What is Multipath Interference? Multipath interference, or MPI, is a phenomenon characterized by the bouncing of a transmitted signal off of various obstacles in the environment, which "creates multiple delayed replicas of the signal that interfere with the signal at the receiver" (Mlejnek et al., 2015). This  occurs very frequently in radio communications, especially when a signal is transmitted through a heavily-obstructed area or over long distances. As technology advances further, buildings will get taller and increase in number, while in-space communication needs will only increase. This means that, whether we're on the ground or up in space, multipath interference represents an extremely significant problem. Therefore, it is important that we develop a thorough understanding of the signal attenuation associated with MPI so we can better predict and avoid it in the future. Figure 1. Multipath Diagram. Retrieved from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbi/2012/697253 Previous | Home | Next