Westin Hotel and Outdoor Shopping District

A Westin Hotel and Conference center (large building in the back) formed the anchor for a shopping district, including overhead walkways between buildings.

The project called for the creation of a public-access HotZone with subscription service for shoppers and hotel guests as well as creating a backhaul system for video security cameras.

Outdoor RF Coverage Prediction

Using 3-dimensional RF modeling and simulation (the Suite Spot Predictive Site Survey™) an outdoor mesh network with client access point connectivity was created for the Westin Hotel and outdoor shopping area shown in the isometric view above.

Rooftop and building-face installation locations were chosen for each radio on the basis of RF coverage as well as aesthetics relative to the architecture of the buildings.

The Manchester Airport

Connect802's design for the Manchester Airport in New Hampshire included not only Wi-Fi access for the traveling public but ramp access for baggage handlers, maintenance personnel, and security officers.

One of the challenges in this design related to the fact that radio equipment in the terminal building could not be allowed to interfere with aircraft systems while planes were parked at the jetways.

The Gateway Center - Newark, NJ

Five office buildings are connected together with skybridge walkways which lead to the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Newark, NJ. Retail stores line the interconnecting concourses and marble-lined elevator lobbies provide access to the upper floors of the buildings.

The Connect802 design for this space required correlation of architectural plans that dated back to the 1970's. Interference from microwave ovens in use at the many restaurants in the area added to the challenge, along with required coverage for an outdoor seating area.

Interference Analysis

To predict and account for microwave oven interference in the Gateway Center project (depicted immediately above) a Signal-to-Interference model was created. This allowed the Connect802 RF design team to properly position antennas and configure channel assignments to eliminate degradation in the system caused by microwave oven interference.

The Newport Beach Marina and RV Park

Show to the right are boats in slips at the Newport Beach Marina. Connect802 created 3-dimensional models of pleasure boats to simulate coverage when the piers were fully occupied. In addition the simulations were performed for both low tide and high tide conditions in which the boats were displaced several feet vertically relative to the shore-based antennas as the tide changed.

A 400-Pad RV Park

At the Newport Beach Marina there's a 400 pad RV park which needed subscription Wi-Fi service. One of the major challenges was to provide coverage into the RVs themselves. Connect802 created models of Class A motor homes, 5th-Wheel RVs, and trailer homes and placed them into the RV park. This allowed simulation of a fully-occupied condition and took into consideration the RF characteristics of the metal-exterior vehicles.

Coverage was provided using four radios mounted on 10-foot light poles in the RV pad area with backhaul through a wireless distribution system back to the Internet portal in the administration building.

23-Unit Apartment Complex in Arizona

Using outdoor radios mounted on the exterior of the apartment buildings a subscription access Wi-Fi system was created for this 23-unit apartment complex in Arizona.

Tenants were able to connect to the network from inside their apartments and the grounds of the complex had coverage for the outdoor recreation and picnic areas on the property.

The Seattle Public Library

The showpiece of downtown Seattle is the newly constructed Seattle Public Library. It's an 11-story architectural marvel built with a series of open floors that look down onto the main level and which are covered by a "glass curtain".

Connect802's design was based on the blueprints for the building since the installation plan had to be created before the construction was completed. That's one of the unique characteristics of RF predictive modeling - a design can be created before the building is built. Click on the pictures for larger images.

Additional photographs are available at the architect's web site.

Pan Pacific Westlake Hotel and Conference Center

This high-profile mixed -use development in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood includes the 160-room Pan Pacific Hotel, a five-star hotel that anchors a 550,000 square foot mixed-use area with condominiums, shops, and restaurants.

Through RF modeling and simulation, Connect802 was able to provide a complete design for the system prior to the start of construction.

A Patient Ward in a German Hospital

Working with our International business partners, Connect802 has been active in the design of wireless network systems in Europe, Africa, and the Pacific Rim. Shown to the right are patient's beds in a hospital ward.

Connect802's ability to create 3-dimensional RF models of buildings or outdoor areas based on AutoCAD drawings, scanned images, satellite imagery, and topographic maps allows design services to be performed outside Connect802's normal installation and direct-service area in the United States.

Accurate RF Predictions - Indoor and Outdoor

The RF model shown to the right depicts signal strength on the floor of a building. The orange/brown areas are "hot", while green and blue are "cooler" (ranging from -50 dBm to -100 dBm signal strength). This is a patient floor in a hospital and coverage had to be complete, consistent, and non-interfering with medical equipment.

Ocean Forest Plaza Condominiums

The poured, reinforced concrete walls of this beachfront condominium building, coupled with the requirement that all radios be installed in common areas (and not in individual tenant's units) would have been daunting to anyone attempting to perform a on-site survey. Since it would be impossible to enter any of the tenant dwellings an on-site survey would not have been able to properly measure the RF characteristics of the building.

Connect802 constructed a full 3-dimensional model of the entire building allowing evaluation not only of the inter-dwelling signal penetration, but of the floor-to-floor signal interaction as well.

Large Warehouse Space

The problem with an on-site survey in an industrial warehouse is that the level of inventory on the day the survey is performed is not going to be the level of inventory during the life of the wireless network. Using predictive modeling, Connect802 was able to not only simulate various levels of inventory but also move virtual pallets of merchandise around on the loading dock to simulate the conditions when a truck is unloading.

Signal Coverage in the Warehouse

This warehouse (the same one shown immediately above) was used by a major pet food distributor. Connect802 has dealt with designs involving metallic inventory, non-metallic inventory, and "wet" inventory (green lumber and chemicals).

The New Jersey Expo Center

How do you design a network for an expo center or convention hall? The challenge is that one month there might be a home show at the venue, the next month a boat show, and the next month a bookseller's convention.

For the New Jersey Expo Center design, Connect802 created 3-dimensional models of boats and trade show booths. Different show floor configurations were simulated to arrive at a design providing proper coverage for all configurations of the show floor.

Kennebunk High School - Maine

Schools, universities, and many public locations not only require a good RF design but must also provide connectivity for users with different levels of access permission. Another factor is the possibility of vandalism or theft of the equipment.

The 3-dimensional isometric coverage grid model shown to the right depicts the school buildings (with the gymnasium and theater standing out prominently) and the signal coverage for the area.

RF Signals Travel in 3-Dimensions

The Kennebunk High School gymnasium had bleacher seating that was close to 20-feet above the floor at its highest point. RF coverage had to be provided not only to the floor level, but to the top seats as well.

The green "coverage volume" shown to the right is a graphic depiction of the 3-dimensional signal coverage volume as it ascends into space both filling and penetrating out of the gymnasium.

Retail Stores with Merchandise Racks

The 3-dimensional aspect to RF design is emphasized in a retail store with merchandise racks. Office supply stores like Staples and Office MAX as well as retail giants like Home Depot and Lowe's Home Center exemplify this type of in-building environment.

RF coverage must be considered both at the floor level (where hand-held inventory scanners may be in use) and at the ceiling level (where varying levels of inventory may be stacked on top of the shelves).

Tinker Air Force Base

Working with one of our technology partners we completed the system design for a wireless Ethernet system to interconnect aircraft hangars at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

Large Apartment Complex and Outdoor Area

One of the manufacturer's that Connect802 represents brought this opportunity to us, knowing that our RF modeling and simulation would provide accurate results for the apartment complex design.

The complex required not only in-buliding subscription access for tenants, but also had swimming pool areas and other recreation areas. The design considered the large number of trees on the property to create a wireless backhaul to interconnect radios.

Minimize the RF "Leakage" for Security

Our client was concerned that "leakage" of the RF signal from inside their building would create interference with neighboring Wi-Fi systems and would expose the existence of their network to casual passers-by.

The design had to provide access point placement in such a manner as to minimize out-of-building propagation. This was accomplished by using construction features (stairwells, elevators, HVAC equipment) to create RF "shadows" and control the signal propagation.

Airport Hangar Buildings

If you examine the RF signal strength grid coverage model shown to the right you'll see something fascinating. The model shows the predicted signal strength 5-feet off the ground for an antenna that's 60-feet in the air, overhead on the top of the aircraft hangar. Notice that the small dark blue circular area (directly under the antenna) is the "coolest", and the signal actually gets stronger as you move away (towards green, then yellow).

This is because an antenna doesn't propagate RF signal directly above or below it. It's an RF effect that's not typically observed but it's a critical element any time an antenna is high off the ground.

RF Modeling of Unique Equipment and Objects

The 3-dimensional model to the right depicts the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) unit in a hospital which was part of a WLAN system created by Connect802. The rectangular brown object is the MRI machine, the green objects are storage cabinets and counter tops. An MRI machine uses powerful magnets and radio waves to create images of internal tissues and organs. These same powerful magnets and radio waves can cause dramatic problems in a Wi-Fi network system (or a WMTS medical telemetry system).

Connect802 has been able to successfully model environments with unique objects in the medical, industrial, military, and research fields.