Interactive Multiple Model Filter for Land-Mobile Satellite Communications at Ka-Band

Abstract

In this paper, an Interactive Multiple Model filter design is proposed to improve signal shadowing detection performance on land-mobile channels during rain fading for a downlink operating at Ka-band through a geostationary satellite. A robust solution for on-line determination of the filter measurement error covariance is provided. Analyses are performed for a combination of channels under different atmospheric conditions, clear sky and rain, and different scenarios, suburban and rural. Using International telecommunications union-based synthesized attenuation time-series, the proposed filter achieved a reduction in the incorrect detection duration of 32% for the scenario with a mobile terminal experiencing rain, and by 60% for the scenario with a fixed terminal experiencing rain.