Mobile Vehicle-to-Vehicle Narrow-Band Channel Measurement and Characterization of the 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) Frequency Band

TLDR

The study presents narrow‑band vehicle‑to‑vehicle channel measurements at 5.9 GHz in suburban Pittsburgh and introduces a speed‑separation diagram to analyze the propagation environment. Using a DGPS‑equipped mobile V2V system, the authors dynamically measured path loss, Doppler spectrum, and coherence time at 5.9 GHz, modeled fading with a Nakagami distribution, and applied the speed‑separation diagram. The speed‑separation diagram accurately predicts channel Doppler spread and coherence time from vehicle speed and separation.

Abstract

This study presents narrow-band measurements of the mobile vehicle-to-vehicle propagation channel at 5.9 GHz, under realistic suburban driving conditions in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Our system includes differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) receivers, thereby enabling dynamic measurements of how large-scale path loss, Doppler spectrum, and coherence time depend on vehicle location and separation. A Nakagami distribution is used for describing the fading statistics. The speed-separation diagram is introduced as a new tool for analyzing and understanding the vehicle-to-vehicle propagation environment. We show that this diagram can be used to model and predict channel Doppler spread and coherence time using vehicle speed and separation.