FPGA implementation of channel emulator for testing of wireless air interface using VHDL

Experimental realism of wireless testbeds along with control and repeatability of experiments are some of the prominent fundamental barriers faced by researchers. To overcome these barriers, we are developing a wireless channel emulator that emulates the physical layer and brings about the realism and repeatability in our experiments. Channel emulators are generally used for testing air interface in Wireless Communication. In a laboratory test environment channel emulators replicate real world communication channel that exists between a transmitter and a receiver, it does so by providing a faded representation of the signal transmitted by the transmitter to the receiver inputs. It can be seen that emulator based approach helps us in understanding the performance of real world wireless channels. It also enables us to test our research in an operational wireless network, along with the advantages of a controlled experimental lab environment.