BROADBAND VHF AERONAUTICAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM BASED ON MC-CDMA (B-VHF)

Informations projet

B-VHF

N° de convention de subvention: 502910

Projet clôturé

Date de début 1 Janvier 2004

Date de fin 30 Juin 2006

Financé au titre de

• Aeronautics and Space: thematic priority 4 under the Focusing and Integrating Community Research programme 2002-2006.

Coût total € 2 933 939,00

Contribution de l’UE € 1 840 172,00

Coordonné par

FREQUENTIS AG
Austria

Résultats exploitables

Proof of suitability of multi-carrier technology for aeronautical communications

The B-VHF project conducts bottom up research on multi-carrier technology (MC) for aeronautical communications in the very high frequency (VHF) band for a future MC broadband VHF (B-VHF) system. The baseline technology is multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA), a highly innovative, high capacity communications technology also discussed for fourth generation (4G) mobile communications systems. MC-CDMA has the potential to exploit the mobile aeronautical channel better than any currently discussed VHF communication alternatives. It increases voice and data capacity and addresses security and safety issues with a service level unknown to the aeronautics user today. Moreover, MC-CDMA has the potential to preserve the excellent cost performance of the VHF band as it may be applied as an overlay system and co-exist with the existing VHF infrastructure, thus providing smooth transition and rollout scenarios. During the B-VHF project several valuable scientific results have been generated: - high-level specifications for the B-VHF system, describing the reference aeronautical environment used in simulations of the B-VHF system as well as the B-VHF concept - theoretical and practical assessment of the probably most critical aspect of the future B-VHF broadband system: its capability to be installed and operated 'interleaved' with a number of legacy narrowband systems, sharing the same part of the VHF spectrum, but remaining robust against interference coming from such legacy narrowband VHF systems. For this purpose ground and airborne measurements were conducted with the aim to assess the occupancy of the VHF spectrum. Furthermore, dedicated simulation models were produced to evaluate the VHF spectrum occupancy in Europe. - development of a model of the broadband VHF channel and proceeding with the development of the software representing the physical B-VHF layer, the data link layer (DLL) and the higher protocol layers and representative aeronautical applications for the subsequent performance simulations. - development of a narrowband interference simulator for double sideband amplitude modulation (DSB-AM) and VHF digital link (VDL) mode 2, based on the results gained from the measurement campaign. - development of the B-VHF simulation framework for the lowest two layers of the ISO-OSI (International Standards Organization - Open Systems Interconnect) model. - implementation and evaluation of a test-bed has been implemented and evaluated.