12 research outputs found
Channel Dynamics and SNR Tracking in Millimeter Wave Cellular Systems
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies are likely to play a significant
role in fifth-generation (5G) cellular systems. A key challenge in developing
systems in these bands is the potential for rapid channel dynamics: since
mmWave signals are blocked by many materials, small changes in the position or
orientation of the handset relative to objects in the environment can cause
large swings in the channel quality. This paper addresses the issue of tracking
the signal to noise ratio (SNR), which is an essential procedure for rate
prediction, handover and radio link failure detection. A simple method for
estimating the SNR from periodic synchronization signals is considered. The
method is then evaluated using real experiments in common blockage scenarios
combined with outdoor statistical models
Prediction of SINR using BER and EVM for Massive MIMO Applications
Future communication systems employing massive multiple input multiple output
will not have the ability to use channel state information at the mobile user
terminals. Instead, it will be necessary for such devices to evaluate the
downlink signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) with interference both
from the base station serving other users within the same cell and other base
stations from adjacent cells. The SINR will act as an indicator of how well the
precoders have been applied at the base station. The results presented in this
paper from a 32 x 3 massive MIMO channel sounder measurement campaign at 2.4
GHz show how the received bit error rate and error vector magnitudes can be
used to obtain a prediction of both the average and dynamically changing SINR.Comment: 12th European Conference on Antennas and Propagatio
60 GHz Blockage Study Using Phased Arrays
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies offer the potential for enormous
capacity wireless links. However, designing robust communication systems at
these frequencies requires that we understand the channel dynamics over both
time and space: mmWave signals are extremely vulnerable to blocking and the
channel can thus rapidly appear and disappear with small movement of obstacles
and reflectors. In rich scattering environments, different paths may experience
different blocking trajectories and understanding these multi-path blocking
dynamics is essential for developing and assessing beamforming and
beam-tracking algorithms. This paper presents the design and experimental
results of a novel measurement system which uses phased arrays to perform
mmWave dynamic channel measurements. Specifically, human blockage and its
effects across multiple paths are investigated with only several microseconds
between successive measurements. From these measurements we develop a modeling
technique which uses low-rank tensor factorization to separate the available
paths so that their joint statistics can be understood.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the 51st Asilomar Conference on
Signals, Systems, and Computers, 201
Initial Access in 5G mm-Wave Cellular Networks
The massive amounts of bandwidth available at millimeter-wave frequencies
(roughly above 10 GHz) have the potential to greatly increase the capacity of
fifth generation cellular wireless systems. However, to overcome the high
isotropic pathloss experienced at these frequencies, high directionality will
be required at both the base station and the mobile user equipment to establish
sufficient link budget in wide area networks. This reliance on directionality
has important implications for control layer procedures. Initial access in
particular can be significantly delayed due to the need for the base station
and the user to find the proper alignment for directional transmission and
reception. This paper provides a survey of several recently proposed techniques
for this purpose. A coverage and delay analysis is performed to compare various
techniques including exhaustive and iterative search, and Context Information
based algorithms. We show that the best strategy depends on the target SNR
regime, and provide guidelines to characterize the optimal choice as a function
of the system parameters.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables, 15 references, submitted to IEEE COMMAG
201
An Efficient Uplink Multi-Connectivity Scheme for 5G mmWave Control Plane Applications
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies offer the potential of orders of
magnitude increases in capacity for next-generation cellular systems. However,
links in mmWave networks are susceptible to blockage and may suffer from rapid
variations in quality. Connectivity to multiple cells - at mmWave and/or
traditional frequencies - is considered essential for robust communication. One
of the challenges in supporting multi-connectivity in mmWaves is the
requirement for the network to track the direction of each link in addition to
its power and timing. To address this challenge, we implement a novel uplink
measurement system that, with the joint help of a local coordinator operating
in the legacy band, guarantees continuous monitoring of the channel propagation
conditions and allows for the design of efficient control plane applications,
including handover, beam tracking and initial access. We show that an
uplink-based multi-connectivity approach enables less consuming, better
performing, faster and more stable cell selection and scheduling decisions with
respect to a traditional downlink-based standalone scheme. Moreover, we argue
that the presented framework guarantees (i) efficient tracking of the user in
the presence of the channel dynamics expected at mmWaves, and (ii) fast
reaction to situations in which the primary propagation path is blocked or not
available.Comment: Submitted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Wireless
Communications (TWC
Improved Handover Through Dual Connectivity in 5G mmWave Mobile Networks
The millimeter wave (mmWave) bands offer the possibility of orders of
magnitude greater throughput for fifth generation (5G) cellular systems.
However, since mmWave signals are highly susceptible to blockage, channel
quality on any one mmWave link can be extremely intermittent. This paper
implements a novel dual connectivity protocol that enables mobile user
equipment (UE) devices to maintain physical layer connections to 4G and 5G
cells simultaneously. A novel uplink control signaling system combined with a
local coordinator enables rapid path switching in the event of failures on any
one link. This paper provides the first comprehensive end-to-end evaluation of
handover mechanisms in mmWave cellular systems. The simulation framework
includes detailed measurement-based channel models to realistically capture
spatial dynamics of blocking events, as well as the full details of MAC, RLC
and transport protocols. Compared to conventional handover mechanisms, the
study reveals significant benefits of the proposed method under several
metrics.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, to appear on the 2017 IEEE JSAC Special Issue
on Millimeter Wave Communications for Future Mobile Network
Accuracy vs. Complexity for mmWave Ray-Tracing: A Full Stack Perspective
The millimeter wave (mmWave) band will provide multi-gigabits-per-second
connectivity in the radio access of future wireless systems. The high
propagation loss in this portion of the spectrum calls for the deployment of
large antenna arrays to compensate for the loss through high directional gain,
thus introducing a spatial dimension in the channel model to accurately
represent the performance of a mmWave network. In this perspective, ray-tracing
can characterize the channel in terms of Multi Path Components (MPCs) to
provide a highly accurate model, at the price of extreme computational
complexity (e.g., for processing detailed environment information about the
propagation), which limits the scalability of the simulations. In this paper,
we present possible simplifications to improve the trade-off between accuracy
and complexity in ray-tracing simulations at mmWaves by reducing the total
number of MPCs. The effect of such simplifications is evaluated from a
full-stack perspective through end-to-end simulations, testing different
configuration parameters, propagation scenarios, and higher-layer protocol
implementations. We then provide guidelines on the optimal degree of
simplification, for which it is possible to reduce the complexity of
simulations with a minimal reduction in accuracy for different deployment
scenarios.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figures, 1 table. This paper has been submitted to IEEE
for publication. Copyright IEEE 2020. Please cite it as: Mattia Lecci, Paolo
Testolina, Michele Polese, Marco Giordani, Michele Zorzi, "Accuracy vs.
Complexity for mmWave Ray-Tracing: A Full Stack Perspective.'
End-to-End Simulation of 5G mmWave Networks
Due to its potential for multi-gigabit and low latency wireless links,
millimeter wave (mmWave) technology is expected to play a central role in 5th
generation cellular systems. While there has been considerable progress in
understanding the mmWave physical layer, innovations will be required at all
layers of the protocol stack, in both the access and the core network.
Discrete-event network simulation is essential for end-to-end, cross-layer
research and development. This paper provides a tutorial on a recently
developed full-stack mmWave module integrated into the widely used open-source
ns--3 simulator. The module includes a number of detailed statistical channel
models as well as the ability to incorporate real measurements or ray-tracing
data. The Physical (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers are modular and
highly customizable, making it easy to integrate algorithms or compare
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) numerologies, for example.
The module is interfaced with the core network of the ns--3 Long Term Evolution
(LTE) module for full-stack simulations of end-to-end connectivity, and
advanced architectural features, such as dual-connectivity, are also available.
To facilitate the understanding of the module, and verify its correct
functioning, we provide several examples that show the performance of the
custom mmWave stack as well as custom congestion control algorithms designed
specifically for efficient utilization of the mmWave channel.Comment: 25 pages, 16 figures, submitted to IEEE Communications Surveys and
Tutorials (revised Jan. 2018