Reliable Wi-Fi communication in EMC critical multipath propagation environment using phased array antennas

In today's harbors communication is a critical factor for cost, reliability and safety. Several systems for voice and data transmission using many different transmission standards and frequencies on the pier and onboard are in use. An inexpensive and reliable high data rate communication link between ship and pier has not been realized yet. The land based complex metallic structures (containers, cranes etc.) produce multiple reflections of the transmitted signals which may interfere and lead to dead areas where communication is blocked due to destructive interference. Other communication systems may work in the same frequency band which leads to concurrent frequency usage. Multiple transmission systems on the same frequency lead to a degradation of the performance of each system, e.g. lower data rates, higher latencies. In this paper the EMC and the propagation effects of a wireless system for marine use in the 2.4 GHz are investigated. To overcome the disadvantages of concurrent frequency usage and multipath propagation the use of a phased array antenna system is presented.