Propagation measurement based study on relay networks

Von der nächsten Generation von Mobilfunksystemen erwartet man eine umfassende Versorgung mit breitbandigen Multimediadiensten. Um die dafür erforderliche flächendeckende Versorgung mit hohen Datenraten zu gewährleisten, können Relay-Netzwerke einen wesentlichen Beitrag liefern. Hierbei werden Netzwerkstationen mit Relay-Funktionalität in zellulare Netzwerke integriert. Diese Dissertation befasst sich mit der Untersuchung Relay-basierter Netzwerke unter Verwendung von Ausbreitungsmessungen. Die Arbeit deckt Fragen zur Kanalmodellierung, Systemevaluierung bis hin zur Systemverifikation ab. - Zunächst wird ein auf Funkkanalmessungen beruhendes experimentelles Kanalmodell für Relay-Netzwerke vorgestellt. Im Weiteren werden technische Verfahren für Mehrfachzugriffs-Relay-Netzwerke MARN diskutiert. Die erreichbare Systemleistung wurde unter Verwendung von Rayleigh-Kanälen innerhalb einer Systemsimulation bestimmt und im Anschluss mit realen Kanälen, die sowohl direkt aus Funkkanalmessungen als auch indirekt aus dem bereits erwähnten Kanalmodell abgeleitet wurden, verifiziert. Bisherige Arbeiten zur Modellierung breitbandiger Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) Kanäle berücksichtigen nicht oder nur sehr stark vereinfacht die Langzeitkorrelationseigenschaften zwischen den Links und werden damit der vermaschten und räumlich weit verteilten Topologie von Relay-Netzwerken gerecht. In der vorliegenden Dissertation erfolgte daher eine experimentelle Untersuchung zu den Korrelationseigenschaften von Large-Scale-Parametern LSP, die unter Verwendung von Funkkanalmessdaten aus urbanen Umgebungen und aus Innenräumen abgeleitet wurden. Die Ergebnisse hierzu fanden Eingang in das vom WINNER-Projekt entwickelte Kanalmodell. Sie erlauben damit eine realistischere Simulation von Relay-unterstützten Netzen. Einen weiteren Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit stellen technische Verfahren dar, die eine Erhöhung der Systemleistung in MARN mit unbekannter Interferenz UKIF versprechen. Im Einzelnen handelt es sich um die Mehrfachzugriffs-Kodierung MAC - die eine verbesserte Signaltrennung auf der Empfängerseite und eine Erhöhung des Datendurchsatzes erlaubt, den Entwurf eines Relay-Protokolls zur Erhöhung der Systemeffizienz, einen Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) Algorithmus zur Unterdrückung unbekannter Interferenzen bei Erhaltung der MAC-Signalstruktur mehrerer Mobilstationen MS, und ein fehlererkennungsbasiertes Signalauswahlverfahren zur Diversitätserhöhung. Die vorgenannten Verfahren werden in einer Systemsimulation zunächst mit Rayleigh-Kanälen evaluiert und demonstrieren die erzielbare theoretische Leistungssteigerung. Die Berücksichtigung realer Funkkanäle innerhalb der Systemsimulation zeigt allerdings, dass die theoretische Systemleistung so in der Realität nicht erreichbar ist. Die Ursache hierfür ist in den idealisierten Annahmen theoretischer Kanäle zu suchen. Für die Entwicklung künftiger Relay-Netzwerke bieten die in dieser Arbeit aufbereiteten Erkenntnisse hinsichtlich der Langzeitkorrelationseigenschaften zwischen den Links einen wertvollen Beitrag für die Abschätzung ihrer Systemleistung auf der Basis eines verbesserten Kanalmodells.Considering technological bases of next generation wireless systems, it is expected that systems can provide a variety of coverage requirements to support ubiquitous communications. To satisfy the requirements, an innovative idea, integrating network elements with a relaying capability into cellular networks, is one of the most promising solutions. The main topic of this dissertation is a propagation measurement based study on relay networks. The study includes three parts: channel modeling, performance evaluation, and verification. First of all, an empirical channel model for relay networks is proposed based on statistical analyses of measurement data. Then, advanced techniques for the throughput improvement and interference cancellation are proposed for Multiple Access Relay Networks (MARN) which are used as an example of relay networks. The performance of the considered MARN is evaluated for Rayleigh channels, and then verified for realistic channels, obtained from measurement data and from the experimental relay channel model as well. For relay channel modeling, the long-term correlation properties between links are of crucial importance due to the meshed-network topology. Although, there is a wide variety of research results for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) channel modeling available, the characterization of correlation properties has been significantly simplified or even completely ignored which motivates this research to be performed. In this dissertation, the experimental results of the correlation properties of Large Scale Parameters (LSP) are presented through the analysis on the real-field measurement data for both the urban and indoor scenarios. furthermore, the correlation properties have been fully introduced into the WINNER channel Model (WIM) for realistic relay channel simulations. As a further contribution of this dissertation, various advanced techniques are proposed for MARN in the presence of Unknown Interference (UKIF). Multiple Access Coding (MAC) is introduced as a multiple access technique. The use of MAC provides the signal separability at the receiver and improves throughput. Thereafter, high system resource efficiency can be achieved through relay protocol design. At the receiver, Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE)-based spatial filtering is used to suppress UKIF while preserving multiple Mobile Station (MS)s’ MAC-encoded signal structure. Furthermore, an error detection aided signal selection technique is proposed for diversity increasing. The theoretical system performance with aforementioned techniques is simulated for Rayleigh channels. Thereafter, realistic channels are exploited for the performance verification. The gap between the theoretical performance and the realistic performance indicates that the assumptions made to the simplified Rayleigh-channels do not fully hold in reality. For the future relay system design, this work provides valuable information about the performance evaluation of relay networks in consideration of the correlation properties between links

Role of Interference and Computational Complexity in Modern Wireless Networks: Analysis, Optimization, and Design

Owing to the popularity of smartphones, the recent widespread adoption of wireless broadband has resulted in a tremendous growth in the volume of mobile data traffic, and this growth is projected to continue unabated. In order to meet the needs of future systems, several novel technologies have been proposed, including cooperative communications, cloud radio access networks (RANs) and very densely deployed small-cell networks. For these novel networks, both interference and the limited availability of computational resources play a very important role. Therefore, the accurate modeling and analysis of interference and computation is essential to the understanding of these networks, and an enabler for more efficient design.;This dissertation focuses on four aspects of modern wireless networks: (1) Modeling and analysis of interference in single-hop wireless networks, (2) Characterizing the tradeoffs between the communication performance of wireless transmission and the computational load on the systems used to process such transmissions, (3) The optimization of wireless multiple-access networks when using cost functions that are based on the analytical findings in this dissertation, and (4) The analysis and optimization of multi-hop networks, which may optionally employ forms of cooperative communication.;The study of interference in single-hop wireless networks proceeds by assuming that the random locations of the interferers are drawn from a point process and possibly constrained to a finite area. Both the information-bearing and interfering signals propagate over channels that are subject to path loss, shadowing, and fading. A flexible model for fading, based on the Nakagami distribution, is used, though specific examples are provided for Rayleigh fading. The analysis is broken down into multiple steps, involving subsequent averaging of the performance metrics over the fading, the shadowing, and the location of the interferers with the aim to distinguish the effect of these mechanisms that operate over different time scales. The analysis is extended to accommodate diversity reception, which is important for the understanding of cooperative systems that combine transmissions that originate from different locations. Furthermore, the role of spatial correlation is considered, which provides insight into how the performance in one location is related to the performance in another location.;While it is now generally understood how to communicate close to the fundamental limits implied by information theory, operating close to the fundamental performance bounds is costly in terms of the computational complexity required to receive the signal. This dissertation provides a framework for understanding the tradeoffs between communication performance and the imposed complexity based on how close a system operates to the performance bounds, and it allows to accurately estimate the required data processing resources of a network under a given performance constraint. The framework is applied to Cloud-RAN, which is a new cellular architecture that moves the bulk of the signal processing away from the base stations (BSs) and towards a centralized computing cloud. The analysis developed in this part of the dissertation helps to illuminate the benefits of pooling computing assets when decoding multiple uplink signals in the cloud. Building upon these results, new approaches for wireless resource allocation are proposed, which unlike previous approaches, are aware of the computing limitations of the network.;By leveraging the accurate expressions that characterize performance in the presence of interference and fading, a methodology is described for optimizing wireless multiple-access networks. The focus is on frequency hopping (FH) systems, which are already widely used in military systems, and are becoming more common in commercial systems. The optimization determines the best combination of modulation parameters (such as the modulation index for continuous-phase frequency-shift keying), number of hopping channels, and code rate. In addition, it accounts for the adjacent-channel interference (ACI) and determines how much of the signal spectrum should lie within the operating band of each channel, and how much can be allowed to splatter into adjacent channels.;The last part of this dissertation contemplates networks that involve multi-hop communications. Building on the analytical framework developed in early parts of this dissertation, the performance of such networks is analyzed in the presence of interference and fading, and it is introduced a novel paradigm for a rapid performance assessment of routing protocols. Such networks may involve cooperative communications, and the particular cooperative protocol studied here allows the same packet to be transmitted simultaneously by multiple transmitters and diversity combined at the receiver. The dynamics of how the cooperative protocol evolves over time is described through an absorbing Markov chain, and the analysis is able to efficiently capture the interference that arises as packets are periodically injected into the network by a common source, the temporal correlation among these packets and their interdependence

Performance study of fixed and moving relays for vehicular users with multi-cell handover under co-channel interference

In this paper, we investigate the power outage probability (OP) of a vehicular user equipment (VUE) device served by half-duplex decode-and-forward relay nodes (RNs) under co-channel interference. Both moving RNs (MRNs) and fixed RNs (FRNs) are studied, and compared with the baseline, base station (BS) to VUE direct transmission. In order to understand the benefit for vehicular users served by an RN, we consider practical channel models for different involved links as well as the impact of handover (HO) between the BS and the RNs. For an accurate comparison, we present a comprehensive framework to optimize the HO parameters, as well as we numerically optimize the FRN position which minimizes the average power OP at the VUE. FRN shows its advantage to serve its nearby VUEs. However, when vehicular penetration loss is moderate to high, MRN assisted transmission greatly outperforms transmission assisted by an FRN as well as direct transmission. Hence, the use of MRNs is very promising for improving the quality-of-service (QoS) of VUEs in future mobile communication systems

Hybrid satellite–terrestrial networks toward 6G : key technologies and open issues

Future wireless networks will be required to provide more wireless services at higher data rates and with global coverage. However, existing homogeneous wireless networks, such as cellular and satellite networks, may not be able to meet such requirements individually, especially in remote terrain, including seas and mountains. One possible solution is to use diversified wireless networks that can exploit the inter-connectivity between satellites, aerial base stations (BSs), and terrestrial BSs over inter-connected space, ground, and aerial networks. Hence, enabling wireless communication in one integrated network has attracted both the industry and the research fraternities. In this work, we provide a comprehensive survey of the most recent work on hybrid satellite–terrestrial networks (HSTNs), focusing on system architecture, performance analysis, design optimization, and secure communication schemes for different cooperative and cognitive HSTN network architectures. Different key technologies are compared. Based on this comparison, several open issues for future research are discussed

Hybrid Free-Space Optical and Visible Light Communication Link

V součastnosti bezdrátové optické komunikace (optical wireless communication, OWC) získávají širokou pozornost jako vhodný doplněk ke komunikačním přenosům v rádiovém pásmu. OWC nabízejí několik výhod včetně větší šířky přenosového pásma, neregulovaného frekvenčního pásma či odolnosti vůči elektromagnetickému rušení. Tato práce se zabývá návrhem OWC systémů pro připojení koncových uživatelů. Samotná realizace spojení může být provedena za pomoci různých variant bezdrátových technologií, například pomocí OWC, kombinací různých OWC technologií nebo hybridním rádio-optickým spojem. Za účelem propojení tzv. poslední míle je analyzován optický bezvláknový spoj (free space optics, FSO). Tato práce se dále zabývá analýzou přenosových vlastností celo-optického více skokového spoje s důrazem na vliv atmosférických podmínek. V dnešní době mnoho uživatelů tráví čas ve vnitřních prostorech kanceláří či doma, kde komunikace ve viditelném spektru (visible light communication, VLC) poskytuje lepší přenosové parametry pokrytí než úzce směrové FSO. V rámci této práce byla odvozena a experimentálně ověřena závislost pro bitovou chybovost přesměrovaného (relaying) spoje ve VLC. Pro propojení poskytovatele datavých služeb s koncovým uživatelem může být výhodné zkombinovat více přenosových technologií. Proto je navržen a analyzovám systém pro překonání tzv. problému poslední míle a posledního metru kombinující hybridní FSO a VLC technologie.The field of optical wireless communications (OWC) has recently attracted significant attention as a complementary technology to radio frequency (RF). OWC systems offer several advantages including higher bandwidth, an unregulated spectrum, resistance to electromagnetic interference and a high order of reusability. The thesis focuses on the deployment and analyses of end-user interconnections using the OWC systems. Interconnection can be established by many wireless technologies, for instance, by a single OWC technology, a combination of OWC technologies, or by hybrid OWC/RF links. In order to establish last mile outdoor interconnection, a free-space optical (FSO) has to be investigated. In this thesis, the performance of all-optical multi-hop scenarios is analyzed under atmospheric conditions. However, nowadays, many end users spend much time in indoor environments where visible light communication (VLC) technology can provide better transmission parameters and, significantly, better coverage. An analytical description of bit error rate for relaying VLC schemes is derived and experimentally verified. Nonetheless, for the last mile, interconnection of a provider and end users (joint outdoor and indoor connection) can be advantageous when combining multiple technologies. Therefore, a hybrid FSO/VLC system is proposed and analyzed for the interconnection of the last mile and last meter bottleneck

Indoor Cooperative Localization for Ultra Wideband Wireless Sensor Networks

In recent years there has been growing interest in ad-hoc and wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for a variety of indoor applications. Localization information in these networks is an enabling technology and in some applications it is the main sought after parameter. The cooperative localization performance of WSNs is ultimately constrained by the behavior of the utilized ranging technology in dense cluttered indoor environments. Recently, ultra-wideband (UWB) Time-of-Arrival (TOA) based ranging has exhibited potential due to its large bandwidth and high time resolution. However, the performance of its ranging and cooperative localization capabilities in dense indoor multipath environments needs to be further investigated. Of main concern is the high probability of non-line of sight (NLOS) and Direct Path (DP) blockage between sensor nodes, which biases the TOA estimation and degrades the localization performance. In this dissertation, we first present the results of measurement and modeling of UWB TOA-based ranging in different indoor multipath environments. We provide detailed characterization of the spatial behavior of ranging, where we focus on the statistics of the ranging error in the presence and absence of the DP and evaluate the pathloss behavior in the former case which is important for indoor geolocation coverage characterization. Parameters of the ranging error probability distributions and pathloss models are provided for different environments: traditional office, modern office, residential and manufacturing floor; and different ranging scenarios: indoor-to-indoor (ITI), outdoor-to-indoor (OTI) and roof-to-indoor (RTI). Based on the developed empirical models of UWB TOA-based OTI and ITI ranging, we derive and analyze cooperative localization bounds for WSNs in the different indoor multipath environments. First, we highlight the need for cooperative localization in indoor applications. Then we provide comprehensive analysis of the factors affecting localization accuracy such as network and ranging model parameters. Finally we introduce a novel distributed cooperative localization algorithm for indoor WSNs. The Cooperative LOcalization with Quality of estimation (CLOQ) algorithm integrates and disseminates the quality of the TOA ranging and position information in order to improve the localization performance for the entire WSN. The algorithm has the ability to reduce the effects of the cluttered indoor environments by identifying and mitigating the associated ranging errors. In addition the information regarding the integrity of the position estimate is further incorporated in the iterative distributed localization process which further reduces error escalation in the network. The simulation results of CLOQ algorithm are then compared against the derived G-CRLB, which shows substantial improvements in the localization performance

Dispensing with channel estimation: differentially modulated cooperative wireless communications

As a benefit of bypassing the potentially excessive complexity and yet inaccurate channel estimation, differentially encoded modulation in conjunction with low-complexity noncoherent detection constitutes a viable candidate for user-cooperative systems, where estimating all the links by the relays is unrealistic. In order to stimulate further research on differentially modulated cooperative systems, a number of fundamental challenges encountered in their practical implementations are addressed, including the time-variant-channel-induced performance erosion, flexible cooperative protocol designs, resource allocation as well as its high-spectral-efficiency transceiver design. Our investigations demonstrate the quantitative benefits of cooperative wireless networks both from a pure capacity perspective as well as from a practical system design perspective

Energy-efficient wireless communication schemes and real-time middleware for machine-to-machine networks

Esta tesis estudia sistemas Machine-to-Machine (M2M) en los que se ejecutan tareas de manera autónoma sin, o con mínima intervención humana. Los sistemas M2M están formados por dispositivos desplegados en un entorno que recolectan información relacionada con una tarea y la envían a aplicaciones para su proceso. Las aplicaciones optimizan estas tareas y responden a los dispositivos con comandos de control. Idealmente, después de configurar las políticas de tareas, los humanos son excluidos del lazo de control. Un importante caso de uso en M2M es la automatización de la red eléctrica, también conocido como Smart Grid, que se trata en esta tesis. Muchos escenarios M2M requieren dispositivos de bajo bitrate, bajo coste y que puedan ser fácilmente desplegables y mantenidos. Una solución adecuada son los dispositivos inalámbricos, alimentados por batería y de capacidades limitadas (con reducida potencia de procesado y memoria). Un bajo mantenimiento requiere años de vida, que sólo pueden conseguirse con protocolos de comunicación altamente eficientes energéticamente. En esta tesis nos centramos principalmente en las capas MAC y de enlace (especialmente en esquemas Cooperative Automatic Repeat Request) para mejorar la eficiencia energética de los dispositivos. Proponemos y evaluamos extensiones de Cooperative MAC para varios estándares como IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15.4 y sus revisiones MAC. El transmisor radio de los dispositivos puede ponerse en estado de reposo cuando está inactivo, llevando a cortos periodos de activación (duty-cycle) en dispositivos de bajo bitrate, consiguiendo así un ahorro energético considerable. Dado que la capa MAC controla los estados de reposo de los transmisores radio, los esquemas de Duty-Cycle MAC son el pilar de las comunicaciones energéticamente eficientes. Por ello, en esta tesis diseñamos, analizamos y evaluamos esquemas Cooperative and Duty-Cycled ARQ (CDC-ARQ). CDC-ARQ se basa en la (re)transmisión dinámica de paquetes (dynamic packet forwarding) dependiendo del estado del canal inalámbrico. Cuantificamos las ganancias considerando enlaces inalámbricos de baja potencia con modelos realistas, que sufren efectos de apantallamiento (shadowing) desvanecimientos (fading) de canal, y presentamos las condiciones bajo las cuales CDC-ARQ consiguen mejores resultados que las técnicas estándar de forwarding. Finalmente, determinamos estrategias óptimas de selección de enlace y retransmisión para direct, multi-hop y CDC-ARQ forwarding. Los esquemas de comunicación inalámbricos energéticamente eficientes son adecuados, por ejemplo, para automatización de edificios y hogar, contribuyendo a un buen uso de la energía eléctrica en dichos escenarios. Después de considerar el entorno de dispositivos, la tesis se centra en las aplicaciones, al otro lado de los sistemas M2M. Las aplicaciones típicamente intercambian datos sobre amplias zonas con varios dispositivos remotos. Las técnicas de computación distribuida, estandarizadas e implementadas en plataformas middleware para sistemas M2M, facilitan este intercambio de datos. Los requisitos de comunicación de estas aplicaciones son diversos en términos de latencia, número de actualizaciones, número de dispositivos asociados, etc. Mientras que las soluciones middleware existentes tales como ETSI M2M satisfacen los requisitos de ciertas aplicaciones, dichas soluciones son inadecuadas para los requisitos de latencia de transmisión en tiempo real. Esta tesis propone y analiza modificaciones del ETSI M2M que mejoran el rendimiento en tiempo real. El análisis se ejemplifica con tres aplicaciones Smart Grid, una relacionada con la automatización del hogar y edificios, y las otras dos con la monitorización y control del flujo de potencia de la red eléctrica.This thesis studies emerging Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems that execute automated tasks without, or with minimum human intervention. M2M systems consist of devices deployed in the field to collect task-related information and send it to remote applications for processing. The applications optimise the tasks and issue control commands back to the devices. Ideally, after configuring the task policies, humans are excluded from the control loop. A prominent and urgent M2M use case concentrates on the automation of the electric power grid, also known as Smart Grid, that is considered in the thesis. Many M2M scenarios require devices that are low-rate, low-cost and can be easily deployed and maintained. A fitting solution are wireless, battery-powered and resource-constrained devices (with limited processing power and memory). Low-maintenance requires years of lifetime, that can only be achieved with unprecedented energy efficiency of communication protocols. Specifically, we focus on the MAC and link layers in this thesis (especially on the Cooperative Automatic Repeat Request schemes) to improve the energy efficiency of the devices. Cooperative MAC extensions to the various standard technologies such as IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15.4 and its MAC amendments are proposed and evaluated. The radio transceiver of a device can be put to sleep state when inactive, yielding very low duty-cycles for low-rate devices, and thus achieving significant energy savings. Since the MAC layer controls the radio transceiver sleep states, duty-cycled MAC schemes are the cornerstone of the energy-efficient communication schemes. To that end, Cooperative and Duty-Cycled ARQ (CDC-ARQ) scheme has been designed, analysed and evaluated in this thesis. CDC-ARQ is based on dynamic packet forwarding depending on the current state of the wireless channel. The benefits are quantified by considering realistic wireless low-power links that experience shadowing and multipath fading channel effects. The conditions under which CDC-ARQ outperforms the standard forwarding techniques are presented. Finally, optimal link selection and retransmission strategies are determined for direct, multi-hop or CDC-ARQ forwarding. The studied energy-efficient wireless schemes are suitable e.g. for home and building automation which can contribute to the efficient use of the electric power in homes and buildings. After considering the device domain, the focus of this thesis turns to the applications at the other end of the M2M system. The applications typically exchange data over wide areas with many remote devices. Distributed computing techniques facilitate this data exchange, standardised and implemented in the middleware platform for M2M systems. The communication requirements of these applications are diverse in terms of data latency, update rate, number of associated devices etc. While the existing middleware solutions such as ETSI M2M fully support communication requirements of some applications, the solution is inadequate when it comes to the real-time latency constraint. Some suitable upgrades that improve the real-time performance of data exchange in ETSI M2M middleware are analysed in the thesis. The analysis is exemplified with three Smart Grid applications, one related to the home and building automation and the other two concerned with monitoring and control of the power flow in the electric grid