Professor Hyo-il Kim’s team at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at UNIST (President Lee Yong-hoon) has developed a technology for analyzing wireless communication radio waves (communication channels) within the hyperloop. It is hoped that this will become the basic technology for designing a wireless communication system for monitoring the safety of high-speed passenger cars and providing Internet services.

The Hyperloop is a next-generation mode of transport that accelerates one by one the vehicles called ‘pods’ in the ‘tube’, a tube near a vacuum, traveling at a speed of 1,200 kilometers per hour. When designing a wireless communication system for the hyperloop, communication channel analysis that predicts how radio waves propagate in 3D space is essential for determining antenna design, carrier frequency, and bandwidth.

In the case of the hyperloop, the existing electromagnetic wave simulator had limitations in analysis. This is because the tube resembles a waveguide that can trap radio waves and is very long and travels hundreds of kilometers, so radio waves propagate more than normal space. The range of objectives (base stations, etc.) to be included in the simulation is much wider. Another variable is the result of pods running at high speeds inside the tube.

To solve this problem, the research team simulated three delegates. A new technology was used to analyze the entire tube through the modeling that mathematically connects them. Electromagnetic wave simulation involves splitting a single base station section, a pod section, and an empty tube section into two base stations or pods and connecting them to ‘network parameter modeling’ technology.

As a result of the analysis, various signal distortions such as signal transmission and reflection occur at each pod. A representative example is the reception of multiple interference signals, which are caused by certain interferences transmitted by other base stations passing through several pod segments.

Based on these analytical results, the research team found the optimal frequency band, maximum bandwidth, and optimal electromagnetic mode for wireless communication within the hyperloop. Ford was able to accurately predict the receiving power of the communication signal for each driving position.

Professor Kim Hyo-il said, “Analytical technology is flexible and has the advantage that it can be easily applied even if the features of the hyperloop change. It can play a role as a source technology.”

This study (Paper Title: Hyperloop Communications: Reveals Electromagnetic Propagation in the Hyperloop Tube) was conducted with Professor Kijin Han (Associate Author) at Donggui University. UNIST researcher Jeong-Tak Kim (Integrated Masters and Doctorate Course in Electrical and Electronic Engineering) was the first author. The research results were published in the IEEE Vehicle Technology Magazine, an academic journal in the field of mobility.