Derivation of K-Factor Detection Statistics to Discriminate Between LOS and NLOS Scenarios

The Rician {K} -factor has been extensively used to characterize indoor and outdoor wireless propagation channels based on experimental and analytical models. In this paper, the K -factor statistics are derived analytically and experimentally validated for LOS and NLOS scenarios. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) are formulated based on the derived detection statistics such that an optimal decision threshold can be selected to better enhance LOS/NLOS detection accuracy compared to usual methods. The proposed approach is shown to have a greater LOS/NLOS discrimination accuracy than other state-of-the-art approaches. Furthermore, there is evidence that a second metric can be obtained which characterizes the current environment and provides a confidence value, which can be used to inform further decisions.