Communications protocols for wireless sensor networks in perturbed environment

This thesis is mainly in the Smart Grid (SG) domain. SGs improve the safety of electrical networks and allow a more adapted use of electricity storage, available in a limited way. SGs also increase overall energy efficiency by reducing peak consumption. The use of this technology is the most appropriate solution because it allows more efficient energy management. In this context, manufacturers such as Hydro-Quebec deploy sensor networks in the nerve centers to control major equipment. To reduce deployment costs and cabling complexity, the option of a wireless sensor network seems the most obvious solution. However, deploying a sensor network requires in-depth knowledge of the environment. High voltages substations are strategic points in the power grid and generate impulse noise that can degrade the performance of wireless communications. The works in this thesis are focused on the development of high performance communication protocols for the profoundly disturbed environments. For this purpose, we have proposed an approach based on the concatenation of rank metric and convolutional coding with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. This technique is very efficient in reducing the bursty nature of impulsive noise while having a quite low level of complexity. Another solution based on a multi-antenna system is also designed. We have proposed a cooperative closed-loop coded MIMO system based on rank metric code and max−dmin precoder. The second technique is also an optimal solution for both improving the reliability of the system and energy saving in wireless sensor networks

Canonical form for poset codes and coding-decoding schemes for expected loss

Orientador: Marcelo FirerTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Matemática Estatística e Computação CientíficaResumo: No contexto de códigos corretores de erros, métricas são utilizadas para definir decodificadores de máxima proximidade, uma alternativa aos decodificadores de máxima verossimilhança. A família de métricas poset tem sido extensivamente estudada no contexto de teoria de códigos. Considerando a estrutura do grupo de isometrias lineares, é obtida uma forma canônica para matrizes geradoras de códigos lineares. Esta forma canônica permite obter expressões e limitantes analíticos para alguns invariantes clássicos da teoria: raio de empacotamento e complexidade de síndrome. Ainda, substituindo a probabilidade de erro pela perda esperada definida pelo desvio médio quadrático (entre a informação original e a informação decodificada), definimos uma proposta de codificação com ordem lexicográfica que, em algumas situações é ótima e em outras, as simulações feitas sugerem um desempenho ao menos subótimo. Finalmente, relacionamos a medida de perda esperada com proteção desigual de erros, fornecendo uma construção de códigos com dois níveis de proteção desigual de erros e com perda esperada menor que a obtida pelo produto de dois códigos ótimos, que separam as informações que são protegidas de modo diferenciadoAbstract: In the context of error-correcting codes, metrics are used to define minimum distance decoders, an alternative to maximum likelihood decoders. The family of poset metrics has been extensively studied in the context of coding theory. Considering the structure of the group of linear isometries, we obtain a canonical form for generator matrices of linear codes. The canonical form allows to obtain analytics expressions and bounds for classical invariants of the theory: packing radius and syndrome complexity. By substituting the error probability by the expected loss defined by the mean square deviation (between the original information and the decoded information), we propose an encoder scheme which, in some situations is optimal, and in others the simulations suggest a performance at least sub-optimal. Finally, we relate the expected loss measure with unequal error protection, providing a construction of codes with two levels of unequal error protection and expected loss smaller than the one obtained by the product of two optimal codes, which divide the information that is protected differentlyDoutoradoMatematicaDoutor em Matemática141586/2014-1CNPQCAPE

Near-capacity fixed-rate and rateless channel code constructions

Fixed-rate and rateless channel code constructions are designed for satisfying conflicting design tradeoffs, leading to codes that benefit from practical implementations, whilst offering a good bit error ratio (BER) and block error ratio (BLER) performance. More explicitly, two novel low-density parity-check code (LDPC) constructions are proposed; the first construction constitutes a family of quasi-cyclic protograph LDPC codes, which has a Vandermonde-like parity-check matrix (PCM). The second construction constitutes a specific class of protograph LDPC codes, which are termed as multilevel structured (MLS) LDPC codes. These codes possess a PCM construction that allows the coexistence of both pseudo-randomness as well as a structure requiring a reduced memory. More importantly, it is also demonstrated that these benefits accrue without any compromise in the attainable BER/BLER performance. We also present the novel concept of separating multiple users by means of user-specific channel codes, which is referred to as channel code division multiple access (CCDMA), and provide an example based on MLS LDPC codes. In particular, we circumvent the difficulty of having potentially high memory requirements, while ensuring that each user’s bits in the CCDMA system are equally protected. With regards to rateless channel coding, we propose a novel family of codes, which we refer to as reconfigurable rateless codes, that are capable of not only varying their code-rate but also to adaptively modify their encoding/decoding strategy according to the near-instantaneous channel conditions. We demonstrate that the proposed reconfigurable rateless codes are capable of shaping their own degree distribution according to the nearinstantaneous requirements imposed by the channel, but without any explicit channel knowledge at the transmitter. Additionally, a generalised transmit preprocessing aided closed-loop downlink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system is presented, in which both the channel coding components as well as the linear transmit precoder exploit the knowledge of the channel state information (CSI). More explicitly, we embed a rateless code in a MIMO transmit preprocessing scheme, in order to attain near-capacity performance across a wide range of channel signal-to-ratios (SNRs), rather than only at a specific SNR. The performance of our scheme is further enhanced with the aid of a technique, referred to as pilot symbol assisted rateless (PSAR) coding, whereby a predetermined fraction of pilot bits is appropriately interspersed with the original information bits at the channel coding stage, instead of multiplexing pilots at the modulation stage, as in classic pilot symbol assisted modulation (PSAM). We subsequently demonstrate that the PSAR code-aided transmit preprocessing scheme succeeds in gleaning more information from the inserted pilots than the classic PSAM technique, because the pilot bits are not only useful for sounding the channel at the receiver but also beneficial for significantly reducing the computational complexity of the rateless channel decoder

Network coded wireless architecture

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-197).Wireless mesh networks promise cheap Internet access, easy deployment, and extended range. In their current form, however, these networks suffer from both limited throughput and low reliability; hence they cannot meet the demands of applications such as file sharing, high definition video, and gaming. Motivated by these problems, we explore an alternative design that addresses these challenges. This dissertation presents a network coded architecture that significantly improves throughput and reliability. It makes a simple yet fundamental switch in network design: instead of routers just storing and forwarding received packets, they mix (or code) packets' content before forwarding. We show through practical systems how routers can exploit this new functionality to harness the intrinsic characteristics of the wireless medium to improve performance. We develop three systems; each reveals a different benefit of our network coded design. COPE observes that wireless broadcast naturally creates an overlap in packets received across routers, and develops a new network coding algorithm to exploit this overlap to deliver the same data in fewer transmissions, thereby improving throughput. ANC pushes network coding to the signal level, showing how to exploit strategic interference to correctly deliver data from concurrent senders, further increasing throughput. Finally, MIXIT presents a symbol-level network code that exploits wireless spatial diversity, forwarding correct symbols even if they are contained in corrupted packets to provide high throughput reliable transfers. The contributions of this dissertation are multifold. First, it builds a strong connection between the theory of network coding and wireless system design. Specifically, the systems presented in this dissertation were the first to show that network coding can be cleanly integrated into the wireless network stack to deliver practical and measurable gains. The work also presents novel algorithms that enrich the theory of network coding, extending it to operate over multiple unicast flows, analog signals, and soft-information.(cont.) Second, we present prototype implementations and testbed evaluations of our systems. Our results show that network coding delivers large performance gains ranging from a few percent to several-fold depending on the traffic mix and the topology. Finally, this work makes a clear departure from conventional network design. Research in wireless networks has largely proceeded in isolation, with the electrical engineers focusing on the physical and lower layers, while the computer scientists worked up from the network layer, with the packet being the only interface. This dissertation pokes a hole in this contract, disposing of artificial abstractions such as indivisible packets and point-to-point links in favor of a more natural abstraction that allows the network and the lower layers to collaborate on the common objectives of improving throughput and reliability using network coding as the building block. At the same time, the design maintains desirable properties such as being distributed, low-complexity, implementable, and integrable with the rest of the network stack.by Sachin Rajsekhar Katti.Ph.D

Physical layer network coding based on compute-and-forward

In this thesis, Compute-and-Forward is considered, where the system model consists of multiple users and a single base station. Compute-and-Forward is a type of lattice network coding which is deemed to avoid backhaul load and is therefore an important aspect of modern wireless communications networks. Initially we propose an implementation of construction D into Compute-and-Forward and investigate the implementation of multilayer lattice encoding and decoding strategies. Here we show that adopting a construction D lattice we can implement a practical lattice decoder in Compute-and-Forward. During this investigation and implementation of multilayer lattice encoding and decoding we discover an error floor due to an interaction between code layers in the multilayer decoder. We analyse and describe this interaction with mathematical expressions and give detail using lemmas and proofs. Secondly, we demonstrate the BER performance of the system model for unit valued channels, integer valued channels and complex integer valued channels. We show that using the derived expressions for interaction that the decoders on each code layer are able to indeed decode. The BER results are demonstrated for two scenarios using zero order and second order Reed-Muller codes and first and third order Reed-Muller codes. Finally, we extend our system model using construction D and existing conventional decoders to include coefficient selection algorithms. We employ an exhaustive search algorithm and analyse the throughput performance of the codes. Again, we extend this to both our models. With the throughput of the codes we see that each layer can be successfully decoded considering the interaction expressions. The purpose of the performance results is to show decodability with the extension of using differing codes

Information Theoretic Generation of Multiple Secret Keys

This dissertation studies the problem of secret key generation for encrypted group communication in a network, based on an information theoretic approach. This approach, which relies on a provable form of security, also provides suggestions for key constructions. We examine the problem of the simultaneous generation of multiple keys by different groups of terminals intended for encrypted group communication, in certain three-terminal source models, which capture the salient features of general multiterminal models. We characterize the rates at which two designated pairs of terminals can simultaneously generate private keys, each of which is effectively concealed from the remaining terminal, and the rates at which the following two types of keys can be generated simultaneously: (i) all the three terminals generate a (common) secret key, which is effectively concealed from an eavesdropper; and (ii) a designated pair of terminals generate a private key, which is effectively concealed from the remaining terminal as well as the eavesdropper. Furthermore, we develop an approach for the construction of a new class of provably secure secret keys by terminals in several simple multiterminal source models, which exploits innate connections between secret key generation and multiterminal Slepian-Wolf near-lossless data compression (sans secrecy restrictions). Implementations of these constructions using low density parity check (LDPC) channel codes are illustrated

Microelectronic Implementation of Dicode PPM System Employing RS Codes

Optical fibre systems have played a key role in making possible the extraordinary growth in world-wide communications that has occurred in the last 25 years, and are vital in enabling the proliferating use of the Internet. Its high bandwidth capabilities, low attenuation characteristics, low cost, and immunity from the many disturbances that can afflict electrical wires and wireless communication links make it ideal for gigabit transmission and a major building block in the telecommunication infrastructure. A number of different techniques are used for the transmission of digital information between the transmitter and receiver sides in optical fibre system. One type of coding scheme is Pulse Position Modulation (PPM) in which the location of one pulse during 2M time slots is used to convey digital information from M bits. Although all the studies refer to advantages of PPM, it comes at a cost of large bandwidth and a complicated implementation. Therefore, variant PPM schemes have been proposed to transmit the data such as: Multiple Pulse Position Modulation (MPPM), Differential Pulse Position Modulation (DPPM), Pulse Interval Modulation (PIM), Digital Pulse Interval Modulation (DPIM), Dual Header Pulse Interval Modulation (DH-PIM), Dicode Pulse Position Modulation (DiPPM). The DiPPM scheme has been considered as a solution for the bandwidth consumption issue that other existing PPM formats suffer from. This is because it has a line rate that is twice that of the original data rate. DiPPM can be efficiently implemented as it employs two slots to transmit one bit of pulse code modulation (PCM). A PCM conversion from logic zero to logic one provides a pulse in slot RESET (R) and from one to zero provides a pulse in slot SET (S). No pulse is transmitted if the PCM data is unvarying. Like other PPM schemes, DiPPM suffers from three types of pulse detection errors wrong slot, false alarm, and erasure. The aim of this work was to build an error correction system, Reed Solomon (RS) code, which would overcome or reduce the error sources in the DiPPM system. An original mathematical program was developed using the Mathcad software to find the optimum RS parameters which can improve the DiPPM system error performance, number of photons and transmission efficiency. The results showed that the DiPPM system employing RS code offered an improvement over uncoded DiPPM of 5.12 dB, when RS operating at the optimum code rate of approximately ¾ and a codeword length of 25 symbols. Moreover, the error performance of the uncoded DiPPM is compared with the DiPPM system employing maximum likelihood sequence detector (MLSD), and RS code in terms of number of photons per pulse, transmission efficiency, and bandwidth expansion. The DiPPM with RS code offers superior performance compared to the uncoded DiPPM and DiPPM using MLSD, requiring only 4.5x103 photons per pulse when operating at a bandwidth equal to or above 0.9 times the original data rate. Further investigation took place on the DiPPM system employing RS code. A Matlab program and very high speed circuit Hardware Description language (VHDL) were developed to simulate the designed communication system. Simulation results were considered and agreed with the previous DiPPM theory. For the first time, this thesis presents the practical implementation for the DiPPM system employing RS code using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)