The characterization of different vegetation/vehicle densities and their corresponding effects on large-scale channel parameters such as path loss can provide important information during the deployment of wireless communications systems under outdoor conditions. In this work, a deterministic analysis based on ray-launching (RL) simulation and empirical measurements for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications for outdoor parking environments and smart parking solutions is presented. The study was carried out at a frequency of 28 GHz using directional antennas, with the transmitter raised above ground level under realistic use case conditions. Different radio channel impairments were weighed in, considering the progressive effect of first, the density of an incremental obstructed barrier of trees, and the effect of different parked vehicle densities within the parking lot. On the basis of these scenarios, large-scale parameters and temporal dispersion characteristics were obtained, and the effect of vegetation/vehicle density changes was assessed. The characterization of propagation impairments that different vegetation/vehicle densities can impose onto the wireless radio channel in the millimeter frequency range was performed. Finally, the results obtained in this research can aid communication deployment in outdoor parking conditions.
Keywords: 3D Ray Launching; millimeter wave; propagation modeling; smart parking; vegetation environment; vehicular communications.