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Converter Capability Comparison

This document compares the capabilities of DeepMIMO's ray-tracing converters. For information about the ray tracers themselves (not the converters), see Comparing Ray Tracers.

Converter Comparison Table

Feature AODT Sionna RT Wireless InSite
Multiple BS (TX points) ✓ ✓ [a] ✓
Multiple RX sets ✗ [b] ✗ [b] ✓
TX multi-antenna arrays ✓ ✓ [a] ✗ [l]
RX multi-antenna arrays ✓ ✓ [a] ✗ [l]
Dual polarization ✓ [q] ✓ [q] ✓ [q]
Per-element positions (arrays) ✓ ✓ ✗ [l]
Antenna pattern support Isotropic-only [c] N/A Isotropic (via polarization)
BS–BS paths ✗ ✓ [k], [s] ✗
Reflections ✓ ✓ ✓
Diffractions ✓ (≤1) ✓ (≤1) ✓
Diffuse scattering ✓ ✓ (final only) ✓
Transmissions ✓ ✗ [e] ✓
Interaction positions export ✓ ✓ ✓ [n]
Angles export (AoA/AoD) ✓ [r] ✓ ✓
Delay export ✓ ✓ ✓
Power export ✓ ✓ ✓
Phase export ✓ ✓ ✓
Path sorting by amplitude ✗ ✓ [t] ✗
Inactive RX detection ✗ [g] ✓ [g] ✓ [g]
Dynamics/time-varying scenes ✓ [f] ✓ [f] ✓ (API) [f]
Scene export ✓ (disabled by default) [h] ✓ ✓
Materials richness ✓ (ITU-R P.2040) [i] ✓ (scat. patterns) [i] ✓ (incl. foliage) [i]
GPS bounding box ✗ [j] ✓ (when present) [j] ✓ [j]
Terrain interaction flags ✓ [o] ✓ [o] ✓ [o]
Uniform ray casting ✓ ✓ (mapped) ✓
Copy RT source files ✓ [p] ✓ [p] ✓ [p]
Max path/interactions handled ✓ ✓ ✓

Notes

  • [a] Sionna supports multiple TX points or multi-antenna, but not both simultaneously in one run; same constraint for RX. Single TX and RX sets in metadata.
  • [b] AODT aggregates all UEs into one RX set; Sionna uses one RX set; InSite supports multiple RX sets.
  • [c] AODT validates patterns: isotropic required; warns on halfwave dipole, errors on non-isotropic/custom.
  • [e] Sionna does not support transmissions; AODT and InSite map transmission-like events.
  • [f] AODT picks a time index for paths and RX positions from routes; Sionna exports one time slice of amplitudes; InSite runs are static per export but converter supports multi-scene foldering.
  • [g] Inactive RXs: Sionna counts zero-amplitude paths; InSite uses 250 dB path-loss sentinel; AODT does not update active counts.
  • [h] AODT scene reader exists (USD-like) but is disabled in the main converter flow; Sionna and InSite export scenes.
  • [i] AODT computes permittivity/conductivity via ITU-R P.2040; Sionna maps RT scattering patterns; InSite includes EM, roughness/thickness, and foliage attenuation.
  • [j] GPS bbox: Sionna includes when min/max lat/lon provided; InSite computes from study area + origin; AODT sets (0,0,0,0).
  • [k] Sionna detects sources==targets and exports BS–BS paths.
  • [l] InSite infers element count from polarization (Vertical/Horizontal=1, Both=2) but doesn't export per-element geometry.
  • [n] InSite interaction positions parsed from .p2m; Sionna from vertices; AODT from interaction point lists.
  • [o] Terrain flags: AODT reflection/scattering true, diffraction false; Sionna per-RT flags; InSite per setup.
  • [p] Copy sources: AODT (.parquet), Sionna (.pkl), InSite (.setup/.txrx/.city/.ter/.veg/.kmz).
  • [q] Dual-pol: AODT via panel flag; Sionna via num_ant vs size; InSite via "Both" polarization.
  • [r] AODT computes angles from geometry; Sionna provides angles; InSite from file fields.
  • [s] Note: AODT doesn't have scene geometry export enabled.
  • [t] Sionna sorts by path amplitude before truncation to MAX_PATHS.

Common Limitations

The following limitations apply to all converters (not specific to any ray tracer):

Antenna Patterns

All converters currently support only isotropic antenna patterns. This is a converter limitation, not a ray-tracer limitation. The ray tracers themselves support various antenna patterns, but the converters don't yet import this information.

Path Truncation

All converters limit paths to MAX_PATHS (default: 10) per TX-RX link for memory efficiency. Additional paths beyond this limit are discarded.

Single Frequency

All converters handle single-frequency simulations. Multi-band scenarios require separate conversions per frequency band.

Position Precision

All converters store positions in float32 precision for memory efficiency, which provides ~7 decimal digits of precision.

Important Distinctions

Converter Limitations vs Ray-Tracer Limitations

Some features marked with ✗ are ray-tracer limitations (the ray-tracing software itself doesn't support the feature), while others are converter limitations (the converter doesn't import that information yet, even though the ray tracer supports it).

For detailed information about the ray tracers themselves, see Comparing Ray Tracers.

Converter-Specific Details

AODT Converter

Input Format: Parquet files from AODT ClickHouse database - scenario.parquet, raypaths.parquet, cirs.parquet, rus.parquet, ues.parquet, materials.parquet, patterns.parquet, panels.parquet, time_info.parquet

Key Features: - ITU-R P.2040 material model support - Time-indexed scenarios (picks first time index) - Panel-based antenna configuration - Rich interaction position data

Known Limitations: - Scene geometry export disabled by default - Single RX set (aggregates all UEs) - Inactive RX count not updated

Sionna RT Converter

Input Format: Pickle files from Sionna ray tracer - sionna_paths.pkl, sionna_vertices.pkl, sionna_objects.pkl, sionna_material_map.pkl, sionna_rt_params.pkl

Key Features: - Automatic version detection (0.19.x vs 1.x) - BS-BS path support - Path amplitude sorting - Complete scene geometry export

Known Limitations: - No transmission support (ray-tracer limitation) - Single TX and RX set in metadata - Multi-antenna OR multiple TXs, not both simultaneously

Wireless InSite Converter

Input Format: XML and text files from Wireless InSite - .setup, .txrx, .city, .ter, .veg, .p2m files

Key Features: - Multiple RX set support - Complete scene geometry (buildings, terrain, vegetation) - Foliage attenuation in materials - Multiple TX/RX configuration support

Known Limitations: - No per-element antenna positions (infers count from polarization) - Path sorting not implemented in converter

Usage Examples

AODT Converter

import deepmimo as dm

# Convert AODT scenario
scenario_name = dm.aodt_rt_converter(
    rt_folder='/path/to/aodt/parquet/files',
    copy_source=True,
    vis_scene=False
)

# Load converted dataset
dataset = dm.load(scenario_name)

Sionna RT Converter

import deepmimo as dm

# Convert Sionna scenario
scenario_name = dm.sionna_rt_converter(
    rt_folder='/path/to/sionna/pickle/files',
    copy_source=True,
    vis_scene=True
)

# Load converted dataset
dataset = dm.load(scenario_name)

Wireless InSite Converter

import deepmimo as dm

# Convert InSite scenario
scenario_name = dm.insite_rt_converter(
    rt_folder='/path/to/insite/output/folder',
    copy_source=True,
    vis_scene=True
)

# Load converted dataset
dataset = dm.load(scenario_name)