Experimentation framework for wireless communication systems under jamming scenarios

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) integrate control, sensing, and processing into interconnected physical components to support applications within transportation, energy, healthcare, environment, and various other areas. Secure and reliable wireless communication between devices is necessary to enable the widespread adoption of these emerging technologies. Cyber-physical systems devices must be protected against active threats, such as Radio Frequency (RF) Jammers, which intentionally disrupt communication links. Jamming detection and mitigation techniques must be evaluated extensively to validate algorithms prior to full implementation. Challenges related to obtaining zoning permits, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot certification for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licencing lead to evaluation limited to simulation-based or simplistic, non-representative hardware experimentation. A site-specific ray-tracing emulation framework is presented to provide a realistic evaluation of communication devices under RF jamming attacks in complex scenarios involving mobility, vehicular, and UAV systems. System architecture and capabilities are provided for the devices under test, real-world jamming adversaries, channel modelling, and channel emulation. Case studies are provided to demonstrate the use of the framework for different applications and jamming threats. The experimental results illustrate the benefit of the ray-tracing emulation system for conducting complex wireless communication studies under the presence of RF jamming.