What is CLUTTER?

Clutter, or Landuse, is a gridded data used in the planning of wireless networks. In short, clutter is a database of surface futures, which impact on radio wave propagation. Surface features are classified into different sets or classes of land use, based on their properties.

The classes might include such features as water, dense forest, swamps, roads, built-up areas, etc. For high-resolution urban clutter, more detailed classification is required. For example, built-up areas can be further classified in accordance with building heights, and vegetation class can be split into high- and low-vegetation areas in accordance with average tree height.

Clutter datasets are created by interpretation of satellite images or from digital maps of an area. For high-resolution urban clutter stereo imagery can be utilized in order to determine feature heights. Usually a dataset can contain from six to fifteen classes depending on clutter type and resolution.