A novel direct sequence spread spectrum automatic vehicle identification system

Due to a world wide surge in the intelligent vehicle highway system (IVHS), the field of automatic vehicle identification (AVI) has been rapidly growing. The use of spread spectrum communications has not yet pervaded the AVI market. However, in the already cramped electromagnetic environment, spread spectrum techniques have gained significant popularity in many growing areas of wireless communication. AVI is perfectly suited to benefit. The fundamental advantage of spread spectrum technology in AVI applications is its invulnerability to interference and its ability to operate alongside narrow band communication systems already in place. The second advantage is the ease of licensing for spread spectrum AVI, since it does not require a dedicated frequency spectrum. It is also possible for several spread spectrum AVI systems to operate simultaneously in the vicinity of each other, using different spreading codes. This article concentrates on architecture as well as applied key signal processing techniques for a proposed direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) AVI system. A functional block diagram that outlines the major components of the system is presented. The system consists of three major functional parts: interrogator, transponder, and trigger. Free flow of traffic can be maintained only if the interrogator can isolate each vehicle in a common "interrogation zone". DSSS allows this through code division multiple access (CDMA). The triggering system is based on the principles of speed enforcement radar. The proposed digital modulation scheme is BPSK. The DSSS modulator applies a Gold pseudo-random (PN) code to spread the spectrum of the binary signal. Despreading is carried out through the use of a "PN matched filter". The antenna is assumed to have a 60/spl deg/ half-power radiation field and is placed on an existing overpass approximately 6 meters above the roadway. With 50 mW antenna transmit power, link budget analysis indicates that sufficient bit energy-to-noise power spectral density ratio is available at the receiver to generate an excellent bit error rate without requiring error control coding.