Aegis Spectrum Engineering Toolkit
Since the early 1990s we have been developing the Aegis Spectrum
Engineering Toolkit. Today, the Toolkit is an extensive suite of
engineering software that provides a flexible means by which to
model any type of radio system, including space, terrestrial and
aeronautical systems, fixed and mobile, active and passive.
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| Input |
The first part of any simulation is the collection of data.
The Toolkit allows a radio engineer to rapidly build an application
to collect the data required for a particular simulator. The
simulator may then be run interactively, or as an unattended batch
process on a local or remote computer.
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| Process |
At the heart of the Toolkit lie the simulators. Each implements a
model of a particular application area, using a common application
framework and algorithmic library to reduce development time and
improve software quality. The application framework provides data
input, file storage, progress monitoring and job management; the
algorithmic library includes orbit propagation, together with an
extensive, validated and regularly updated library of antenna
patterns and ITU-R models for atmospheric loss, rain attenuation and
other effects. The library also provides an interface to detailed
terrain data (including UK Ordnance Survey national cover, and the SRTM-3,
SRTM-30 and GLOBE 1.0 databases), allowing diffraction and other propagation effects to
be determined on specific terrestrial paths. ITU-R Recommendation
452 is supported, which has particular application in the
determination of interference between fixed terminals (e.g.
satellite uplinks, radio relay links), as well as ITU-R
Recommendation P.370, which is widely applied by broadcasters.
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| Output |
Complex simulations, whether for the wanted or unwanted path,
often generate a large volume of results data. Clear presentation of
these results can be critical to understanding and communicating the
nature of the problem being addressed. Recognising this, the Toolkit
includes a visualisation facility to enable users to produce output
for analysis and publication. The user is able to explore, in an
interactive fashion, the relationship between different model
parameters; dynamic situations can be displayed in standard
multimedia formats such as AVI or Apple QuickTime.
Applying the Aegis Spectrum Engineering Toolkit
The Toolkit uses XML for data transfer between components. This
means that the input or output of any simulator can be transformed
(with XSLT) into the input for any other simulator, or into the
format required for publication, visualisation or further analysis
(e.g. HTML, SVG or CSV). This makes it possible to build
"pipelines" from existing, validated tools – allowing us
to implement modelling functions quickly and reliably.
Other modelling requirements need a dedicated simulator, built
from the framework and library. A topical example is Monte
Carlo simulation, a technique that is finding increasing
application in the modelling of systems where not all the parameters
are known deterministically. The Monte Carlo simulator in the
Toolkit has been used on a variety of projects, such as the
assessment of the mutual interference between Radio
Fixed Access networks. The simulator modelled the network paths,
with characteristics such as terminal locations, aerial heights,
traffic, and building clutter being characterised by statistical
functions. The output was in the form of a probability distribution
relating interference levels to the percentage of terminals
affected. Manipulation of such a model can inform decisions on the
restrictions and regulatory framework required to allow co-existence
between networks adjacent in frequency or area.
To discuss how Aegis can help model wanted or unwanted paths for
your system, or can visualise your system data, contact us at enquiry-2008@aegis-systems.co.uk.
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