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Projecte llegit

Títol: Development of the Simulation Tools for the Satellite Communication Network

Estudiants que han llegit aquest projecte:

Director/a: PARK, HYUK

Departament: FIS

Títol: Development of the Simulation Tools for the Satellite Communication Network

Data inici oferta: 20-07-2025     Data finalització oferta: 20-03-2026


Estudis d'assignació del projecte:
    DG ENG AERO/SIS TEL
Tipus: Individual
 
Lloc de realització: EETAC
 
Paraules clau:
Satellite, VLEO communication, Simulation
 
Descripció del contingut i pla d'activitats:
Objectives
The goal of this work is to design and implement a flexible and computationally
efficient simulation tool for LEO satellite communication networks. The focus lies on
evaluating coverage, visibility, and basic performance metrics of constellation configurations.
Using MATLAB as the development environment, the tool integrates ground station
modeling, satellite orbit generation (Walker Star/Delta), and user distribution modeling. It
aims to allow rapid iteration and optimization of hybrid constellations to meet coverage
constraints with minimal satellite count. In addition, optimization will be studied for different
methods such as Genetic Algorithms (ga) and Surrogate Optimization (surrogateopt), for
example, that will enable the improvement in coverage, visibility, etc in a certain region like
Europe (An example of the development of Sateliot will help to build the simulator). As
mentioned, a modular structure is proposed to analyze different configurations and regions
of interest, also the tool supports scalability to hundreds of users and full-day simulations. It
targets the balance between simulation realism and execution time due to the computational
cost certain functions have. Ultimately, if possible it will serve as a framework for future
research in satellite-based Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs).
Methodology
The simulator is built on MATLAB's satelliteScenario API to model orbital dynamics
and access calculations. Users (UEs) are distributed using grid-based or shapefile-filtered
methods for geographic relevance. Fitness functions are designed to evaluate visibility
metrics and are optimized via heuristic solvers. To improve speed, simplified geometric
access calculations are optionally used. The system supports hybrid constellations and
considers real-world elements like elevation angle thresholds. Modular functions enable
plug-and-play testing of coverage, receiver settings, and constellation geometry.
Expected Results
The simulator is expected to provide constellation configurations that meet user
visibility requirements with minimal satellites. It will serve as a practical tool for system-level
performance evaluation. Coverage maps and access probabilities will be produced for
different scenarios. Future extensions will include latency, link budget, and interference
analysis.
 
Overview (resum en anglès):
Satellite mega-constellations have transformed global connectivity, with systems like Starlink, OneWeb, Iridium NEXT and ORBCOMM now operating alongside GNSS networks in a dense LEO environment. This Final Degree Project develops an open MATLAB simulation framework that bridges orbital mechanics and RF link analysis, enabling realistic comparison of constellation performance across signal quality KPIs like visibility, availability and capacity.

The tool supports custom Walker/Keplerian constellation design and TLE imports of real systems, featuring a graphical interface for scenario setup, 3D visualization via satelliteScenario, ITU-R atmospheric models, and modular transmitter/receiver blocks.

Case studies validate the framework against known system behaviors, revealing how orbital geometry, frequency bands and link budgets determine coverage gaps, handover dynamics and robustness under degradation.

Beyond analysis, the extensible architecture supports teaching, mission planning and future possible extensions like multi-hop path routing or UAV/Flights augmentation capabilities.

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