Providing Signal Strength Mapping for Improved Asset Deployment

The Wireless Area Mapper (WAM) is a CACI product that integrates commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware with CACI developed software to provide detailed cellular signal strength coverage maps. This enables the user to quickly determine cellular signal strength and coverage throughout an Area of Interest (AOI), even if no detailed measurements were taken throughout that area.

The WAM system is intended for all parties that use cellular signal strength measurements

• Mission planners can use the system to plan missions and activities; cellular signal strength is a crucial factor to be considered when active jamming is required for self protection.
• Countermeasure systems designers and testers can use the system for product planning and performance evaluation.
• Wireless system test managers can use the system to plot cellular network signal strength over a geographical area and verify coverage quality.
• Intelligence officers can use the system as a planning tool to determine how to deploy assets in the most effective manner.

Major Features of the WAM User Interface

• Full geographical coverage of the area of interest with color coded signal strength indication. Color coding and signal strength ranges associated with each color can be user defined on a case-by-case basis.
• Full coverage signal strength maps overlaid on physical maps (currently downloaded from Google Earth™).
• Solid or transparent signal coverage map; the transparent map shows the details of the underlying physical map, e.g., roads and other physical features. This feature facilitates the association of signal strength data to physical locations.
• Clear indication of measured and derived data (measurement locations clearly marked).
• Signal strength range display capability; display only shows coverage for signal strength in range selected by user.
• Detailed data window – a small window that displays detailed data associated with the map location that coincides with the cursor location. The detailed data window contents change as the cursor moves over the map and it can be enabled or disabled.

The ability to display the coverage maps statically (printed) or dynamically, changing the level of detail displayed in real time, makes the WAM human interface applicable to a wide range of test and mission planning scenarios. Minimal platform computational requirements ensure that WAM can be deployed on any notebook PC-type platform.

WAM testing was completed at Yuma Proving Grounds and deployment is underway.

Other products in the WAM family have been funded and were delivered in October 2008.

• WAM-DR is the database repository of raw measurements. Independent measurements of different geographical areas, possibly taken at different times, are aggregated for data mining and signal exploitation. Single point availability of global RF cellular signal strength coverage data will facilitate user access to mission-pertinent data. As more measurements are added the WAM-DR database will grow to be the "Google Earth™" of cellular signal coverage maps.
• WAM-W is an enhancement of the original WAM product that allows it to operate unattended in a self protection (i.e., active jamming) environment. The availability of WAM-W ensures that data can be collected safely and unobtrusively while convoys are traveling on unrelated missions. The collected data is then transferred to the WAM-DR for analysis, mission planning and exploitation.

For more information contact Joe Zirilli, jzirilli@caci.com, 732-380-2104