Keysight PROPSIM RF Channel Emulator

Overview

AERPAW has one PROPSIM F64 RF Channel Emulator, which allows Experimenters to test radio equipment (or an entire system) in the presence of controlled, emulated, mobility of the RF links.

Conceptually, PROPSIM is able to control signal propagation between multiple RF transmitters and receivers. The users can use the channel control interface to vary the attenuation, delay, doppler shift, and many other parameters.

The AERPAW PROPSIM has the following characteristics:

32 bidirectional channels (half or full duplex) (only 24 available at the moment)
40 MHz for each channel
1 single RF Local Oscillator (i.e., all channels are centered on the same frequency)

PROPSIM Use Modalities

In AERPAW, PROPSIM can be used in two distinct modes:

As part of the Sandbox, PROPSIM is used to control the RF channels in a canonical experiment (when the experiment is in the Sandbox). In this case, the channel is controlled automatically by the AERPAW channel emulation framework. In other words, the Experimenters do not have direct access to the channel parameters, but their RF data is being passed through PROPSIM as part of a Sandbox Experiment.
As part of a non-canonical experiment, an Experimenter can gain access to PROPSIM's channel control.

PROPSIM as Part of the AERPAW Sandbox

In this mode, when a canonical experiment is in the Sandbox environment, the wireless channel emulation is performed by PROPSIM. In this mode, the computers in the Sandbox, connected to real USRPs are used to transmit and receive data through PROPSIM. In this mode, PROPSIM is being controlled by AERPAW's emulation framework and the Experimeters cannot directly control the channel propagation. For example, if an experimenter is instantiating an experiment where Computer 1 is a fixed node and Computer 2 is a portable node on an UAV, then the movement of the UAV results in corresponding changes in the propagation between the two radios.

In this mode the only computers and radios available to the Experimenter are the ones available in the Sandbox. The Experimenters can only change the components of the experiment available in their E-VM containers (i.e., the same restriction as when the experiment is in development mode). The intent of this mode is to allow Experimenters to develop their Experiments in the presence of radio hardware in preparation for moving this experiment to Testbed.

PROPSIM for Non-canonical Experiments

If there is an experimenter with a demonstrated need to use PROPSIM for a non-canonical experiment, it is possible to arrange for a custom setup for a special experiment. In this mode, the Experimenters can request for a custom setup, with different computers and radios. However, in this mode, Experimenters have unfettered access to PROPSIM's channel control. The intent of these experiments is for an Experimenter to obtain the data they seek from this environment (rather than plan for a transition to Testbed execution). This custom mode requires a considerable effort from AERPAW's team as well as takes PROPSIM from the Sandbox (effectively disabling the Sandbox environment), and as such it will only be available in exceptional circumstances.

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