61 research outputs found
HAPS for 6G Networks: Potential Use Cases, Open Challenges, and Possible Solutions
High altitude platform station (HAPS), which is deployed in the stratosphere
at an altitude of 20-50 kilometres, has attracted much attention in recent
years due to their large footprint, line-of-sight links, and fixed position
relative to the Earth. Compared with existing network infrastructure, HAPS has
a much larger coverage area than terrestrial base stations and is much closer
than satellites to the ground users. Besides small-cells and macro-cells, a
HAPS can offer one mega-cell, which can complement legacy networks in 6G and
beyond wireless systems. This paper explores potential use cases and discusses
relevant open challenges of integrating HAPS into legacy networks, while also
suggesting some solutions to these challenges. The cumulative density functions
of spectral efficiency of the integrated network and cell-edge users are
studied and compared with terrestrial network. The results show the capacity
gains achieved by the integrated network are beneficial to cell-edge users.
Furthermore, the advantages of a HAPS for backhauling aerial base stations are
demonstrated by the simulation results
A Vision and Framework for the High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) Networks of the Future
A High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) is a network node that operates in
the stratosphere at an of altitude around 20 km and is instrumental for
providing communication services. Precipitated by technological innovations in
the areas of autonomous avionics, array antennas, solar panel efficiency
levels, and battery energy densities, and fueled by flourishing industry
ecosystems, the HAPS has emerged as an indispensable component of
next-generations of wireless networks. In this article, we provide a vision and
framework for the HAPS networks of the future supported by a comprehensive and
state-of-the-art literature review. We highlight the unrealized potential of
HAPS systems and elaborate on their unique ability to serve metropolitan areas.
The latest advancements and promising technologies in the HAPS energy and
payload systems are discussed. The integration of the emerging Reconfigurable
Smart Surface (RSS) technology in the communications payload of HAPS systems
for providing a cost-effective deployment is proposed. A detailed overview of
the radio resource management in HAPS systems is presented along with
synergistic physical layer techniques, including Faster-Than-Nyquist (FTN)
signaling. Numerous aspects of handoff management in HAPS systems are
described. The notable contributions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in HAPS,
including machine learning in the design, topology management, handoff, and
resource allocation aspects are emphasized. The extensive overview of the
literature we provide is crucial for substantiating our vision that depicts the
expected deployment opportunities and challenges in the next 10 years
(next-generation networks), as well as in the subsequent 10 years
(next-next-generation networks).Comment: To appear in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorial
6G Enabled Advanced Transportation Systems
The 6th generation (6G) wireless communication network is envisaged to be
able to change our lives drastically, including transportation. In this paper,
two ways of interactions between 6G communication networks and transportation
are introduced. With the new usage scenarios and capabilities 6G is going to
support, passengers on all sorts of transportation systems will be able to get
data more easily, even in the most remote areas on the planet. The quality of
communication will also be improved significantly, thanks to the advanced
capabilities of 6G. On top of providing seamless and ubiquitous connectivity to
all forms of transportation, 6G will also transform the transportation systems
to make them more intelligent, more efficient, and safer. Based on the latest
research and standardization progresses, technical analysis on how 6G can
empower advanced transportation systems are provided, as well as challenges and
insights for a possible road ahead.Comment: Submitted to an open access journa
A Survey on Cellular-connected UAVs: Design Challenges, Enabling 5G/B5G Innovations, and Experimental Advancements
As an emerging field of aerial robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have
gained significant research interest within the wireless networking research
community. As soon as national legislations allow UAVs to fly autonomously, we
will see swarms of UAV populating the sky of our smart cities to accomplish
different missions: parcel delivery, infrastructure monitoring, event filming,
surveillance, tracking, etc. The UAV ecosystem can benefit from existing 5G/B5G
cellular networks, which can be exploited in different ways to enhance UAV
communications. Because of the inherent characteristics of UAV pertaining to
flexible mobility in 3D space, autonomous operation and intelligent placement,
these smart devices cater to wide range of wireless applications and use cases.
This work aims at presenting an in-depth exploration of integration synergies
between 5G/B5G cellular systems and UAV technology, where the UAV is integrated
as a new aerial User Equipment (UE) to existing cellular networks. In this
integration, the UAVs perform the role of flying users within cellular
coverage, thus they are termed as cellular-connected UAVs (a.k.a. UAV-UE,
drone-UE, 5G-connected drone, or aerial user). The main focus of this work is
to present an extensive study of integration challenges along with key 5G/B5G
technological innovations and ongoing efforts in design prototyping and field
trials corroborating cellular-connected UAVs. This study highlights recent
progress updates with respect to 3GPP standardization and emphasizes
socio-economic concerns that must be accounted before successful adoption of
this promising technology. Various open problems paving the path to future
research opportunities are also discussed.Comment: 30 pages, 18 figures, 9 tables, 102 references, journal submissio
Integration of hybrid networks, AI, Ultra Massive-MIMO, THz frequency, and FBMC modulation toward 6g requirements : A Review
The fifth-generation (5G) wireless communications have been deployed in many countries with the following features: wireless networks at 20 Gbps as peak data rate, a latency of 1-ms, reliability of 99.999%, maximum mobility of 500 km/h, a bandwidth of 1-GHz, and a capacity of 106 up to Mbps/m2. Nonetheless, the rapid growth of applications, such as extended/virtual reality (XR/VR), online gaming, telemedicine, cloud computing, smart cities, the Internet of Everything (IoE), and others, demand lower latency, higher data rates, ubiquitous coverage, and better reliability. These higher requirements are the main problems that have challenged 5G while concurrently encouraging researchers and practitioners to introduce viable solutions. In this review paper, the sixth-generation (6G) technology could solve the 5G limitations, achieve higher requirements, and support future applications. The integration of multiple access techniques, terahertz (THz), visible light communications (VLC), ultra-massive multiple-input multiple-output ( ÎĽm -MIMO), hybrid networks, cell-free massive MIMO, and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) have been proposed for 6G. The main contributions of this paper are a comprehensive review of the 6G vision, KPIs (key performance indicators), and advanced potential technologies proposed with operation principles. Besides, this paper reviewed multiple access and modulation techniques, concentrating on Filter-Bank Multicarrier (FBMC) as a potential technology for 6G. This paper ends by discussing potential applications with challenges and lessons identified from prior studies to pave the path for future research
What Will the Future ofUAV Cellular Communications Be?A Flight from 5G to 6G
What will the future of UAV cellular communicationsbe?In this tutorial article, we address such a compelling yetdifficult question by embarking on a journey from 5G to 6Gand expounding a large number of case studies supported byoriginal results. We start by overviewing the status quo on UAVcommunications from an industrial standpoint, providing freshupdates from the 3GPP and detailing new 5G NR features insupport of aerial devices. We then dissect the potential andthe limitations of such features. In particular, we demonstratehow sub-6 GHz massive MIMO can successfully tackle cellselection and interference challenges, we showcase encouragingmmWave coverage evaluations in both urban and suburban/ruralsettings, and we examine the peculiarities of direct device-to-device communications in the sky. Moving on, we sneak a peekat next-generation UAV communications, listing some of the usecases envisioned for the 2030s. We identify the most promising6G enablers for UAV communication, those expected to takethe performance and reliability to the next level. For each ofthese disruptive new paradigms (non-terrestrial networks, cell-free architectures, artificial intelligence, reconfigurable intelligentsurfaces, and THz communications), we gauge the prospectivebenefits for UAVs and discuss the main technological hurdles thatstand in the way. All along, we distil our numerous findings intoessential takeaways, and we identify key open problems worthyof further study
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