Propagation simulation with the ParFlow method: fast computation using a multi-resolution scheme

The increase of potential applications of wireless networks in indoor environments calls for robust and efficient tools for predicting the wave propagation in such complex environments. The ParFlow technique is a discrete approach which accurately reflects the behavior of wave propagation but in turn requires very high computation and time resources. Initially this method has been implemented in a parallel architecture to reduce the computation time. A new resolution scheme is proposed to solve the discrete ParFlow equations. This approach is based on a multi-resolution formulation in the Fourier domain. The major result of our approach is that the computation complexity may be settled in two parts. Firstly, the multi-resolution pyramid is built (taking into account the geometry arrangement of the indoor environment). Secondly, the propagation from a point source is evaluated through the soft pyramidal architecture with a high gain in terms of computational efficiency. We guess that this approach could increase the interest of the ParFlow technique which could be more accurate than ray-tracing methods at least in a theoretical point of view.