Performance and Challenges of Ray Tracing-Assisted Device Discovery for Terahertz Communications

In this paper, a novel device discovery approach based on ray tracing simulations is presented. For device discovery, ray tracing can provide a rough estimation of the desired angle of departure and angle of arrival, followed by a fine beam alignment through measurements. Compared to an iterative approach, the proposed approach results in a reduced number of measurement steps needed for device discovery. Furthermore, the influence of the 3D environmental model on the performance of the ray tracing-assisted device discovery approach is analyzed with respect to the room dimensions and the furniture in the room. An equation to calculate the inaccuracy of the predicted angle of departures and angle of arrivals due to the model is given. Finally, the results show that the proposed approach is faster in case the blocking furniture covers less than 1.5 % of the area.