RF Link Study for WSN Deployment at Himalayan Terrains

Himalayan terrains are highly prone to avalanche-related disasters. These terrains demand a wireless network-based avalanche early warning signals. Deployment of wireless networks in such locations is also a challenge, involving multiple pre-deployment surveys before actual deployment. To eliminate pre-deployment surveys, i.e. to reduce deployment time, we have explored the electromagnetic simulator software for 3D WSN network modelling and simulation in this work. The study involves RF signal characterization based on coupling coefficients (S-parameter) between network nodes. In this work, simulated network link quality was analyzed based on S-parameters, deployment scenario, impact of terrain topography, and environmental effects. This study has aided in the design of WSN node mounting towers, their arrangement & orientation optimization and network reliability enhancement by router addition.