Towards the Internet of Smart Trains: A Review on Industrial IoT-Connected Railways

[Abstract] Nowadays, the railway industry is in a position where it is able to exploit the opportunities created by the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and enabling communication technologies under the paradigm of Internet of Trains. This review details the evolution of communication technologies since the deployment of GSM-R, describing the main alternatives and how railway requirements, specifications and recommendations have evolved over time. The advantages of the latest generation of broadband communication systems (e.g., LTE, 5G, IEEE 802.11ad) and the emergence of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for the railway environment are also explained together with the strategic roadmap to ensure a smooth migration from GSM-R. Furthermore, this survey focuses on providing a holistic approach, identifying scenarios and architectures where railways could leverage better commercial IIoT capabilities. After reviewing the main industrial developments, short and medium-term IIoT-enabled services for smart railways are evaluated. Then, it is analyzed the latest research on predictive maintenance, smart infrastructure, advanced monitoring of assets, video surveillance systems, railway operations, Passenger and Freight Information Systems (PIS/FIS), train control systems, safety assurance, signaling systems, cyber security and energy efficiency. Overall, it can be stated that the aim of this article is to provide a detailed examination of the state-of-the-art of different technologies and services that will revolutionize the railway industry and will allow for confronting today challenges.Galicia. Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; ED431C 2016-045Galicia. Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; ED341D R2016/012Galicia. Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; ED431G/01Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España); TEC2013-47141-C4-1-RAgencia Estatal de Investigación (España); TEC2015-69648-REDCAgencia Estatal de Investigación (España); TEC2016-75067-C4-1-

Optical Wireless Data Center Networks

Bandwidth and computation-intensive Big Data applications in disciplines like social media, bio- and nano-informatics, Internet-of-Things (IoT), and real-time analytics, are pushing existing access and core (backbone) networks as well as Data Center Networks (DCNs) to their limits. Next generation DCNs must support continuously increasing network traffic while satisfying minimum performance requirements of latency, reliability, flexibility and scalability. Therefore, a larger number of cables (i.e., copper-cables and fiber optics) may be required in conventional wired DCNs. In addition to limiting the possible topologies, large number of cables may result into design and development problems related to wire ducting and maintenance, heat dissipation, and power consumption. To address the cabling complexity in wired DCNs, we propose OWCells, a class of optical wireless cellular data center network architectures in which fixed line of sight (LOS) optical wireless communication (OWC) links are used to connect the racks arranged in regular polygonal topologies. We present the OWCell DCN architecture, develop its theoretical underpinnings, and investigate routing protocols and OWC transceiver design. To realize a fully wireless DCN, servers in racks must also be connected using OWC links. There is, however, a difficulty of connecting multiple adjacent network components, such as servers in a rack, using point-to-point LOS links. To overcome this problem, we propose and validate the feasibility of an FSO-Bus to connect multiple adjacent network components using NLOS point-to-point OWC links. Finally, to complete the design of the OWC transceiver, we develop a new class of strictly and rearrangeably non-blocking multicast optical switches in which multicast is performed efficiently at the physical optical (lower) layer rather than upper layers (e.g., application layer). Advisors: Jitender S. Deogun and Dennis R. Alexande

Energy efficiency in cellular wireless networks

Energy efficiency of Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular communication networks has become a major concern for network operators, not only to reduce the operational costs, but also to reduce their environmental effects. Within LTE cellular networks, base stations are responsible for most of the energy consumption, consuming 70-95% or more of the network power depending on the network topology, configuration, radio technology and data rates that are used. Power control is an important function in cellular wireless networks and refers to setting the output power levels of transmitters, termed eNodeB in the downlink and user equipment (UEs) in the uplink. LTE utilizes two different mechanisms for uplink power control: Open Loop Power Control (OLPC) and Closed Loop Power Control (CLPC). Uplink OLPC is performed by the UE following eNodeB configuration and can compensate for long term channel variation such as path loss and shadowing. The uplink CLPC mechanism attempts to improve power control performance by compensating fast channel variations due to multipath fading. In CLPC the eNodeB sends Transmit Power Control (TPC) commands to the UE to adjust the UE’s transmit power. This thesis focuses on an Open Loop Power Control (OLPC) scheme for LTE uplink by using the Okumura-Hata propagation path loss model to set the User Equipment (UE) uplink transmit power control parameters in order to reduce the UE energy consumption. In general, the UE requires more power to connect to distant base stations than closer base stations and therefore this thesis analyses the required power levels using the Okumura-Hata propagation path loss model. Estimation of path loss is very important in initial deployment of wireless network and cell planning. This thesis analyses the Okumura-Hata propagation path loss in different receiver antenna heights (

A White Paper on Broadband Connectivity in 6G

Executive Summary This white paper explores the road to implementing broadband connectivity in future 6G wireless systems. Different categories of use cases are considered, from extreme capacity with peak data rates up to 1 Tbps, to raising the typical data rates by orders-of-magnitude, to support broadband connectivity at railway speeds up to 1000 km/h. To achieve these goals, not only the terrestrial networks will be evolved but they will also be integrated with satellite networks, all facilitating autonomous systems and various interconnected structures. We believe that several categories of enablers at the infrastructure, spectrum, and protocol/algorithmic levels are required to realize the intended broadband connectivity goals in 6G. At the infrastructure level, we consider ultra-massive MIMO technology (possibly implemented using holographic radio), intelligent reflecting surfaces, user-centric and scalable cell-free networking, integrated access and backhaul, and integrated space and terrestrial networks. At the spectrum level, the network must seamlessly utilize sub-6 GHz bands for coverage and spatial multiplexing of many devices, while higher bands will be used for pushing the peak rates of point-to-point links. The latter path will lead to THz communications complemented by visible light communications in specific scenarios. At the protocol/algorithmic level, the enablers include improved coding, modulation, and waveforms to achieve lower latencies, higher reliability, and reduced complexity. Different options will be needed to optimally support different use cases. The resource efficiency can be further improved by using various combinations of full-duplex radios, interference management based on rate-splitting, machine-learning-based optimization, coded caching, and broadcasting. Finally, the three levels of enablers must be utilized not only to deliver better broadband services in urban areas, but also to provide full-coverage broadband connectivity must be one of the key outcomes of 6G

Vehicular Communications for 5G Cooperative Small-Cell Networks

© 1967-2012 IEEE. Cooperative transmission is an effective approach for vehicular communications to improve wireless transmission capacity and reliability in fifth-generation (5G) small-cell networks. Based on distances between the vehicle and cooperative small-cell base stations (BSs), the cooperative probability and the coverage probability have been derived for 5G cooperative small-cell networks where small-cell BSs follow Poisson point process distributions. Furthermore, the vehicular handoff rate and the vehicular overhead ratio have been proposed to evaluate the vehicular mobility performance in 5G cooperative small-cell networks. To balance the vehicular communication capacity and the vehicular handoff ratio, an optimal vehicular overhead ratio can be achieved by adjusting the cooperative threshold of 5G cooperative small-cell networks