Spectrally Efficient, Low cost and Energy Communication for Transport using 3D Angular Modes (SELECT-3DAM)

Communication technologies in the United Kingdom and abroad have advanced substantially over the last two decades to enable individuals to gain Internet access at home, work, in public spaces as well as on the move. This growth in accessibility and also consumer demand has driven the need to extend Internet availability ubiquitously to enable consistent connectivity, especially in locations where usage is high. One of these locations is on board trains, which may carry up to 3000 passengers at a time, the majority of whom are in need of high speed data communications while on the move yet at the present time such provisions are minimal. The reason for poor Internet access on board trains is partly due to economic limitations in deploying trackside base stations or access points to deliver the necessary connectivity to provide WiFi, cellular communication and other services. However, to date there does not exist a suitable technology to deliver high speed Internet connectivity to trains, especially within tunnels, thereby limiting access for existing rail networks with substantial tunnel lengths (e.g. underground networks) but also future mass-transit technologies extensively using tunnels, such as hyperloops. Internet connectivity on trains has substantial importance to society (to meet passenger demands on board trains), economy (as Internet connectivity is crucial to business productivity with personnel working on the move) and environment (where Internet connectivity helps in making rail-based transport a preferred option), thus proving the transformative impact potential of this research.
This project will provide a low cost, low energy, solution with ease of implementation to meet the need to deliver gigabit wireless connectivity to rail-based transport, especially in tunnels, in order to enable them to provide the required on board wireless services. To achieve this, the project will build on the seminal work recently developed and published by the research team in the Royal society Proceedings, which outlines their new transmission concept known as, Linear Angular Momentum Multiplexing (LAMM). In order to reach the technology readiness level that could enable development trials beyond the project to deliver the necessary connectivity to rail services in existing tunnels for rail networks, this concept needs to be further developed for 3-dimentional environments, i.e. Three Dimensional Angular Momentum Multiplexing (3DAMM), and this project will carry out the necessary foundational science work to do so. Two major areas of research are required to reach this point. First it is necessary to determine the optimum antenna topology and radio configuration for 3DAMM, which will use a substantially different wireless communication channel to that used in conventional mobile communications. Secondly, it will be necessary to pioneer new antenna solutions for 3DAMM that are both in their design and operation significantly different from conventional antennas in order to function on trains, especially when they are in tunnels. These two areas of research interrelate in terms of how the wireless radio will propagate, especially within the tunnel, which needs to be modelled appropriately so that the concept can be optimised. Therefore, the project is based within the area of radio frequency and microwave devices as well as the associated radio communication system. Finally, the work will form a proof of concept using appropriate demonstrator platforms to show the ability of 3DAMM to deliver the communication requirements for rail-based transport moving at high speed.