum, the

6. In a vacuum, all electromagnetic waveforms travel at the speed of light, c = 3
108
meters per second.

received power drastically changes and thus distorts the pulse shape. This
will limit the performance of UWB receivers that correlate the received
pulses with a predefined template such as classical matched filter

5.2 CHANNEL ESTIMATION

Channel estimation is a core issue for receiver design in wireless communications

systems. Because it is not possible to measure every wireless
channel in the field, it is important to use training sequences to estimate
channel parameters, such as attenuations and delays of the propagation
path. Given that most UWB receivers correlate the received signal with a
predefined template signal, prior knowledge of the wireless channel parameters
is necessary to predict the shape of the template signal that matches
the received signal. However, as a result of the wide bandwidth and reduced
signal energy, UWB pulses undergo severe pulse distortion; thus, channel
estimation in UWB communications systems becomes very complicated

5.3 HIGH-FREQUENCY SYNCHRONIZATION

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Time synchronization is a major challenge and a rich area of study in

UWB communications systems. As with any other wireless communications
system, time synchronization between the receiver and the transmitter
is a must for UWB transmitter/receiver pairs. However, sampling
and synchronizing nanosecond pulses place a major limitation on the
design of UWB systems. In order to sample these narrow pulses, very fast
(on the order of gigahertz) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are needed.
Moreover, the strict power limitations and short pulse duration make the
performance of UWB systems highly sensitive to timing errors such as jitter
and drift. This can become a major issue in the success of pulse-position

modulation (PPM) receivers, which rely on detecting the exact position

of the received signal.

5.4 MULTIPLE-ACCESS INTERFERENCE

In a multiuser or a multiple-access communications system, different

users or devices send information independently and concurrently over a
shared transmission medium (such as the air interface in wireless
communications).
At the receiving end, one or more receivers should be able
to separate users and detect information from the user of interest. Interference
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from other users with the user of interest is called multiple-access

interference (MAI), which is a limiting factor to channel capacity and the
performance of such receivers. The addition of MAI to the unavoidable
channel noise and narrowband interference discussed earlier can significantly
degrade the low-powered UWB pulses and make the detection process
very difficult. separating each users information from the
combination of heavily distorted and low-powered UWB signals from all
users is a very challenging task. A comprehensive study of multiple-access
techniques in UWB systems

5.5 Hot Spot or PAN

Personal Area Networks are quite naturally the first application field of UWB.
However, several significant advantages could be obtained if also the hot spot
network layer could be covered. From a marketing strategy point of view a dualfunction technology such as UWB with both PAN and hot spot (WLAN)
functionality would be easier to push into the market.
While other customers would be especially interested in hot spot UWB products,
others might prefer home applications and PAN connectivity. The number of sold
units in both user groups together would grow much more quickly than in the case
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of single purpose technology, bringing up a strong positive feedback to UWB

adoption due to network externalities. Personal area UWB users would find the
technology even more attractive with the emergence of UWB hot spots, and vice
versa.

As very often in consumer electronics, network externalities play a very big role in
technology adoption, especially in telecommunications related products. For this
reason, to support the demand side economies of scale also from the hot spot
market sector, the hot spot functionality of UWB technology should appear a very
appealing topic for research despite current problems with slow synchronization
times in multi-user bursty-traffic environments.

5.6 Low Cost

Low cost is an essential ingredient in the success of future UWB systems. There
are numerous wireless broadband technologies capable of high speeds and long
ranges, but the essence of UWB is in low power consumption and low cost due to
simplified RF hardware compared to traditional systems (Foerster et al., 2001). If
something needs to be traded off in the development of UWB consumer products
let it be the 1 Gb/s speed envisioned by some, not the low cost or power
consumption. Even with significantly lower data rates UWB seems to be capable
of spatial capacity far better than existing wireless systems (Foerster et al, 2001).

The available spectrum for UWB systems was set to 3.10-10.6 GHz in the First
Report and Order released by FCC in February 2002. Hopefully the consequence
of this is not a higher complexity and cost of required RF hardware, caused by
frequency transposing of earlier systems using frequencies between near DC and
a few GHz.

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5.7 MAC for UWB

One drawback of current UWB technology is the long channel acquisition time,
probably several milliseconds, which is tenfold compared to 1 microsecond of
IEEE 802.11 systems. Tailored medium access protocols (MAC) are needed in
order to get maximal performance out of UWB systems (Ding et al., 2002).
The first company to demonstrate UWB products, Xtreme Spectrum, Inc., has
made use of the new 802.15.3 (WiMedia) standard in its UWB system taking a
personal area network approach. However, being originally aimed at 2.4 GHz
wireless technology, the 802.15.3 is not an ideal solution for UWB. Fast channel
acquisition, optimal packet sizes and means to acquire precise positioning and
timing information are issues to be dealt with in creating a new, UWB-tuned MAC
protocol.

6 ADVANTAGES
The nature of the short-duration pulses used in UWB technology offers
several advantages over narrowband communications systems. In this
section, we discuss some of the key benefits that UWB brings to wireless
communications.

6.1 ABILITY TO SHARE THE FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

The FCCs power requirement of 41.3 dBm/MHz,5 equal to 75 nanowatts/

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MHz for UWB systems, puts them in the category of unintentional

radiators, such as TVs and computer monitors. Such power restriction
allows UWB systems to reside below the noise floor of a typical narrowband
receiver and enables UWB signals to coexist with current radio services
with minimal or no interference. However, this all depends on the
type of modulation used for data transfer in a UWB system.
some modulation schemes generate undesirable
discrete spectral lines in their PSD, which can both increase the
chance of interference to other systems and increase the vulnerability of
the UWB system to interference from other radio services.
we present a detailed discussion on interference from UWB on narrowband
and wideband radio systems. the general idea
of UWBs coexistence with narrowband and wideband technologies.

6.2 LARGE CHANNEL CAPACITY

One of the major advantages of the large bandwidth for UWB pulses is
improved channel capacity. Channel capacity, or data rate, is defined as
the maximum amount of data that can be transmitted per second over a
communications channel. The large channel capacity of UWB communications
a system is evident from Hartley-Shannons capacity formula:

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where C represents the maximum channel capacity, B is the bandwidth,

and SNR is the signal-to-noise power ratio.
channel capacity C linearly increases with bandwidth B. Therefore, having
several gigahertz of bandwidth available for UWB signals, a data rate
of gigabits per second (Gbps) can be expected. However, due to the FCCs

current power limitation on UWB transmissions, such a high data rate is

available only for short ranges, up to 10 meters. This makes UWB systems
perfect candidates for short-range, high-data-rate wireless applications
such as wireless personal area networks (WPANs). The trade-off between
the range and the data rate makes UWB technology ideal for a wide array
of applications in military, civil, and commercial sectors.

6.3 ABILITY TO WORK WITH LOW SIGNAL-TO-NOISE

RATIOS

The Hartley-Shannon formula for maximum capacity

also indicates that the channel capacity is only logarithmically dependent
on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Therefore, UWB communications systems
are capable of working in harsh communication channels with low
SNRs and still offer a large channel capacity as a result of their large
bandwidth.

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6.4 LOW PROBABILITY OF INTERCEPT AND DETECTION

Because of their low average transmission power, as discussed in previous

sections, UWB communications systems have an inherent immunity to
detection and intercept. With such low transmission power, the eavesdropper
has to be very close to the transmitter (about 1 meter) to be able
to detect the transmitted information. In addition, UWB pulses are time
modulated with codes unique to each transmitter/receiver pair. The time
modulation of extremely narrow pulses adds more security to UWB
transmission, because detecting picosecond pulses without knowing
When they will arrive is next to impossible. Therefore, UWB systems hold
significant promise of achieving highly secure, low probability of intercept
and detection (LPI/D) communications that is a critical need for
military operations.

6.5 RESISTANCE TO JAMMING

Unlike the well-defined narrowband frequency spectrum, the UWB spectrum

covers a vast range of frequencies from near DC to several gigahertz
and offers high processing gain for UWB signals. Processing gain (PG) is
a measure of a radio systems resistance to jamming and is defined as the
ratio of the RF bandwidth to the information bandwidth of a signal:

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The frequency diversity caused by high processing gain makes UWB signals
relatively resistant to intentional and unintentional jamming,
because no jammer can jam every frequency in the UWB spectrum at
once. Therefore, if some of the frequencies are jammed, there is still a
large range of frequencies that remains untouched. However, this resistance
to jamming is only in comparison to narrowband and wideband
systems. Hence, the performance of a UWB communications system can
still be degraded, depending on its modulation scheme, by strong narrowband
interference from traditional radio transmitters coexisting in the
UWB receivers frequency band

6.6 HIGH PERFORMANCE IN MULTIPATH CHANNELS

The phenomenon known as multipath is unavoidable in wireless communications

channels. It is caused by multiple reflections of the transmitted
signal from various surfaces such as buildings, trees, and people. The
straight line between a transmitter and a receiver is the line of sight
(LOS); the reflected signals from surfaces are non-line of sight (NLOS).
the multipath phenomenon in narrowband and UWB signal

the effect of multipath is rather severe for narrowband

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signals; it can cause signal degradation up to 40 dB due to the

out-of-phase addition of LOS and NLOS continuous waveforms. On the
other hand, the very short duration of UWB pulses makes them less sensitive
to the multipath effect. Because the transmission duration of a
UWB pulse is shorter than a nanosecond in most cases, the reflected pulse
has an extremely short window of opportunity to collide with the LOS
pulse and cause signal degradation.
Although the short duration of UWB pulses makes them less sensitive to
multipath effects compared to narrowband signals, it doesnt mean that
UWB communications is totally immune to multipath distortion.
Research on UWB channel modeling has shown that depending on the
UWB modulation scheme used, low-powered UWB pulses can become
significantly distorted in indoor channels where a large number of objects
and scatterers are closely spaced.
For a comprehensive discussion on various UWB modulation techniques
and their performance in multipath channels.

6.7 SUPERIOR PENETRATION PROPERTIES

Unlike narrowband technology, UWB systems can penetrate effectively

through different materials. The low frequencies included in the broad
range of the UWB frequency spectrum have long wavelengths, which

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allows UWB signals to penetrate a variety of materials, including walls.

This property makes UWB technology viable for through-the-wall
communications
and ground-penetrating radars. However, the material penetration
capability of UWB signals is useful only when they are allowed to
occupy the low-frequency portion of the radio spectrum.

6.8 SIMPLE TRANSCEIVER ARCHITECTURE

UWB transmission is carrierless,meaning that data is not modulated on a
continous waveform with a specificcarrier frequency, as in narrowband and
wideband technologies.
Carrierless transmission requires fewer RF components than carrierbased
Transmission. For this reason UWB transceiver architecture is significantly
simpler and thus cheaper to build. the UWB transceiver architecture is
considerably
less complicated than that of the narrowband transceiver. The transmission
of low-powered pulses eliminates the need for a power amplifier

(PA) in UWB transmitters. Also, because UWB transmission is carrierless,

there is no need for mixers and local oscillators to translate the carrier
frequency to the required frequency band; consequently there is no
need for a carrier recovery stage at the receiver end. In general, the analog
front end of a UWB transceiver is noticeably less complicated than that of
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a narrowband transceiver. This simplicity makes an all-CMOS (short for

complementary metal-oxide semiconductors) implementation of UWB
transceivers possible, which translates to smaller form factors and lower
production costs.

Advantage Benefit
Coexistence with current narrowband and
wideband radio services
Avoids expensive licensing fees.
Large channel capacity High bandwidth can support real-time highdefinition
video streaming.
Ability to work with low SNRs Offers high performance in noisy environments.
Low transmit power Provides high degree of security with low probability
of detection and intercept.
Resistance to jamming Reliable in hostile environments.
High performance in multipath channels Delivers higher signal strengths in
adverse
conditions.
Simple transceiver architecture Enables ultra-low power, smaller form factor,
and better mean time between failures, all at a
reduced cost.

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7 Wider Applications of UWB

The concept of a UWB radio spans many different applications and industries and
has been coined the "common UWB radio platform." The UWB radio, along with
the convergence layer, becomes the underlying transport mechanism for different
applications, some of which are currently only wired. Some of the more notable
applications that would operate on top of the common UWB platform would be
wireless universal serial bus (WUSB), IEEE 1394, the next generation of
Bluetooth, and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). You can see a diagram of this
vision in Figure 1.

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This concept has many potential applications since it creates the first high-speed
wireless interconnects. UWB technology offers a combination of performance and
ease of use unparalleled by other interconnect options available today.
Presently, wired USB has significant market segment share as the cable
interconnect of choice for the PC platform. But the need for the cable itself points
to convenience and usability challenges for users. By unleashing peripheral devices
from the PC while still providing the performance users have come to expect from
wired USB connections, wireless USB running on ultra wideband promises to gain
significant volume in the PC peripheral interconnect market segment.
An example application for UWB would be bringing a mobile device like a
portable media player (PMP) in proximity to a content source like a PC, laptop, or
external hard disk drive. Once authentication and authorization is established, the
device and PC can perform bulk data transfer of video files onto the PMP for later
viewing.
Within the consumer electronics industry, there is demand for wirelessly
connecting various devices such as DVDs, HDTVs, set-top boxes (STBs), PVRs,
stereos, camcorders, digital cameras, and other CE devices. Wireless ease of use
and data transfer performance is a key factor for adoption in this category.
For example, wireless connectivity would be ideal for a wall-mounted plasma
display where, for aesthetic reasons, users prefer not to have cables from an STB
or Entertainment PC visible. A variation on this usage model is the ability to stream
content to multiple devices simultaneously. This would allow picture-in-picture
functionality or viewing of the same or different content on multiple viewing
devicesDue to the extremely low emission levels currently allowed by regulatory
agencies, UWB systems tend to be short-range and indoors applications. However,
due to the short duration of the UWB pulses, it is easier to engineer extremely high
data rates, and data rate can be readily traded for range by simply aggregating
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pulse energy per data bit using either simple integration or by coding techniques.
Conventional OFDM technology can also be used subject to the minimum
bandwidth requirement of the regulations. High data rate UWB can enable
wirelessmonitors, the efficient transfer of data from digital camcorders, wireless
printing of digital pictures from a camera without the need for an intervening
personal computer, and the transfer of files among cell phone handsets and other
handheld devices like personal digital audio and video players.
UWB is used as a part of location systems and real time location systems. The
precision capabilities combined with the very low power makes it ideal for certain
radio frequency sensitive environments such as hospitals and healthcare. Another
benefit of UWB is the short broadcast time which enables implementers of the
technology to install orders of magnitude more transmitter tags in an environment
relative to competitive technologies. U.S.-based Parco Merged Media Corporation
was the first systems developer to deploy a commercial version of this system in a
Washington, DC hospital.
UWB is also used in "see-through-the-wall" precision radar imaging technology,
precision locating and tracking (using distance measurements between radios), and
precision time-of-arrival-based localization approaches. It exhibits excellent
efficiency with a spatial capacity of approximately 1013 bit/s/m
UWB has been a proposed technology for use in personal area networks and
appeared in the IEEE 802.15.3a draft PAN standard. However, after several years
of deadlock, the IEEE 802.15.3a task group[ was dissolved in 2006. Slow progress
in UWB standards development, high cost of initial implementations and
performance significantly lower than initially expected are some of the reasons for
the limited success of UWB in consumer products, which caused several UWB
vendors to cease operations during 2008 and 2009

8 Conclusions

UWB holds great promises in high data rate wireless communications over short
distances. Primarily UWB is suitable for wireless home applications and personal
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area networks. A secondary target is medium range applications including hot spot
networking.

In order for UWB to be beneficial for both consumers and the ICT industry, some
aspects need to be taken into account by researchers, corporations involved,
regulation authorities, and standard makers. The success of UWB systems needs
the support of:

Low cost of hardware low cost fuels broad adoption which is essential for
network externalities to emerge. Especially specific band filtering
requirements can be a threat to the simplicity and low cost of UWB
equipment.
Open standards with open standards UWB can become a universal
wireless language for an unprecedentedly broad range of hardware
Ubiquitous market presence a divided market of competing standards
and incompatible products is what customers dont want, so the industry
shouldnt want it either
WLAN range operation heterogeneous networking with UWB hot spots
would enable tiny dual-mode terminals (cellular + UWB) and synergy
advantages with computer and home appliance industry. Further research is
needed to see whether hot spot UWB is a viable concept.
Deployment of IPv6 personal area networking with UWB brings up the
need for IP addresses for a growing number of gadgets: digital cameras,
digital video cameras, home stereo systems, and so forth
Regulation field testing and accumulating practical experience hopefully
helps in setting up regulations appropriate for UWB spectrum usage.

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Despite the challenges on the way, UWB is certainly coming and the technology
probably matures to the level of product launches earlier than expected. However,
the forecasts expecting retail products in the end of 2003 seem optimistic.

In the US the pace of research and the governmental interest towards the
technology seem strong. European legislators should not let the US and Japan
markets get too big an advantage by leaving behind with the regulatory process.
European researchers must also work hard in order to stay competitive in the race
for UWB related patents.

From the point of view of mobile terminal manufacturers and telecom operators
UWB technology is not a threat, but just a new technical piece in the puzzle. In
mobile terminals UWB can be used for interconnecting terminals and other
information equipment and perhaps for establishing Internet access via medium
range UWB hot spots.

Telecom operators may not be interested in the PAN functionality of UWB, but the
overall growth of equipment capable of IP based communication is a certainly
business issue for telecom operators due to economies of scale in high bandwidth
service provision. The concept of wireless high bandwidth solutions in everyday
use in homes and offices enables new data intensive multimedia services, which
could boost both network access and service provision business. .

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9 Bibliography
9.1References
1 .www.wikapedia.com
2 .www.seminar.com
3 .www.scribd.com
4 .www.google.com
5 .www.seminarppt.com
6 .www.arga.net
7 .www.yahoo.com

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