Radio wave visualization system, propagation simulator, radio wave visualization method, and simulation program

The present invention relates to a radio wave visualization system, a propagation simulator, a radio wave visualization method, and a simulation program.

In recent years, the introduction of new wireless communication systems, typified by 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication System) and local 5G, has been explosively progressing. When installing these wireless communication systems, evaluation using radio wave propagation simulation is essential. Furthermore, in order to efficiently evaluate the propagation of radio waves, technologies are being considered to visualize the results of radio wave propagation simulations and optimize the settings of wireless communication systems.

For example, when visualizing the propagation of radio waves, a three-dimensional environmental model is created for the environment in which the wireless communication system is installed, and the basic performance of the wireless communication system (center frequency, frequency band, transmission power, antenna conditions) is , installation position) and evaluation conditions necessary for propagation simulation (number of reflections, number of diffraction, transmission/reflection conditions, etc.) to perform a propagation simulation (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).

It is desirable to conduct radio wave propagation simulation and visualization before installing a wireless communication system. When installing a wireless communication system in an actual environment, there is a need for a system that can evaluate radio wave propagation characteristics in real time because the environment changes and the requirements may differ depending on the communication area.

<p><nplcit><text>Tetsuro Imai, "Mobile Radio Propagation Simulation Based on Ray-Tracing Method", IEICE, 2009, IEICE Transactions B Vol. J92-B No. 9, pp.1333-1347</text></nplcit></p>

<p>However, in order to visualize the propagation of radio waves in real time, real-time operation of each step for performing propagation simulation is essential. In particular, calculations in propagation simulation are known to be a bottleneck. Specifically, as the evaluation conditions for propagation simulation become more complex, the computational load increases exponentially, making real-time visualization difficult.</p><p>The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a radio wave visualization system, a propagation simulator, a radio wave visualization method, and a simulation program that can shorten the time required to visualize radio wave propagation. The purpose is to</p>

<p>A radio wave visualization system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a model creation unit that creates a three-dimensional scale model of an environment including topography and buildings of an area to be evaluated for propagation characteristics of radio waves used in a wireless communication system; an evaluation condition creation unit that creates a plurality of evaluation conditions for use in evaluating radio wave propagation characteristics for the area based on the performance of the wireless communication system; and an evaluation condition creation unit that creates the three-dimensional scale model created by the model creation unit. A propagation simulator that executes simulations of a plurality of propagation characteristics using each of the plurality of evaluation conditions created by the condition creation section and outputs the simulation results, and a propagation simulator that sequentially outputs the simulation results of the plurality of propagation characteristics output by the propagation simulator. The propagation simulator is characterized in that the propagation simulator outputs simulation results to the visualization unit in order of simulation results using evaluation conditions that are assumed to require a short time to simulate the propagation characteristics.</p><p>Further, a propagation simulator according to an embodiment of the present invention is a propagation simulator that simulates the propagation characteristics of radio waves used in a wireless communication system using a three-dimensional scale model of the environment including the topography and buildings of the area to be evaluated. In this step, a plurality of simulations of propagation characteristics are performed on the three-dimensional scale model using a plurality of evaluation conditions created based on the performance of the wireless communication system to be used for evaluating the propagation characteristics of radio waves in the region. The results of a plurality of simulations of propagation characteristics executed by the execution unit are output in order from the execution unit to be executed and the results of simulations using evaluation conditions that are assumed to require short time for simulating the propagation characteristics. The invention is characterized in that it has a control section for controlling.</p><p>Further, the radio wave visualization method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a model creation step of creating a three-dimensional scale model of an environment including topography and buildings of a region to be evaluated for the propagation characteristics of radio waves used in a wireless communication system. , an evaluation condition creation step of creating each of a plurality of evaluation conditions used to evaluate the propagation characteristics of radio waves for the region based on the performance of the wireless communication system, and a three-dimensional scale model created by the model creation step, a propagation simulation step of executing a simulation of a plurality of propagation characteristics using each of the plurality of evaluation conditions created in the evaluation condition creation step and outputting the simulation results; and a simulation of the plurality of propagation characteristics output by the propagation simulation step. and a visualization step of sequentially visualizing the results, and the propagation simulation step is characterized in that the simulation results are output in order starting from the evaluation conditions that are assumed to take the shortest time to simulate the propagation characteristics.</p>

<p>According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the time required to visualize the propagation of radio waves.</p>

<figref num="1">1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an outline of a configuration of a radio wave visualization system according to an embodiment.</figref><figref num="2">FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a radio wave visualization method in which the radio wave visualization system visualizes radio waves.</figref><figref num="3">FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a propagation simulator.</figref>

A radio wave visualization system according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a radio wave visualization system 1 according to an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the radio wave visualization system 1 includes, for example, a model creation section 2, an evaluation condition creation section 3, a propagation simulator 4, and a visualization section 5. The radio wave visualization system 1 is an environment including the topography and buildings of an area (target area) in which a wireless communication system in which one or more base stations and one or more terminal stations perform wireless communication is to be installed. Simulate and visualize the propagation of radio waves.

Note that the environment of the target area may include a reflector or a relay station that reflects or relays radio waves emitted by a base station or a terminal station.

The model creation unit 2 acquires environmental information indicating the environment of the target area, and creates a scale model for reproducing the environment of the target area. For example, the model creation unit 2 uses a reduced three-dimensional scale that reproduces the environment, including the topography and buildings, of the area that is the target of evaluating the propagation characteristics of radio waves used in a wireless communication system in which a base station and a terminal station perform wireless communication. A model is created using a predetermined material using, for example, a 3D (three-dimensional) printer.

The evaluation condition creation unit 3 creates a plurality of evaluation conditions for use in evaluating the propagation characteristics of radio waves for the target area, based on the wireless communication system information indicating the performance of the wireless communication system, and outputs them to the propagation simulator 4. .

The propagation simulator 4 includes, for example, an execution unit 40 and a control unit 42, and performs multiple propagation processes on the three-dimensional scale model created by the model creation unit 2 using a plurality of evaluation conditions created by the evaluation condition creation unit 3. The characteristics are simulated and the simulation results are output to the visualization unit 5.

The execution unit 40 applies a plurality of evaluation conditions created based on the performance of the wireless communication system to the three-dimensional scale model created by the model creation unit 2 to evaluate the propagation characteristics of radio waves in the target area. Run simulations of multiple propagation characteristics.

The control unit 42 controls the execution unit 40 to output the results of the plurality of simulations of propagation characteristics executed by the execution unit 40, in order from the results of simulations using evaluation conditions that are assumed to require the shortest time for simulating the propagation characteristics. do.

In this way, the propagation simulator 4 outputs the simulation results to the visualization unit 5 in the order of simulation results using evaluation conditions that are assumed to require the shortest time (computation processing time) for simulating the propagation characteristics.

For example, the propagation simulator 4 performs simulations in ascending order of the number of reflections, the number of diffraction, and the frequency of radio waves, or the combination of the number of reflections, the number of diffraction, and the frequency, and sequentially outputs the simulation results. do.

Specifically, the number of reflections increases from 123..., the number of diffraction increases from 0123..., and the frequency increases from 1GHz2GHz3GHz... As it increases, the amount of calculation increases exponentially. Therefore, the propagation simulator 4 can be set to give priority to radio waves with small numerical values of the number of reflections, the number of diffractions, and frequencies, or small numerical values of combinations, and perform simulations on them.

Furthermore, the propagation simulator 4 may be configured to perform simulations of the propagation characteristics of a plurality of radio waves in parallel. Furthermore, the propagation simulator 4 may be configured to stop the simulation when the time required to simulate the propagation characteristics exceeds a predetermined time.

Furthermore, the propagation simulator 4 may be configured to stop the simulation when the next new evaluation condition is added. In other words, every time an evaluation condition is added or changed, the propagation simulator 4 stops the simulation before the evaluation condition was added or changed, and immediately starts the simulation after the evaluation condition is added or changed. It may be configured as follows.

The visualization unit 5 is, for example, a display (display device) or the like, and sequentially visualizes the simulation results of a plurality of propagation characteristics output by the propagation simulator 4.

Furthermore, the visualization unit 5 may be configured to sequentially add and visualize the simulation results output by the propagation simulator 4.

Furthermore, the visualization unit 5 may be configured to visualize the simulation results of the propagation characteristics only for a predetermined period for each evaluation condition. In other words, the visualization unit 5 may have a limited time to visualize each simulation result. For example, the visualization unit 5 may visualize each simulation result in a display cycle of a pre-calculated number of seconds (an initial value of a changeable time).

Next, an example of a radio wave visualization method in which the radio wave visualization system 1 visualizes radio waves will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a radio wave visualization method in which the radio wave visualization system 1 visualizes radio waves.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the radio wave visualization system 1, in order to visualize radio waves, the model creation unit 2 first creates a three-dimensional scale model (S100). Next, the radio wave visualization system 1 sets each of the plurality of evaluation conditions created by the model creation unit 2 to the propagation simulator 4 (S102-1 to S102-N).

The propagation simulator 4 executes simulations of a plurality of propagation characteristics using the plurality of evaluation conditions created by the evaluation condition creation section 3 on the three-dimensional scale model created by the model creation section 2, and displays the simulation results in the visualization section. 5 respectively (S104).

Then, the visualization unit 5 sequentially visualizes the simulation results of the plurality of propagation characteristics output by the propagation simulator 4 (S106).

If the radio wave visualization system 1 needs to change the evaluation conditions due to changes in the target environment, etc., it will be necessary to return to the processing of S102-1 to S102-N and create the three-dimensional scale model again. If so, the process returns to S100.

In this way, in the radio wave visualization system 1, the propagation simulator 4 sequentially outputs simulation results to the visualization unit 5 using evaluation conditions that are assumed to require a short time to simulate the propagation characteristics. The time required for visualization can be shortened.

Note that each part of the radio wave visualization system 1 may be partially or entirely configured by hardware such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be executed by a processor such as a CPU. It may also be configured as a program.

For example, each part constituting the radio wave visualization system 1 can be realized using a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a storage medium or provided through a network.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration that the propagation simulator 4 has. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, the propagation simulator 4 has an input section 90, an output section 91, a communication section 92, a CPU 93, a memory 94, and an HDD 95 connected via a bus 96, and has a function as a computer. Further, the propagation simulator 4 is capable of inputting and outputting data to and from a computer-readable storage medium 97.

The input unit 90 is, for example, a keyboard and a mouse. The output unit 91 is, for example, a display device such as a display. The communication unit 92 is, for example, a network interface.

The CPU 93 controls each part constituting the propagation simulator 4 and performs predetermined processing and the like. The memory 94 and HDD 95 are storage units that store data and the like.

The storage medium 97 is capable of storing programs and the like for executing the functions of the propagation simulator 4. Note that the architecture configuring the propagation simulator 4 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 3.

1...Radio wave visualization system, 2...Model creation section, 3...Evaluation condition creation section, 4...Propagation simulator, 5...Visualization section, 40...Execution section, 42... Control unit, 90...Input unit, 91...Output unit, 92...Communication unit, 93...CPU, 94...Memory, 95...HDD, 96...Bus, 97....Storage medium