A new two-path model for the estimation of the angle of arrival for wireless communication systems

Summary form only given, as follows. The spatial properties of wireless communication channels are very important in different areas. First, the statistical characterization of the power received at the mobile unit is well known in fading environments. On the other hand, the estimates of time of arrival of different paths plays an important role in broadband wireless systems. Finally, the statistical characterization of the angle of arrival has to be integrated in order to incorporate smart antenna systems. This paper presents a spatial statistical model useful for both simulation and analysis purposes in wireless communications. The model is based on the assumption that the mobile unit is uniformly placed in a circle of radius R around the base station. The starting point is the development of a geometrical model. The purpose is to define the probability density function of the angle /spl theta//sub a/ at the mobile between the line-of-sight component and the multipath component, which is the result of a single reflection on the scatterer, and to compare the simulation and theoretical results. The simulation for a number of ratios R/y0, where y0 is the distance between the base station and the scatterer, concludes declining the linear dependence of the occurrence frequency on the angles between 0/sup 0/ and 180/sup 0/ by using the least squares approximation. The line y=a+b*/spl theta//sub a/ derived from the previous simulation for each ratio gives a set of a and b which are proved to be dependent on the physical dimensions R/y0 of the geometry under study. In the analysis, the joint probability density function of the angle of arrival and time of arrival is calculated with the use of the Jacobian transformation.