Reading Distance Estimation for Vehicle RKE Systems

In this paper, we propose a systematic simulation-based approach to estimate the reading distance of an RKE system. In our electromagnetic (EM) simulation, a receiving RKE antenna and a vehicle structure, including both exterior and interior, are modeled as piece-wise mesh triangles to obtain accurate radiation characteristics of the antenna mounted inside the vehicle. The reading distance is then estimated by a two-ray propagation model that includes effects of space loss, ground properties, and antenna polarizations for various orientations and heights of handheld devices. The estimated distances are compared to the measurement, and results show that the proposed approach is suitable to replace the measurement-based approach with an average error of less than 2m.