Modeling of multi-path reflection for generating wireless connectivity heatmaps for physical environments

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024345200-A1
Application number	US-202318300247-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 13, 2023
Priority date	Apr 13, 2023
Publication date	Oct 17, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method includes determining a 2D DEM for a physical environment, determining a viewshed for an access point in the physical environment using the DEM, and identifying, at the end terminal, at least one obstacle that is visible from the access point. For each point in space within the physical environment that is on a same side of the at least one obstacle as the access point: a respective first RSSI is determined, the respective first RSSI being associated with a direct LOS ray from the access point to a point in the space. A respective second RSSI for each of the at least one obstacle is determined to yield at least one second RSSI. A respective RF power based on the respective first RSSI and the at least one second RSSI is also determined, the respective RF power being used for generating a 3D heatmap for the physical environment.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method comprising:
determining, at an end terminal, a 2-dimensional Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for a physical environment; determining, at the end terminal, a viewshed for an access point in the physical environment using the 2-dimensional DEM; identifying, at the end terminal, at least one obstacle that is visible from the access point; for each point in space within the physical environment that is on a same side of the at least one obstacle as the access point:
determining a respective first Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), the respective first RSSI being associated with a direct Line of Sight (LOS) ray from the access point to a corresponding point in the space,
determining a respective second RSSI for each of the at least one obstacle to yield at least one second RSSI; and
determining a respective Radio Frequency (RF) power based on the respective first RSSI and the at least one second RSSI, wherein the respective RF power is further processed for generating a 3-dimensional (3D) heatmap for the physical environment.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
iterating determination of the respective RF power for each of a plurality of access points to yield a plurality of RF powers for each point in the space; determining a respective maximum RF power for each point in the space from among the plurality of RF powers; and generating the 3D heatmap using the respective maximum RF power for all points in the space.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the obstacles are identified using a viewshed computation algorithm.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the respective first RSSI is determined based on a transmission power of the access point, a gain of an antenna of the access point and a path loss associated with a path between the access point and a corresponding point in the space.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the respective second RSSI comprises:
determining a reflection point on a respective plane of the at least one obstacle, the reflection point being within bounds of a respective one of the at least one obstacle; determining that there is a direct LOS from the access point to the reflection point and from the reflection point to a corresponding point in the space; and determining the respective second RSSI based on the reflection point.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the respective second RSSI is determined based on a transmission power of the access point, a gain of an antenna of the access point, a reflection loss for each of the at least one obstacle, and a corresponding path loss associated with a path between the access point, the reflection point, and the corresponding point in the space.

7 . A device comprising:
one or more memories having computer-readable instructions stored therein; and one or more processors configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to:
determine a 2-dimensional Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for a physical environment;
determine a viewshed for an access point in the physical environment using the 2-dimensional DEM;
identify at least one obstacle that is visible from the access point;
for each point in space within the physical environment that is on a same side of the at least one obstacle as the access point:
determine a respective first Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), the respective first RSSI being associated with a direct Line of Sight (LOS) ray from the access point to a corresponding point in the space,
determine a respective second RSSI for each of the at least one obstacle to yield at least one second RSSI; and
determine a respective Radio Frequency (RF) power based on the respective first RSSI and the at least one second RSSI, wherein the respective RF power is further processed for generating a 3-dimensional (3D) heatmap for the physical environment.

8 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to:
iterate determination of the respective RF power for each of a plurality of access points to yield a plurality of RF powers for each point in the space; determine a respective maximum RF power for each point in the space from among the plurality of RF powers; and generate the 3D heatmap using the respective maximum RF power for all points in the space.

9 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the obstacles are identified using a viewshed computation algorithm.

10 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the respective first RSSI is determined based on a transmission power of the access point, a gain of an antenna of the access point and a path loss associated with a path between the access point and a corresponding point in the space.

11 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to determine the respective second RSSI by:
determining a reflection point on a respective plane of the at least one obstacle, the reflection point being within bounds of a respective one of the at least one obstacle; determining that there is a direct LOS from the access point to the reflection point and from the reflection point to a corresponding point in the space; and determining the respective second RSSI based on the reflection point.

12 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the respective second RSSI is determined based on a transmission power of the access point, a gain of an antenna of the access point, a reflection loss for each of the at least one obstacle, and a corresponding path loss associated with a path between the access point, the reflection point, and the corresponding point in the space.

13 . The device of claim 7 , wherein
the DEM is determined using a central processing unit of the device, and the viewshed, identification of the at least one obstacle, determination of the respective first RSSI, the at least one second RSSI, the respective RF power, and generation of the 3D heatmap are performed using a Graphics Processing Unit of the device.

14 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising computer-readable instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an end terminal, cause the end terminal to:
determine a 2-dimensional Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for a physical environment; determine a viewshed for an access point in the physical environment using the 2-dimensional DEM; identify at least one obstacle that is visible from the access point; for each point in space within the physical environment that is on a same side of the at least one obstacle as the access point:
determine a respective first Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), the respective first RSSI being associated with a direct Line of Sight (LOS) ray from the access point to a corresponding point in the space,
determine a respective second RSSI for each of the at least one obstacle to yield at least one second RSSI; and
determine a respective Radio Frequency (RF) power based on the respective first RSSI and the at least one second RSSI, wherein the respective RF power is further processed for generating a 3-dimensional (3D) heatmap for the physical environment.

15 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 14 , wherein the execution of the computer-readable instructions further cause the end terminal to:
iterate determination of the respective RF power for each of a plurality of access points to yield a plurality of RF powers for each point in the space; determine a respective maximum RF power for each point in the space from among t

Assignees

• Cisco Tech Inc

Inventors

• Salam Samer M
• Silverman Matt
• Hajar Taha
• Valenza Salvatore
• Yankevich Evgeny

Classifications

• H04W16/18

  Network planning tools · CPC title

• H04B17/327

  Received signal code power [RSCP] · CPC title

• H04B17/318

  Received signal strength · CPC title

• G01S5/02528 Primary

  Simulating radio frequency fingerprints · CPC title

• H04B17/3912 Primary

  Simulation models, e.g. distribution of spectral power density or received signal strength indicator [RSSI] for a given geographic region · CPC title