A General Framework for Analyzing, Characterizing, and Implementing Spectrally Modulated, Spectrally Encoded Signals

Fourth generation (4G) communications will support many capabilities while providing universal, high speed access. One potential enabler for these capabilities is software defined radio (SDR). When controlled by cognitive radio (CR) principles, the required waveform diversity is achieved via a synergistic union called CR-based SDR. Research is rapidly progressing in SDR hardware and software venues, but current CR-based SDR research lacks the theoretical foundation and analytic framework to permit efficient implementation. This limitation is addressed here by introducing a general framework for analyzing, characterizing, and implementing spectrally modulated, spectrally encoded (SMSE) signals within CR-based SDR architectures. Given orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a 4G candidate signal, OFDM-based signals are collectively classified as SMSE since modulation and encoding are spectrally applied. The proposed framework provides analytic commonality and unification of SMSE signals. Applicability is first shown for candidate 4G signals, and resultant analytic expressions agree with published results. Implementability is then demonstrated in multiple coexistence scenarios via modeling and simulation to reinforce practical utility

Review of Recent Trends

This work was partially supported by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through the Regional Operational Programme of Centre (CENTRO 2020) of the Portugal 2020 framework, through projects SOCA (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000010) and ORCIP (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-022141). Fernando P. Guiomar acknowledges a fellowship from “la Caixa” Foundation (ID100010434), code LCF/BQ/PR20/11770015. Houda Harkat acknowledges the financial support of the Programmatic Financing of the CTS R&D Unit (UIDP/00066/2020).MIMO-OFDM is a key technology and a strong candidate for 5G telecommunication systems. In the literature, there is no convenient survey study that rounds up all the necessary points to be investigated concerning such systems. The current deeper review paper inspects and interprets the state of the art and addresses several research axes related to MIMO-OFDM systems. Two topics have received special attention: MIMO waveforms and MIMO-OFDM channel estimation. The existing MIMO hardware and software innovations, in addition to the MIMO-OFDM equalization techniques, are discussed concisely. In the literature, only a few authors have discussed the MIMO channel estimation and modeling problems for a variety of MIMO systems. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been until now no review paper specifically discussing the recent works concerning channel estimation and the equalization process for MIMO-OFDM systems. Hence, the current work focuses on analyzing the recently used algorithms in the field, which could be a rich reference for researchers. Moreover, some research perspectives are identified.publishersversionpublishe

Low-power adaptive control scheme using switching activity measurement method for reconfigurable analog-to-digital converters

Power consumption is a critical issue for portable devices. The ever-increasing demand for multimode wireless applications and the growing concerns towards power-aware green technology make dynamically reconfigurable hardware an attractive solution for overcoming the power issue. This is due to its advantages of flexibility, reusability, and adaptability. During the last decade, reconfigurable analog-to-digital converters (ReADCs) have been used to support multimode wireless applications. With the ability to adaptively scale the power consumption according to different operation modes, reconfigurable devices utilise the power supply efficiently. This can prolong battery life and reduce unnecessary heat emission to the environment. However, current adaptive mechanisms for ReADCs rely upon external control signals generated using digital signal processors (DSPs) in the baseband. This thesis aims to provide a single-chip solution for real-time and low-power ReADC implementations that can adaptively change the converter resolution according to signal variations without the need of the baseband processing. Specifically, the thesis focuses on the analysis, design and implementation of a low-power digital controller unit for ReADCs. In this study, the following two important reconfigurability issues are investigated: i) the detection mechanism for an adaptive implementation, and ii) the measure of power and area overheads that are introduced by the adaptive control modules. This thesis outlines four main achievements to address these issues. The first achievement is the development of the switching activity measurement (SWAM) method to detect different signal components based upon the observation of the output of an ADC. The second achievement is a proposed adaptive algorithm for ReADCs to dynamically adjust the resolution depending upon the variations in the input signal. The third achievement is an ASIC implementation of the adaptive control module for ReADCs. The module achieves low reconfiguration overheads in terms of area and power compared with the main analog part of a ReADC. The fourth achievement is the development of a low-power noise detection module using a conventional ADC for signal improvement. Taken together, the findings from this study demonstrate the potential use of switching activity information of an ADC to adaptively control the circuits, and simultaneously expanding the functionality of the ADC in electronic systems

Assessment and Real Time Implementation of Wireless Communications Systems and Applications in Transportation Systems

Programa Oficial de Doutoramento en Tecnoloxías da Información e das Comunicacións en Redes Móbiles. 5029V01[Resumo] Os sistemas de comunicación sen fíos de cuarta e quinta xeración (4G e 5G) utilizan unha capa física (PHY) baseada en modulacións multiportadora para a transmisión de datos cun gran ancho de banda. Este tipo de modulacións proporcionan unha alta eficiencia espectral á vez que permiten corrixir de forma sinxela os efectos da canle radio. Estes sistemas utilizan OFDMA como mecanismo para a repartición dos recursos radio dispoñibles entre os diferentes usuarios. Este repartimento realízase asignando un subconxunto de subportadoras a cada usuario nun instante de tempo determinado. Isto aporta unha gran flexibilidade ó sistema que lle permite adaptarse tanto ós requisitos de calidade de servizo dos usuarios como ó estado da canle radio. A capa de acceso ó medio (MAC) destes sistemas encárgase de configurar os diversos parámetros proporcionados pola capa física OFDMA, ademais de xestionar os diversos fluxos de información de cada usuario, transformando os paquetes de capas superiores en paquetes da capa física. Neste traballo estúdase o deseño e implementación das capas MAC e PHY de sistemas de comunicación 4G ademais da súa aplicabilidade en sistemas de transporte ferroviarios. Por unha parte, abórdase o deseño e implementación en tempo real do estándar WiMAX. Estúdanse os mecanismos necesarios para establecer comunicacións bidireccionais entre unha estación base e múltiples dispositivos móbiles. Ademais, estúdase como realizar esta implementación nunha arquitectura hardware baseada en DSPs e FPGAs, na que se implementan as capas MAC e PHY. Dado que esta arquitectura ten uns recursos computacionais limitados, tamén se estudan as necesidades de cada módulo do sistema para poder garantir o funcionamento en tempo real do sistema completo. Por outra parte, tamén se estuda a aplicabilidade dos sistemas 4G a sistemas de transporte públicos. Os sistemas de comunicacións e sinalización son unha parte vital para os sistemas de transporte ferroviario e metro. As comunicacións sen fíos utilizadas por estes sistemas deben ser robustas e proporcionar unha alta fiabilidade para permitir a supervisión, control e seguridade do tráfico ferroviario. Para levar a cabo esta avaliación de viabilidade realízanse simulacións de redes de comunicacións LTE en contornos de transporte ferroviarios, comprobando o cumprimento dos requisitos de fiabilidade e seguridade. Realízanse diferentes simulacións do sistema de comunicacións para poder ser avaliadas e seleccionar a configuración e arquitectura do sistema máis axeitada en función do escenario considerado. Tamén se efectúan simulacións de redes baseadas en Wi-Fi, dado que é a solución máis utilizada nos metros, para confrontar os resultados cos obtidos para LTE. Para que os resultados das simulacións sexan realistas débense empregar modelos de propagación radio axeitados. Nas simulacións utilízanse tanto modelos deterministas como modelos baseados nos resultados de campañas de medida realizadas nestes escenarios. Nas simulacións empréganse os diferentes fluxos de información destes escenarios para comprobar que se cumpren os requisitos de calidade de servicio (QoS). Por exemplo, os fluxos críticos para o control ferroviario, como European Train Control System (ETCS) ou Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC), necesitan unha alta fiabilidade e un retardo mínimo nas comunicacións para garantir o correcto funcionamento do sistema.[Resumen] Los sistemas de comunicación inalámbricos de cuarta y quinta generación (4G y 5G) utilizan una capa física (PHY) basada en modulaciones multiportadora para la transmisión de datos con un gran ancho de banda. Este tipo de modulaciones han demostrado tener una alta eficiencia espectral a la vez que permiten corregir de forma sencilla los efectos del canal radio. Estos sistemas utilizan OFDMA como mecanismo para el reparto de los recursos radio disponibles entre los diferentes usuarios. Este reparto se realiza asignando un subconjunto de subportadoras a cada usuario en un instante de tiempo determinado. Esto aporta una gran flexibilidad al sistema que le permite adaptarse tanto a los requisitos de calidad de servicio de los usuarios como al estado del canal radio. La capa de acceso al medio (MAC) de estos sistemas se encarga de configurar los diversos parámetros proporcionados por la capa física OFDMA, además de gestionar los diversos flujos de información de cada usuario, transformando los paquetes de capas superiores en paquetes de la capa física. En este trabajo se estudia el diseño e implementación de las capas MAC y PHY de sistemas de comunicación 4G además de su aplicabilidad en sistemas de transporte ferroviarios. Por una parte, se aborda el diseño e implementación en tiempo real del estándar WiMAX. Se estudian los mecanismos necesarios para establecer comunicaciones bidireccionales entre una estación base y múltiples dispositivos móviles. Además, se estudia cómo realizar esta implementación en una arquitectura hardware basada en DSPs y FPGAs, en la que se implementan las capas MAC y PHY. Dado que esta arquitectura tiene unos recursos computacionales limitados, también se estudian las necesidades de cada módulo del sistema para poder garantizar el funcionamiento en tiempo real del sistema completo. Por otra parte, también se estudia la aplicabilidad de los sistemas 4G a sistemas de transporte públicos. Los sistemas de comunicaciones y señalización son una parte vital para los sistemas de transporte ferroviario y metro. Las comunicaciones inalámbricas utilizadas por estos sistemas deben ser robustas y proporcionar una alta fiabilidad para permitir la supervisión, control y seguridad del tráfico ferroviario. Para llevar a cabo esta evaluación de viabilidad se realizan simulaciones de redes de comunicaciones LTE en entornos de transporte ferroviarios, comprobando si se cumplen los requisitos de fiabilidad y seguridad. Se realizan diferentes simulaciones del sistema de comunicaciones para poder ser evaluados y seleccionar la configuración y arquitectura del sistema más adecuada en función del escenario planteado. También se efectúan simulaciones de redes basadas en Wi-Fi, dado que es la solución más utilizada en los metros, para comparar los resultados con los obtenidos para LTE. Para que los resultados de las simulaciones sean realistas se deben utilizar modelos de propagación radio apropiados. En las simulaciones se utilizan tanto modelos deterministas como modelos basados en los resultados de campañas de medida realizadas en estos escenarios. En las simulaciones se utilizan los diferentes flujos de información de estos escenarios para comprobar que se cumplen sus requisitos de calidad de servicio. Por ejemplo, los flujos críticos para el control ferroviario, como European Train Control System (ETCS) o Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC), necesitan una alta fiabilidad y un retardo bajo en las comunicaciones para garantizar el correcto funcionamiento del sistema.[Abstract] The fourth and fifth generation wireless communication systems (4G and 5G) use a physical layer (PHY) based on multicarrier modulations for data transmission using high bandwidth. This type of modulations has shown to provide high spectral efficiency while allowing low complexity radio channel equalization. These systems use OFDMA as a mechanism for distributing the available radio resources among different users. This allocation is done by assigning a subset of subcarriers to each user in a given instant of time. This provides great flexibility to the system that allows it to adapt to both the quality of service requirements of users and the radio channel state. The media access layer (MAC) of these systems is in charge of configuring the multiple OFDMA PHY layer parameters, in addition to managing the data flows of each user, transforming the higher layer packets into PHY layer packets. This work studies the design and implementation of MAC and PHY layers of 4G communication systems as well as their applicability in rail transport systems. On the one hand, the design and implementation in real time of the WiMAX standard is addressed. The required mechanisms to establish bidirectional communications between a base station and several mobile devices are also evaluated. Moreover, a MAC layer and PHY layer implementation is presented, using a hardware architecture based in DSPs and FPGAs. Since this architecture has limited computational resources, the requirements of each processing block of the system are also studied in order to guarantee the real time operation of the complete system. On the other hand, the applicability of 4G systems to public transportation systems is also studied. Communications and signaling systems are a vital part of rail and metro transport systems. The wireless communications used by these systems must be robust and provide high reliability to enable the supervision, control and safety of rail traffic. To carry out this feasibility assessment, LTE communications network simulations are performed in rail transport environments to verify that reliability and safety requirements are met. Several simulations are carried out in order to evaluate the system performance and select the most appropriate system configuration in each case. Simulations of Wi-Fi based networks are also carried out, since it is the most used solution in subways, to compare the results with those obtained for LTE. To perform the simulations correctly, appropriate radio propagation models must be used. Both deterministic models and models based on the results of measurement campaigns in these scenarios are used in the simulations. The simulations use the different information flows present in the railway transportation systems to verify that its quality of service requirements are met. For example, critical flows for railway control, such as the European Train Control System (ETCS) or Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC), require high reliability and low delay communications to ensure the proper functioning of the system

Survey of Spectrum Sharing for Inter-Technology Coexistence

Increasing capacity demands in emerging wireless technologies are expected to be met by network densification and spectrum bands open to multiple technologies. These will, in turn, increase the level of interference and also result in more complex inter-technology interactions, which will need to be managed through spectrum sharing mechanisms. Consequently, novel spectrum sharing mechanisms should be designed to allow spectrum access for multiple technologies, while efficiently utilizing the spectrum resources overall. Importantly, it is not trivial to design such efficient mechanisms, not only due to technical aspects, but also due to regulatory and business model constraints. In this survey we address spectrum sharing mechanisms for wireless inter-technology coexistence by means of a technology circle that incorporates in a unified, system-level view the technical and non-technical aspects. We thus systematically explore the spectrum sharing design space consisting of parameters at different layers. Using this framework, we present a literature review on inter-technology coexistence with a focus on wireless technologies with equal spectrum access rights, i.e. (i) primary/primary, (ii) secondary/secondary, and (iii) technologies operating in a spectrum commons. Moreover, we reflect on our literature review to identify possible spectrum sharing design solutions and performance evaluation approaches useful for future coexistence cases. Finally, we discuss spectrum sharing design challenges and suggest future research directions