Use Cases

CBTC - Automated Train in Tunnels

The ultimate goal of Computer Based Train Control (CBTC) systems is the autonomous driving of trains. CBTC system rolls out in multiple Automated Train Stages. To make Automated Train Operating (ATO) a reality, one needs a secure Ultra Reliable Low-Latency communication link and a real-time localization tracking of the train. Since most public trains are subways or trams which are driving underground, Satellite Navigation is not a reliable option to determine the position at every second. Hence an independent localization technology is needed, such as rount-trip-time measurements provided by our MOXZ Technology. Moreover, in tunnels the wireless radio signals propagate over a massive amount of multi-paths, where existing radio technologies perform only poorly. On the flip-side, radio signals can therefor propagate through many curves and enable not only a non-line of sight connection but also a sensing of objects and changes between trains and stations.

High-Speed Trains

High-Speed trains are expected to transport thousands of people at speeds of above 500km/h. To guarantee a reliable steady communication link the physical layer requires:

• Low-Latency for seamless handshake (between different Base-stations)
• High-Doppler robustness
• Massive User access
• High-Data rates for video streaming applications to all passengers

A particular challenge are here tunnel and canyon sections, where no line-of-sight path is available and the channel instead consist of many multi-paths.

Car-2-Car

Communication between cars and infrastructure, called car-to-car/infrastructure (C2C/C2I) or vehicle-to-vehicle/infrastructure (V2V/V2I), is the propellant factor in a self-driving transportation on the roads. The main challenges in vehicle communication and sensing are:

• High-Mobility (relative speed differences of up to 300km/h)
• Low-Latency due to short-range (blockage) and fast speeds
• Accurate Radar Positioning
• Asynchronous and sporadic communication
• Multipath Propagation and User Interference

Localization and Tracking

New wireless tracking technologies aim to develop massive low-cost RF tags which not only return in a passive or semi-passive manner the IDs to a reader, but also identifies their locations from a distance >100m. Such functionality is essential for warehouses and stores. Since this also will increase the number of tags/devices in a given sensing area, multiple and secure access has to be realized. Secure localization and identification of any type of items will drive the automatization and industry 4.0, allowing for new forms of wireless paying and user identification. Current technolgoies like RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) are limited in range to a few meters and UWB (Ultra-Wide-Band) can not resolve multi paths reliable enough, leading to large position errors in some cases. The MOXZ technology will here be a game-changer due to its excelent sensing features.

Drones

Drones or Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicles (UAV) face multiple challenges:

• Low-Power for long flight-time
• Long-Range for large operational flight area
• Multipaths with Non-LOS propagation in urban areas at low altitude, no visible contact
• Medium-Datarates for Video surveillance (live streaming, navigating)

Industrial IoT

IIoT is the most challenging scenario of the internet of things. Industrial automation, also called the Industrie 4.0, requires a massive access on the radio channel in a very sporadic and flexible manner. Coordinating such a massive radio access under high mobility, combined with ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) for high safety-margins and high processing standards, becomes extremely challenging. Flexible, robust, and low-latency signaling schemes, such as MOXZ, are necessary to cope with these scenarios and demands. Additionally, positioning with high precession (sub-centimeter) will be needed for the many manufacturing steps. Fabrics will also shield radio waves from outside mobile networks or satellite networks, such as GPS, which requires a new and private wireless solution for these smart factories.

Medical IoT

The most challenging aspects for wireless medical devices on patients are:

• Low-Power for long lifetime
• Long-Range for mobility and daily use
• Interference robustness for all-time reliability

To assist physicians in hospitals and operating rooms efficiently and effectively with wireless equipment, device communication must be reliable and easily accessible. Devices can be buried under a pile of other equipment, contain metal, or other electrical components, which result in rich multipath, interference, and shadowed propagation of the radio waves. This requires wireless communication under large interference and low SNR.

Agriculture IoT

Automation in agriculture requires massive use of sensors, deployed over a vast areas of farmland, with:

• Low-Power for long lifetime
• Long-Range
• Low-Complexity to reduce cost in massive deployments and increase robustness of outdoor hardware

Sensors need to measure in regular or sporadic intervals, temperature, moisture, nutrition levels, etc. to efficiently operate irrigation and fertilization systems. Additionally, drones can harvest crops from the fields, or the information from sensors, which will introduce mobile and sporadic communication.