Differentiable Ray Tracing-Based Analysis of Transmitter Deployment Strategies in Site-Specific Scenarios

Abstract

Accurate modeling of wireless signal propagation in complex environments is essential for the efficient planning of next-generation communication networks. This study investigates the impact of transmitter placement and elevation on signal coverage and interference levels within a structured campus environment. Using Sionna ray tracing, a differentiable and GPU-accelerated ray tracing framework, realistic 3D models of the Aydin Adnan Menderes University main campus were constructed and simulated. Three transmitter deployment scenarios—distributed, centralized, and optimized—were evaluated in terms of path gain, Received Signal Strength (RSS), and Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR). The simulation results reveal how different spatial configurations influence signal propagation, coverage uniformity, and interference. The findings provide valuable insights into strategic transmitter placement for enhanced network performance in real-world deployments.

Keywords

• Ray tracing
• Wireless propagation
• Path gain
• SINR
• RSS
• Sionna

References

1. Anonymous. 2023. Mitsuba Blender Add-on. URL: https://github.com/mitsuba-renderer/mitsuba-blender (accessed date: February 4, 2025).
2. Bastos S, Oliveira A, Suzuki, D, Gonçalves L, Sousa I, Klautau A. 2023. Generation of 5G/6G Wireless Channels Using Raymobtime with Sionna’s Ray-Tracing. XLI Simpósio Brasileiro de Telecomunicações e Processamento de Sinais.
3. Blender Foundation. 2023. Blender. URL: https://www.blender.org (accessed date: February 3, 2025).
4. Egea-Lopez E, Molina-Garcia-Pardo JM, Lienard M, Degauque P. 2021. Opal: An open source ray-tracing propagation simulator for electromagnetic characterization. Plos one, 16(11): e0260060.
5. Hoydis J, Aoudia FA, Cammerer S, Nimier-David M, Binder N, Marcus G, Keller A. 2023a. Sionna RT: Differentiable ray tracing for radio propagation modeling. 2023 IEEE Globecom Workshops (GC Wkshps), pp: 317–321.
6. Hoydis J, Cammerer S, Aoudia FA, Vem A, Binder N, Marcus G, Keller A. 2023b. Sionna: An Open-Source Library for Next-Generation Physical Layer Research, pp:45.
7. Jakob W, Speierer S, Roussel N, Vicini D. 2022. DR.JIT: A just-in-time compiler for differentiable rendering. ACM Transactions on Graphics, 41(4): 1–19.
8. Martín A, Ashish A, Paul B, Eugene B, Zhifeng C, Craig C, Greg SC, Andy D, Jeffrey D, Matthieu D. 2015. TensorFlow: Large-scale machine learning on heterogeneous systems,Mountain View, CA, USA, pp:1-19

9. Noh YJ, Choi KW. 2024. High-Precision Digital Twin Platform Based on Ray Tracing Simulation. 2024 15th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology Convergence (ICTC), pp: 1464–1465.
10. OpenStreetMap Foundation. 2023. OpenStreetMap. URL: https://www.openstreetmap.org (accessed date: February 1, 2025).
11. Prochitecture. 2023. Blender-OSM: OpenStreetMap and Terrain for Blender. URL: https://prochitecture.gumroad.com/l/blender-osm (accessed date: February 2, 2025).
12. Testolina P, Polese M, Johari P, Melodia T. 2024. Boston Twin: The Boston Digital Twin for Ray-Tracing in 6G Networks. Proceedings of the ACM Multimedia Systems Conference 2024 on ZZZ, pp: 441–447.
13. Xia G, Zhou C, Zhang F, Cui Z, Liu C, Ji H, Zhang X, Zhao Z, Xiao Y. 2024. Path Loss Prediction in Urban Environments with Sionna-RT Based on Accurate Propagation Scene Models At 2.8 GHz. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.
14. Yun Z, Iskander MF. 2015. Ray tracing for radio propagation modeling: Principles and applications. IEEE Access, 3: 1089–1100.
15. Zhu M, Cazzella L, Linsalata F, Magarini M, Matteucci M, Spagnolini U. 2024a. On the Digitization of the EM Environment: A Comparison of Ray Launching Solutions. 2024 IEEE International Mediterranean Conference on Communications and Networking (MeditCom), pp: 85–90.
16. Zhu M, Cazzella L, Linsalata F, Magarini M, Matteucci M, Spagnolini U. 2024b. Toward Real-Time Digital Twins of EM Environments: Computational Benchmark for Ray Launching Software. IEEE Open J Commun Soc, pp: 54.
17. Zubow A, Pilz Y, Rösler S, Dressler F. 2024. Ns3 meets Sionna: Using Realistic Channels in Network Simulation, pp: 41.