Enabling wireless communication in aircraft using multipe antenna systems

Sensor technology is advancing to provide the robust, miniaturized sensors needed for aircraft prognostics health management (PHM). Aircraft maintainers would like to add numerous pressure, temperature, vibration, fuel quantity, moisture/chemical sensors, but a major challenge of retrofitting old aircraft with them is how to collect the data. Wireless data transfer in aircraft has been identified as a 'transformative' technology for aviation. The industry is pursuing wireless prospects, but so far all are limited by the extreme multipath channels in aircraft. Spread spectrum communication is extremely limited in aircraft because of the multipath channels[l], and [2] found problems with ultrawideband interfering with aircraft radios, even when operated at approved, 'safe' levels. This paper explores multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication in aircraft because of its high capacity in rich multipath environments. In addition to the multipath that raises MIMO capacity, the aircraft channel is also rich in noise, interference, and channel correlation that decreases its capacity. This paper presents a complete channel model for MIMO in aircraft that includes the effects of noise, interference and channel correlation. The capacity obtained from this detailed system model is used as a metric for antenna selection and system evaluation.