Dynamic ray tracing techniques for mobile radio communications

Ray tracing is a powerful tool to obtain deterministic characterizations of communication channels and can be applied to predict the evolution of channels with high level of mobility. However, performing ray tracing simulations at each discrete time instant is computationally expensive. In this master thesis, a new approach to extrapolate results obtained from a single ray tracing simulation is presented, performing a so-called "dynamic ray tracing". It relies on the geometric tracking of interaction points (i.e. reflection or diffraction points), enabling analytical or numerical predictions of the evolution of any ray identified during an initial ray tracing simulation. The performance of this new approach is studied on several canonical vehicle-to-vehicle configurations, thanks to comparisons with classical ray tracing simulations as well as with measurements in a real environment. Focus is also given to the time horizon during which dynamic ray tracing is possible, related to the lifetime of the main rays. This time horizon can be directly estimated based on the knowledge of the geometry and its evolution. It is found to be the main parameter influencing the accuracy and the computational gain of the presented approach.