A virtual reality system for the simulation and manipulation of wireless communication networks

The knowledge of the propagation behavior of radio waves is a fundamental prerequisite for planning and optimizing mobile radio networks. Propagation effects are usually simulated numerically, since real-world measurement campaigns are time-consuming and expensive. Automatic planning algorithms can explore a vast amount of network configurations to find good deployment schemes. However, complex urban scenarios demand for a great emphasis on site-specific details in the propagation environment which are often not covered by automatic approaches. Therefore, we have combined the simulation of radio waves with an interactive exploration and modification of the propagation environment in a virtual reality prototype application. By coupling real-time simulation and manipulation tasks we can provide an uninterrupted user-centered workflow.