Performance of a frequency hop spread spectrum multiple access radio network in a factory environment

Wireless indoor networks provide terminal portability to any node in the network and promise to reduce significantly the expense and troubles associated with wired networks. Since wireless systems operate on band-limited channels and have to adjust to constant fluctuations of the indoor environment (i.e. multipath and intermittent fading), any viable wireless technology should be able to accommodate those constraints. A very attractive wireless technology for indoor networks is spread spectrum because of its ability to mitigate multipath fading and incorporate multiple access for bandwidth efficient sharing.

A simulated model for a noncoherent FH/BFSK spread spectrum multiple access indoor radio network in a factory environment will be developed in this thesis. The system will be evaluated based on the bit error rate (BER) performance for various number of users, number of hopping frequencies, and different chip rates for a given signal to noise plus interference density ratio. Normally, extensive site measurements have to be taken for accurate behavior of a wireless system, but for simulation purposes, there are widely accepted lower and upper BER approximations for any given interference or noise constraint. The results of this work will be compared to the upper and lower bounds mentioned earlier. This work represents the culmination of a nine month study.