Browsing by Author "Schonken, Willem Petrus Francois"

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    The development and implementation of a localised position location strategy
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-12) Schonken, Willem Petrus Francois; De Swardt, J. B.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Location and tracking of personnel and assets is a lucrative enterprise that has seen much expansion in the last decade or two. This expansion is coupled with the rise in popularity of GPS-based technologies. It has become common practice for businesses to track and manage vehicle fleets with GPS enabled devices. We use GPS to navigate while driving our cars, to keep track of our loved ones and we even have GPS receivers in our cell phones. Unfortunately, GPS technology has a few limitations. It can only be used in areas with a clear view of the sky, as line-of-sight must be maintained with at least four satellites at all times. This precludes the use of GPS indoors or in heavily built-up areas. GPS receivers are also still quite expensive. This thesis developed and implemented a strategy for Localised Position Location. Several possible solutions were investigated. Spread Spectrum was selected as the best method to develop into a working example. The characteristics of Spread Spectrum signals and Pseudo-Noise Codes were investigated in some detail, which led to the proposal of several simulation models. These simulations suggested that a simple configuration consisting of a transmitter, sliding correlator, bandpass filter and RF power detector can effectively track a stationary target. A transmitter was designed and implemented and was then used in a simplified measurement to corroborate the predictions made by earlier simulations. With results looking positive it was decided to continue with the design and implementation of a receiver. A complete transmitter/receiver system allowed for extensive measurements to be made. The physical measurements agreed with simulated predictions, confirming that the proposed position location strategy is effective.
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    Modelling and mitigation of specular multipath interference in a dual-frequency phase comparison FMCW radar system
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Schonken, Willem Petrus Francois; De Swardt, J. B.; Van der Merwe, Paul; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Digital signal processing technology has improved greatly over the last two decades. Increased processing power, cheaper memory and higher sampling rates have enabled the application of Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar to a myriad of new areas. FMCW offers a number of advantages, such as continuous coverage and low peak output power, making it an attractive technology for industrial and automotive applications. Expansion into new application environments and the use of new signal processing algorithms have created a need for new multipath interference models. This study aims to fulfil that need through rigorous mathematical modelling of both the physical multipath environment and the two-dimensional Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) signal processing method, in the context of a Dual-Frequency Phase- Comparison FMCW radar sensor. It will be shown that specular reflections can have a profound effect on the amplitude and the phase of an FMCW radar’s base-band received signals. The multipath phase error interacts with the signal processing method, resulting in new and interesting effects. Furthermore, new mitigation methods will be proposed and critically evaluated by means of simulated and real-world measurements.