Near‐Ground Channel Modeling with Applications in Wireless Sensor Networks and Autonomous Driving

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have found diverse applications in environmental, security, and infrastructure monitoring as well as in location‐based services. In most of WSNs' emerging applications, sensor nodes work at or slightly above the ground level. A key example is autonomous driving. This chapter discusses the details and impact of a versatile theoretical model that is developed to predict the feasible transceiver (TRX) range and node connectivity for WSNs deployed for diverse applications. The applicability of this model is verified by comparing the results with the near‐ground measurements carried out by independent researchers in rural, forested, and urban settings. The chapter derives the break point distances and develops the near‐ground path loss model. The near‐ground path loss model is verified and used in WSN connectivity analysis. The chapter discusses the influence of terrain electrical and geometrical properties on the range and connectivity of low‐altitude WSNs.