Studying the communications potential of the enclosed-space radio channel

Wireless communications inside enclosed-space environments (e.g. aircraft wings and fuselage, automobile engine compartments, etc.) provides a unique opportunity for instrumentation systems native to these spaces to operate with improved reliability, flexibility and capabilities. However, since these enclosed environments are typically surrounded by reflective boundaries, the enclosed-space radio channel is extremely dispersive and offers a significant challenge to enclosed-space radio communications. Coherence bandwidth and RMS delay spread data is thus obtained and presented as a first step to understanding the communications potential of the enclosed-space radio channel. Despite the extremely dispersive nature of this channel, communications seem possible, and measurements begin to suggest a potentially successful scheme of communications in the enclosed-space channel.