Adaptive beamforming and switching in smart antenna systems

The ever increasing requirement for providing large bandwidth and seamless data access to commuters has prompted new challenges to wireless solution providers. The communication channel characteristics between mobile clients and base station change rapidly with the increasing traveling speed of vehicles. Smart antenna systems with adaptive beamforming and switching technology is the key component to tackle the challenges. As a spatial filter, beamformer has long been widely used in wireless communication, radar, acoustics, medical imaging systems to enhance the received signal from a particular looking direction while suppressing noise and interference from other directions. The adaptive beamforming algorithm provides the capability to track the varying nature of the communication channel characteristics. However, the conventional adaptive beamformer assumes that the Direction of Arrival (DOA) of the signal of interest changes slowly, although the interference direction could be changed dynamically. The proliferation of High Speed Rail (HSR) and seamless wireless communication between infrastructure ( roadside, trackside equipment) and the vehicles (train, car, boat etc.) brings a unique challenge for adaptive beamforming due to its rapid change of DOA. For a HSR train with 250km/h, the DOA change speed can be up to 4⁰ per millisecond. To address these unique challenges, faster algorithms to calculate the beamforming weight based on the rapid-changing DOA are needed. In this dissertation, two strategies are adopted to address the challenges. The first one is to improve the weight calculation speed. The second strategy is to improve the speed of DOA estimation for the impinging signal by leveraging on the predefined constrained route for the transportation market. Based on these concepts, various algorithms in beampattern generation and adaptive weight control are evaluated and investigated in this thesis. The well known Generalized Sidelobe Cancellation (GSC) architecture is adopted in this dissertation. But it faces serious signal cancellation problem when the estimated DOA deviates from the actual DOA which is severe in high mobility scenarios as in the transportation market. Algorithms to improve various parts of the GSC are proposed in this dissertation. Firstly, a Cyclic Variable Step Size (CVSS) algorithm for adjusting the Least Mean Square (LMS) step size with simplicity for implementation is proposed and evaluated. Secondly, a Kalman filter based solution to fuse different sensor information for a faster estimation and tracking of the DOA is investigated and proposed. Thirdly, to address the DOA mismatch issue caused by the rapid DOA change, a fast blocking matrix generation algorithm named Simplifized Zero Placement Algorithm (SZPA) is proposed to mitigate the signal cancellation in GSC. Fourthly, to make the beam pattern robust against DOA mismatch, a fast algorithm for the generation of at beam pattern named Zero Placement Flat Top (ZPFT) for the fixed beamforming path in GSC is proposed. Finally, to evaluate the effectiveness and performance of the beamforming algorithms, wireless channel simulation is needed. One of the challenging aspects for wireless simulation is the coupling between Probability Density Function (PDF) and Power Spectral Density (PSD) for a random variable. In this regard, a simplified solution to simulate Non Gaussian wireless channel is proposed, proved and evaluated for the effectiveness of the algorithm. With the above optimizations, the controlled simulation shows that the at top beampattern can be generated 380 times faster than iterative optimization method and blocking matrix can be generated 9 times faster than normal SVD method while the same overall optimum state performance can be achieved

Metamaterials and Metasurfaces

Ye

Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2021, nr 1

kwartalni

Analysis and design of smart antenna arrays (SAAs) for improved directivity at GHz range for wireless communication systems.

Doctor of Philosophy in Electronic Engineering. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2018.Abstract available in PDF file

Effects of errorless learning on the acquisition of velopharyngeal movement control

Session 1pSC - Speech Communication: Cross-Linguistic Studies of Speech Sound Learning of the Languages of Hong Kong (Poster Session)The implicit motor learning literature suggests a benefit for learning if errors are minimized during practice. This study investigated whether the same principle holds for learning velopharyngeal movement control. Normal speaking participants learned to produce hypernasal speech in either an errorless learning condition (in which the possibility for errors was limited) or an errorful learning condition (in which the possibility for errors was not limited). Nasality level of the participants’ speech was measured by nasometer and reflected by nasalance scores (in %). Errorless learners practiced producing hypernasal speech with a threshold nasalance score of 10% at the beginning, which gradually increased to a threshold of 50% at the end. The same set of threshold targets were presented to errorful learners but in a reversed order. Errors were defined by the proportion of speech with a nasalance score below the threshold. The results showed that, relative to errorful learners, errorless learners displayed fewer errors (50.7% vs. 17.7%) and a higher mean nasalance score (31.3% vs. 46.7%) during the acquisition phase. Furthermore, errorless learners outperformed errorful learners in both retention and novel transfer tests. Acknowledgment: Supported by The University of Hong Kong Strategic Research Theme for Sciences of Learning © 2012 Acoustical Society of Americapublished_or_final_versio

Enhancement and performance analysis for 3D beamforming systems

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonThis thesis is about the researching for 5th generation (5G) communication system, which focus on the improvement of 3D beamforming technology in the antenna array using in the Full Dimension Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (FD-MIMO) system and Millimeter-wave (mm-wave) system. When the 3D beamforming technology has been used in 5G communication system, the beam needs a weighting matrix to direct the beam to cover the UEs, but some compromises should be considered. If the narrow beams are used to transmit signals, then more energy is focused in the desired direction, but this has a restricted coverage area to a single or few User Equipments (UEs). If the BS covers multiple UEs, then multiple beams need to be steered towards more groups of UEs, but there is more interference between these beams from their side lobes when they are transmitted at same time. These challenges are waiting to be solved, which are about interference between each beam when the 3D beamforming technology is used. Therefore, there needs to be one method to decrease the generated interference between each beam through directing the side lobe beams and nulls to minimize interference in the 3D beamforming system. Simultaneously, energy needs to be directed towards the desired direction. If it has been decided that one beam should covera cluster of UEs, then there will be a range of received Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) depending on the location of the UEs relative to the direction of the main beam. If the beam is directed towards a group of UEs then there needs be a clustering method to cluster the UEs. In order to cover multiple UEs, an improved K-means clustering algorithm is used to cluster the multiple UEs into different groups, which is based on the cosine distance. Itcan decrease the number of beams when multiple UEs need be covered by multiple beams at same time. Moreover, a new method has been developed to calculate the weighting matrix for beamforming. It can adjust the values of weighting matrix according to the UEs’ location and direct the main beam in a desired direction whilst minimizing its side lobes in other undesired directions. Then the minimum side lobe beamforming system only needs to know the UEs’ location and can be used to estimate the Channel State Information (CSI) of UEs. Therefore, the scheme also shows lower complexity when compared to the beamforming methods with pre-coding. In order to test the improved K-means clustering algorithm and the new weighting method that can enhance the performance for 3D beamforming system, the two simulation systems are simulated to show the results such as 3D beamforming LTE system and mm-wave system

Array Auto-calibration

In this thesis, efficient methods are presented to calibrate large or small aperture array systems containing different types of uncertainties. specifically the challenge of reducing the number of external sources required to calibrate an array is addressed and array calibration methods suitable for use when sources may be operating in the "near-far" field of the array are developed. Together, this can ease the overheads involved in calibrating and recalibrating an array system. In addition to presenting novel array calibration algorithms, this thesis also presents a novel transformation allowing a planar array to be expressed as a virtual uniform linear array of a much larger number of elements. This allows the array manifold of a planar array, which in general consists of non-hyperhelical curves, to be expressed using a number of hyperhelices which each correspond to the array manifold of a linear array. This hyperhelical structure has the potential to ease calibration overheads as well as having many other potential applications in array processing. This thesis presents novel pilot and auto array calibration schemes for estimating different types of array uncertainties. A novel pilot calibration algorithm is proposed whereby a single source transmitting from a known location (i.e. a pilot) at two carrier frequencies is used to estimate geometrical uncertainties in a planar array. This is achieved by exploiting the frequency dependence on the boundary between the "near-far" and "far" field of the array. In addition, an auto-calibration method is presented which doesn't require any external sources to estimate array uncertainties. Here, geometrical, complex gain and local oscillator (i.e. frequency and phase) uncertainties associated with the array elements are considered. In this approach, array elements transmit in turn to the others which operate as an array receiver. Large and small array apertures are investigated. Throughout the thesis, extensive computer simulations are presented to analyse the performance of the algorithms developed.Open Acces

Recent Advances in Signal Processing

The signal processing task is a very critical issue in the majority of new technological inventions and challenges in a variety of applications in both science and engineering fields. Classical signal processing techniques have largely worked with mathematical models that are linear, local, stationary, and Gaussian. They have always favored closed-form tractability over real-world accuracy. These constraints were imposed by the lack of powerful computing tools. During the last few decades, signal processing theories, developments, and applications have matured rapidly and now include tools from many areas of mathematics, computer science, physics, and engineering. This book is targeted primarily toward both students and researchers who want to be exposed to a wide variety of signal processing techniques and algorithms. It includes 27 chapters that can be categorized into five different areas depending on the application at hand. These five categories are ordered to address image processing, speech processing, communication systems, time-series analysis, and educational packages respectively. The book has the advantage of providing a collection of applications that are completely independent and self-contained; thus, the interested reader can choose any chapter and skip to another without losing continuity