Near‐field Wireless Communications and their Role in Next Generation Transport Infrastructures: an Overview of Modelling Techniques

This chapter provides guidelines on modelling the smart low‐cost near‐field wireless objects and on how to integrate their behavior in traditional network discrete event simulation (DES) tools. The ultimate aim is to provide an insight into the available tools in order to study their behavior and their impact on the access and core communication infrastructures of intelligent transportation system (ITS). The chapter details the two most common near‐field wireless technologies, including radio frequency identification (RFID) and near‐field communication (NFC). Currently two different approaches can be distinguished regarding the characterization of near‐field communications, namely theoretical calculations based on electrical models and electromagnetic simulators. As a result of the characterization, a transfer function of the near‐field communication is obtained. This transfer function can be employed in the DES framework as the model of the link level near‐field zone between the communication devices.