Deep Ensemble of Weighted Viterbi Decoders for Tail-Biting Convolutional Codes

Tail-biting convolutional codes extend the classical zero-termination convolutional codes: Both encoding schemes force the equality of start and end states, but under the tail-biting each state is a valid termination. This paper proposes a machine-learning approach to improve the state-of-the-art decoding of tail-biting codes, focusing on the widely employed short length regime as in the LTE standard. This standard also includes a CRC code. First, we parameterize the circular Viterbi algorithm, a baseline decoder that exploits the circular nature of the underlying trellis. An ensemble combines multiple such weighted decoders, each decoder specializes in decoding words from a specific region of the channel words' distribution. A region corresponds to a subset of termination states; the ensemble covers the entire states space. A non-learnable gating satisfies two goals: it filters easily decoded words and mitigates the overhead of executing multiple weighted decoders. The CRC criterion is employed to choose only a subset of experts for decoding purpose. Our method achieves FER improvement of up to 0.75dB over the CVA in the waterfall region for multiple code lengths, adding negligible computational complexity compared to the circular Viterbi algorithm in high SNRs

Feedback Communication Systems with Limitations on Incremental Redundancy

This paper explores feedback systems using incremental redundancy (IR) with noiseless transmitter confirmation (NTC). For IR-NTC systems based on {\em finite-length} codes (with blocklength $N$) and decoding attempts only at {\em certain specified decoding times}, this paper presents the asymptotic expansion achieved by random coding, provides rate-compatible sphere-packing (RCSP) performance approximations, and presents simulation results of tail-biting convolutional codes. The information-theoretic analysis shows that values of $N$ relatively close to the expected latency yield the same random-coding achievability expansion as with $N = \infty$. However, the penalty introduced in the expansion by limiting decoding times is linear in the interval between decoding times. For binary symmetric channels, the RCSP approximation provides an efficiently-computed approximation of performance that shows excellent agreement with a family of rate-compatible, tail-biting convolutional codes in the short-latency regime. For the additive white Gaussian noise channel, bounded-distance decoding simplifies the computation of the marginal RCSP approximation and produces similar results as analysis based on maximum-likelihood decoding for latencies greater than 200. The efficiency of the marginal RCSP approximation facilitates optimization of the lengths of incremental transmissions when the number of incremental transmissions is constrained to be small or the length of the incremental transmissions is constrained to be uniform after the first transmission. Finally, an RCSP-based decoding error trajectory is introduced that provides target error rates for the design of rate-compatible code families for use in feedback communication systems.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figure

A FEC Decoding in LTE and WiMAX Systems

Abstract: Recent wireless systems such as EDGE, WIMAX, LTE are using LDPC, tail biting and turbo convolution codes as the forward error correction codes (FEC) for the data and overhead channels. Therefore many decoding algorithms are introduced for decoding these codes. Using different decoding approaches lead to different hardware architectures. As, in new wireless systems these codes work side by side a single universal decoder which is efficient in handling decoding of all the codes

Information-Coupled Turbo Codes for LTE Systems

We propose a new class of information-coupled (IC) Turbo codes to improve the transport block (TB) error rate performance for long-term evolution (LTE) systems, while keeping the hybrid automatic repeat request protocol and the Turbo decoder for each code block (CB) unchanged. In the proposed codes, every two consecutive CBs in a TB are coupled together by sharing a few common information bits. We propose a feed-forward and feed-back decoding scheme and a windowed (WD) decoding scheme for decoding the whole TB by exploiting the coupled information between CBs. Both decoding schemes achieve a considerable signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) gain compared to the LTE Turbo codes. We construct the extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) functions for the LTE Turbo codes and our proposed IC Turbo codes from the EXIT functions of underlying convolutional codes. An SNR gain upper bound of our proposed codes over the LTE Turbo codes is derived and calculated by the constructed EXIT charts. Numerical results show that the proposed codes achieve an SNR gain of 0.25 dB to 0.72 dB for various code parameters at a TB error rate level of $10^{-2}$, which complies with the derived SNR gain upper bound.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure

Feasibility study of 5G low-latency packet radio communications without preambles

This thesis deals with the feasibility of having lower latency for radio communication of short packets, which is the major traffic in the fifth generation (5G) of cellular systems. We will examine the possibility of using turbo synchronization instead of using a long preamble, which is needed for Data-Aided (DA) synchronization. The idea behind this is that short packets are required in low-latency applications. The overhead of preambles is very significant in case of short packets. Turbo synchronization allows to work with short or null preambles. The simulations will be run for a turbo synchronizer which has been implemented according to the Expectation Maximization (EM) formulation of the problem. The simulation results show that the implemented turbo synchronizer outperforms or attains the DA synchronizer in terms of reliability, accuracy and acquisition range for carrier phase synchronization. It means that the idea of eliminating the preamble from the short packet seems practical. The only downward is that there is a packet size limitation for the effective functionality of turbo synchronizer. Simulations indicate that the number of transmitted symbols should be higher than 128 coded symbols

RS Codes for Downlink LTE System over LTE-MIMO Channel

Nowdays, different applications require a modern generation of mobile communication systems; long term evolution (LTE) is a candidate to achieve this purpose. One important challenge in wireless communications, including LTE systems, is the suitable techniques of controlling errors that degrade system performance in transmission systems over multipath fading channels. Different forward Error correction (FEC) techniqes are required to improve the robustness of transmission channels. In this paper, Reed-Solomon (RS) codes were used with a downlink LTE system over a LTE-MIMO channel. This research contributes by combining RS codes that have low decoding complexity (by using hard decision decoding) with a LTE-MIMO channel to improve downlink LTE system performance. The results show that using RS codes clearly improves LTE system performance and thus decreases Bit Error Rates (BER) more than convolutional and turbo codes which have high decoding complexity. Lastly, the results show also extra improvements of downlink LTE system performance by increasing the number of antennas of the LTE-MIMO channel

CRC-Aided High-Rate Convolutional Codes With Short Blocklengths for List Decoding

Recently, rate-1/n zero-terminated (ZT) and tail-biting (TB) convolutional codes (CCs) with cyclic redundancy check (CRC)-aided list decoding have been shown to closely approach the random-coding union (RCU) bound for short blocklengths. This paper designs CRC polynomials for rate- (n-1)/n ZT and TB CCs with short blocklengths. This paper considers both standard rate-(n-1)/n CC polynomials and rate- (n-1)/n designs resulting from puncturing a rate-1/2 code. The CRC polynomials are chosen to maximize the minimum distance d_min and minimize the number of nearest neighbors A_(d_min) . For the standard rate-(n-1)/n codes, utilization of the dual trellis proposed by Yamada et al. lowers the complexity of CRC-aided serial list Viterbi decoding (SLVD). CRC-aided SLVD of the TBCCs closely approaches the RCU bound at a blocklength of 128. This paper compares the FER performance (gap to the RCU bound) and complexity of the CRC-aided standard and punctured ZTCCs and TBCCs. This paper also explores the complexity-performance trade-off for three TBCC decoders: a single-trellis approach, a multi-trellis approach, and a modified single-trellis approach with pre-processing using the wrap around Viterbi algorithm.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2111.0792

Modelação comportamental da camada física de NB-IoT em downlink

Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e TelecomunicaçõesThe Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm de nes a fully connected network of devices enabling new forms of interaction between users and devices. The constant growth of these networks, as well as an increasing demand for more reliable, low bit rate and massive communication data ows lead to the emergence of new technologies and set of standards, such as, the Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN). In June 2016, 3GPP, the consortium responsible for LTE development and standardization, released a new licensed band based standard, named Narrow Band (NB) IoT. NB-IoT was designed based on the same principles of other LPWAN standards, providing better coverage and additionally an easier integration on existing cellular systems. In this dissertation a study on the NB-IoT Physical Layer is presented along with an open source behavioral implementation in MATLAB of the downlink transmission and reception chains. The system generates and recovers one radio frame successfully performings procedures such as MIB and SIB1-N extracting along with scheduling and recovering data scheduled through control channels by higher layer paramenters. The project models and executes the downlink transmission (eNodeB) and reception (terminal) PHYs either in a pure simulation environment using di erent channel models, as well as integrated with an USRP software de ned radio device for co-simulation. The simulation and co-simulation results are presented evaluating the transmission's quality and performance of the implemented Zero Forcing equalizer.O paradigma da Internet of Things (IoT) define uma rede interligada de dispositivos que permite o surgimento de novas formas de interacção entre utilizadores e dispositivos. O constante crescimento destas redes assim como a crescente demanda por uma fiabilidade maior, bit rates mais baixos e circulação massiva de informação insurgiu o aparecimento de novas tecnologias tais como as Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN). Em Junho de 2016 a 3GPP, o órgão responsável pelo LTE, lançou um novo standard para bandas licenciadas o Narrowband (NB) -IoT. O NB-IoT foi desenhado com base nos mesmos princípios que as outras LPWAN com o acréscimo de uma maior cobertura assim como uma mais fácil integração em sistemas celulares existentes. Nesta dissertação aborda-se um estudo da sua camada física (PHY Layer) juntamente com uma implementação comportamental open source em Matlab das cadeias de transmissão e recepção em downlink. O projecto modela e executa transmissões em downlink (eNodeB) e sua recepcção (terminal) tanto em ambiente simulado como integrado com um dispositivo de software defined radio, USRP, para validação laboratorial. Os resultados obtidos tanto de simulação como co-simulação são apresentados avaliando a qualidade de transmissão assim como o comportamento do equalizador Zero Forcing implementado