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A pesar de su relevancia social creciente, la ciencia ecológica y ambiental está pasando por momentos muy bajos en los programas educativos de secundaria y bachillerato en nuestro país. En muchos centros escolares, la oferta de esta materia es inexistente en bachillerato y los métodos didácticos utilizados fomentan poco la motivación y el aprendizaje del alumnado. En consecuencia, el escaso valor que está recibiendo esta ciencia en la educación reglada acaba afectando a las opciones elegidas por los estudiantes para sus estudios de grado superior y universitarios. Este artículo describe una experiencia educativa llevada a cabo por el grupo de investigación en Ecología y Medio Ambiente de la Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA) y financiada por el Departamento de Educación del Gobierno de Navarra con el fin de introducir el trabajo de una científica ambiental a 12 niñas de 4 centros escolares. Se buscaba despertar su interés por este campo científico, vehiculizar a través de ellas esta ciencia a sus compañeros de colegio, y finalmente profundizar con los docentes implicados en esta problemática educativa. Despite its growing social relevance, ecological and environmental science is declining in highschool educational programs in Spain. In many schools, this matter does not exist in the highest courses and, in elementary courses, the teaching methods used do not promote student motivation for learning. Due to the limited value that this science is receiving in the formal education, a low number of students is opting for a career related to the natural sciences. This article describes an educational experience carried out by the Ecology and Environment research group of the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) and funded by the Department of Education of the Government of Navarra, in which the work of an environmental scientist was introduced to 12 girls from four schools. The aim was to raise their interest in this scientific field, to convey through them this science to their classmates, and finally to deepen with the school teachers in this educational problem. Agradecimientos al Departamento de Educación del Gobierno de Navarra, por la ayuda económica concedida para llevar a cabo este proyecto.

In this article, a model based on a three dimensional ray-launching algorithm is developed to analyze the behavior of a bluetooth system within a commercial aircraft. Results show that the use of deterministic techniques for radio planning purposes can aid to enhance the overall system efficiency. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:2660–2664, 2014

Wireless systems are gaining a relevant role for multiple communication tasks within commercial aircraft. In this work, wireless propagation in an indoor commercial airplane cabin is analyzed. The impacts of indoor elements, such as passenger seats, luggage compartments, and a dual deck structure, are considered with the aid of an in-house implemented three-dimensional ray-launching code. Multipath propagation plays a relevant role, given by the time-domain characteristics obtained by spatially dependent power delay profiles and delay spread. The use of deterministic techniques in order to consider the inherent complexity of the airplane's cabin can aid in wireless system planning, in order to increase overall system capacity whilst reducing power consumption.

In this letter, we describe the formation and the evolution of Brillouin precursor fields through human tissues by using a frequency-domain analysis technique and a multi-pole Cole–Cole model to characterize the dielectric properties of the human body tissues, in a frequency band designated by the FCC for ultra wide band medical applications, which extends from 0.5 to 20 GHz. A 3D representation of the human body model has been implemented by employing a discretized mesh of cuboids with a resolution of 8 mm3 in which the frequency dispersive material parameters for different tissues have been considered. The dispersive propagation is analyzed for the purposes of radar imaging and intra-body communications. The performance of a classical rectangular pulse, a Brillouin pulse and a medium-matched waveform is described. The results show the potential application of this type of communication scheme in order to improve the achievable measurement range and provide better signal to noise ratios.

In this work, the characteristics radiopropagation of a wireless system within an indoor vehicle is presented. An analysis of the physical radio channel propagation inside a van full of dielectric buckets is presented based on three-dimensional ray launching in house code. Simulation as well as measurement results from a real in-vehicle scenario confirm the topological dependence and impact on a RFID system is shown. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:2126–2130, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27010

With the growing demand of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for safer and more efficient transportation, the research and development of such vehicular communication systems have increased considerably in the last years. The use of wireless networks has been extended in an exponential growing in vehicular environments. However, it is highly important to conduct previous radio propagation analysis when deploying a wireless sensor network in such complex scenarios. In this work, the radio wave characterization for ISM 2.4GHz Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) for a traffic light control system has been assessed. By means of an in-house developed 3D Ray Launching algorithm, the impact of topology as well as morphology of the environment has been analyzed, emulating the realistic operation in the framework of the scenario. The complexity of the scenario, which is an intersection city area with traffic lights, vehicles, people, buildings, vegetation and urban environment, makes necessary the channel characterization with accurate models before the deployment of wireless networks. A measurements campaign has been conducted by deploying a ZigBee Wireless Sensor Network in such specific environment emulating the traffic light control system. Experimental measurements and simulations results are analyzed and compared in this paper. Results show that the use of deterministic tools in WSN deployment can aid in providing optimal layouts in terms of coverage, capacity and energy efficiency of the network, making the use of these systems essential before the deployment of WSN for traffic light control applications in urban areas.

In this work, the performance of ISM 2.4GHz Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) deployed in Judo training venues is analyzed. Judo is a very popular martial art worldwide, which is practiced by thousands of people not only at competition level, but also as part of physical education programs at different school levels. There is a great variety of Judo training venues, as each one has specific morphological aspects, making them unique complex indoor scenarios in terms of radiopropagation due to the presence of furniture, columns and equipment, and the presence of human beings, which is a major issue as the person density within this kind of scenarios could be high. Another key aspect is the electromagnetic interference created by other wireless devices, such as personal portable devices and other wireless systems such as WiFi or other WSNs, which make the radioplaning a complex task in terms of coexistence. In order to analyze the impact of these features on the radiopropagation and the performance of WSNs, an in-house developed 3D Ray Launching algorithm has been used. The obtained simulation results have been validated with a measurement campaign carried out in the sport facilities of the Public University of Navarre, by means of ZigBee-compliant XBee-Pro modules. The analysis is completed with the inclusion of an in-house human body computational model. The presented analysis can aid in obtaining the optimal network configuration and performance in terms of energy efficiency and capacity, making the use of WSNs attractive for multiple applications in Judo training venues.

Railway transportation systems are gaining relevance in their adoption, driven by decreasing costs, higher interconnectivity options and timely operation. The Railway Transportation system is comprised by vehicular elements, as well as several infrastructure elements, which require constant interaction and communication, for tele-control and tele-command, signaling systems, passenger information and entertainment, to name a few. In this work, the implementation of context aware scenarios within different locations within the railway system (i.e., infrastructure elements as well as within the train) are analyzed by means of in-house implemented 3D deterministic ray launching code, in order to design different wireless system configuration, including PLMN, WLAN and WBAN technologies. The results indicate the feasibility in the implementation of a truly connected railway system, providing new services and applications within this framework.

In this work, the analysis on the design and implementation of dense wireless sensor networks is presented, by performing deterministic wireless channel analysis, providing assessment on topological and morphological impact of complex urban environments in the operation of the employed wireless sensor networks, within WLAN/WPAN standards. The proposed methodology, combining initial radioplanning estimations aided with complete scenario description can provide a useful tool in the deployment of future massive wireless networks, providing optimized levels of service whilst minimizing energy consumption and overall interference levels.

Intelligent Transportation Systems are being widely adopted, within the framework of context aware scenarios, as a fundamental element within Smart Cities. Applications span from passenger comfort, transportation logistics and safety/emergency systems. Within the different transportation systems, motorcycles and motorbikes are of great interest- due to their wide adoption in dense urban environments, their high mobility and requirements in terms of passenger safety. In this work, wireless channel performance is analyzed in the case of wireless sensor transceivers located within a motorcycle as well as in static locations corresponding to infrastructure elements. Results have been obtained with the aid of in-house 3D Ray Launching code, in which specific motorcycle models have been implemented, as well as simplified human body model, depicted in Figure 1. The influence of motorcycle material distribution and shape, the inclusion of human body interaction effects and the presence of the road are obtained depending on transceiver location, providing required information in order to perform radioplanning analysis towards optimal wireless sensor network deployment in terms of quality of service and interference minimization.

Wireless transceivers and Body Area Networks (BAN) will play a fundamental role in the adoption of context aware environments with application in multiple scenarios as healthcare, where the introduction of wireless communication systems can promote the improvement in the efficiency of patient care and health management, resulting in the definition of smart health (s-Health) concept. Typically BAN devices are incorporating Wi-Fi interfaces to support Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) connectivity. In this work, estimation of E-field values to enable exposure assessment for WiFi based wearable transceiver in a complex scenario is presented. Both situations in which the transceivers are placed with the human body and within a large indoor environment are studied through in-house developed 3D ray launching simulation code, as well as with measurements with a Wifly GSX 802.11 b/g wireless LAN module. The results show the influence of the human body in the multipath propagation as a consequence of its absorptive and dispersive nature. On the other hand, it can be seen that under usual operating conditions the levels of E-field caused by the tested device do not exceed the limits of personal exposure according to ICNIRP 1998 guideline.

The electromagnetic field leakage levels of nonionizing radiation from a microwave oven have been estimated within a complex indoor scenario. By employing a hybrid simulation technique, based on coupling full wave simulation with an in-house developed deterministic 3D ray launching code, estimations of the observed electric field values can be obtained for the complete indoor scenario. The microwave oven can be modeled as a time- and frequency-dependent radiating source, in which leakage, basically from the microwave oven door, is propagated along the complete indoor scenario interacting with all of the elements present in it. Thismethod can be of aid in order to assess the impact of such devices on expected exposure levels, allowing adequate minimization strategies such as optimal location to be applied.

Wireless communications systems are growing rapidly during the last two decades and they are gaining a significant role for multiple communication tasks within public transportation buses. In this work, the impact of topology and morphology of different types of urban buses is analyzed with the aid of an in-house developed 3D Ray Launching code and compared with on-board measurements of a deployed Wireless Sensor Network. The presence of human beings has been taken into account, showing a significant influence in the signal attenuation in the case of considering persons. In addition, the statistical analysis of simulation results considering both large and small-scale fading has been performed, providing good agreement with statistics for typical indoor environments. In addition, a Wireless Sensor Network has been programmed and deployed within the buses in order to analyze topological impact with overall system performance, with the aim of minimizing the energy consumption as well as non-desired interference levels. The use of deterministic techniques destined to consider the inherent complexity of the buses can aid in wireless system planning in order to minimize power consumption and increase overall system capacity. This work was supported by Projects TEC2013-45585-C2-1-R and TIN2011-28347-CO1-02.

In the last decade the number of wireless devices operating at the frequency band of 2.4 GHz has increased in several settings, such as healthcare, occupational, and household. In this work, the emissions from Wi-Fi transceivers applicable to context aware scenarios are analyzed in terms of potential interference and assessment on exposure guideline compliance. Near field measurement results as well as deterministic simulation results on realistic indoor environments are presented, providing insight on the interaction between the Wi-Fi transceiver and implantable/body area network devices as well as other transceivers operating within an indoor environment, exhibiting topological and morphological complexity. By following approaches (near field estimation/deterministic estimation), colocated body situations as well as large indoor emissions can be determined. The results show in general compliance with exposure levels and the impact of overall network deployment, which can be optimized in order to reduce overall interference levels while maximizing system performance. This work has been realized thanks to the valuable cooperation of Javier Fernández and Oscar J. Suárez, belonging to the staff of the Radio Frequency Laboratory “El Casar” of the General Direction of Telecommunications and Information (Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Tourism). This work has been funded by the contract CA12/00038 of Technical Support Research of the Health Strategic Action, under the National Plan R&D&I 2008–2011 References. Sí

One of the main concerns from Government Bodies, Health Authorities and the General Public is to assure the sustainability of the Health Care Systems [1]. In this context, Ambient Assisted Living is becoming an alternative to traditional methods of assistance that requires the presence of specialized medical staff. In this context, wireless technologies are one of the resources which enable these services [2-3]. The high mobility, ergonomics, moderate cost and interconnectivity are the main factors in the successful use of wireless systems in Electronic Health (eHealth) and Mobile Health (mHealth) implementations [4].

Ultra-wideband (UWB) is a very attractive technology for innovative in-car wireless communications requiring high data rates. A designated antenna, which presents a reflection coefficient (S11) matched band comparable to the band-pass filter (BPF) normally required at the transducers, plays a positive contribution in this in-car application and was validated for the scenario. The inherited BPF-like response of the antenna relaxes the specification of the front-end BPF components of the transceivers. The in-car propagation channel was modelled and used to validate the BPF-like antenna. For the modelling, a comprehensive set of well-defined measurements (using a standard antenna) were used to set-up the in-car channel simulator and simulated results were used to validate the BPF-like antenna. In addition, the performance of the UWB radio system is studied and the probability of errors over the communication channel compared using the standard and the BPF-like antenna by predictions. This work has been part-funded by the European Union.

In this work, different types of indoor vehicular scenarios will be characterized in order to provide assessment in the performance of on-board wireless systems, with the aid of an in-house developed 3D ray launching code. Estimations of received power as well as of time domain parameters show the relevance of multipath propagation and hence, the impact of topology and morphology in the overall system performance.

One of the main challenges in the implementation and design of context-aware scenarios is the adequate deployment strategy for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), mainly due to the strong dependence of the radiofrequency physical layer with the surrounding media, which can lead to non-optimal network designs. In this work, radioplanning analysis for WSN deployment is proposed by employing a deterministic 3D ray launching technique in order to provide insight into complex wireless channel behavior in context-aware indoor scenarios. The proposed radioplanning procedure is validated with a testbed implemented with a Mobile Ad Hoc Network WSN following a chain configuration, enabling the analysis and assessment of a rich variety of parameters, such as received signal level, signal quality and estimation of power consumption. The adoption of deterministic radio channel techniques allows the design and further deployment of WSNs in heterogeneous wireless scenarios with optimized behavior in terms of coverage, capacity, quality of service and energy consumption. The authors wish to thank the support given under project TEC2013-45585-C2-1-R, funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain.

The evolution of wireless communication systems, with the use of high level modulation schemes in order to implement high capacity microcells and femtocells for 4G systems, requires in depth radio analysis in order to perform adequate coverage/capacity estimations. In addition, indoor coverage is gaining more relevance, with complex scenarios given in terms of diversity of materials as well as by the presence of furniture, walls and persons. In this framework, deterministic methods, such as Ray Tracing and Ray Launching algorithms play a fundamental role, since they provide an adequate trade-off between accuracy and computational cost. In large scenarios, however, convergence issues arise as a function of the distance of the launched rays from the equivalent transmitter source, as well as with the employed mesh element size. In this work, the performance of the in-house implemented 3D ray launching algorithm is analyzed for a large scenario in terms of volumetric ray launching resolution, number of reflection until extinction and cuboid size (as depicted in Figure 1). The results give a direct dependence of the transmitter-receiver distance and the employed cuboid size, which leads to the need of implementing dynamic meshing strategies in order to optimize overall simulation performance.