Improving Channel Sounding Accuracy with nRF54L15 Boards

Hi,

I am currently conducting measurements using channel sounding with my nRF54L15 boards. I am at the end of my master thesis, so there is not so much time left to really come with IFFT distance estimate algorithms etc., and my supervisors don't expect me to do this asswell. The outdoor performance is quite good, but I am still encountering a random error that results in overestimation (estimating a larger distance than the actual distance).

However, when measuring indoors—particularly in complex environments like halls with many reflections—the range estimates are significantly less accurate.

I noticed that adjusting parameters like the number of antenna paths (n_ap) is not straightforward, and I feel like it is difficult to modify on my own due to the limited available information. Also, since I am not required to develop specific algorithms for the data, I am unsure how much I can contribute to improving accuracy.

Initially, I hoped that using multiple frequencies would mitigate the effects of obstacles. However, it appears that reflections still have a major impact on accuracy.

Could you provide some insights into how the Channel Sounding algorithm selects the shortest path? Specifically, does it prioritize the path that reaches the device the quickest (which would ideally be the direct Line-of-Sight path), or does it select the signal with the highest RSS (Received Signal Strength)?

Any suggestions on how to enhance indoor accuracy would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Nick De Leenheer

Parents
  • I noticed that adjusting parameters like the number of antenna paths (n_ap) is not straightforward, and I feel like it is difficult to modify on my own due to the limited available information.

    In my opinion the most relevant sources of information about Channel sounding are Bluetooth core specification and less detailed but more focused on the topic Tech overview.
    They don't cover distance measurement algorithm part but give very clear understanding of Link layer parameters, scheduling etc.

    Speaking of number of antenna paths, it requires having of multiple antennas on at least one of the devices. I am not sure what board you are using for testing, but nrf54l15 dk has only one antenna so you need some additional hardware to use multiple antenna paths, as far as i understand.

  • Yes indeed.

    With only 1 antenna, i think that indeed the NFC antenna from nrf54L15 is not enough to obtain good quality.

    I can help you when i am done with my thesis about Channel Sounding.

    But for now i will just look at the performance of the basic configuration.

    Kind regards.

  • With only 1 antenna, i think that indeed the NFC antenna from nrf54L15 is not enough to obtain good quality.

    NFC antenna is not used in the Bluetooth communication. It is only used for NFC (near field communication) protocol. The antenna used by default for BLE is the PCB antenna (i.e. printed antenna) on the edge of the board. For multiple antenna use-case, you will need separate multiple antenna board that can be connected to the DK with SWF connector. It will also require connection to GPIO pins to control antenna switch.

    I can help you when i am done with my thesis about Channel Sounding.

    Perhaps this message was addressed to ignatious-p?

Reply
  • With only 1 antenna, i think that indeed the NFC antenna from nrf54L15 is not enough to obtain good quality.

    NFC antenna is not used in the Bluetooth communication. It is only used for NFC (near field communication) protocol. The antenna used by default for BLE is the PCB antenna (i.e. printed antenna) on the edge of the board. For multiple antenna use-case, you will need separate multiple antenna board that can be connected to the DK with SWF connector. It will also require connection to GPIO pins to control antenna switch.

    I can help you when i am done with my thesis about Channel Sounding.

    Perhaps this message was addressed to ignatious-p?

Children
No Data
Related