175 research outputs found
Space-Air-Ground Integrated 6G Wireless Communication Networks: A Review of Antenna Technologies and Application Scenarios
A review of technological solutions and advances in the framework of a Vertical Heterogeneous Network (VHetNet) integrating satellite, airborne and terrestrial networks is presented. The disruptive features and challenges offered by a fruitful cooperation among these segments within a ubiquitous and seamless wireless connectivity are described. The available technologies and the key research directions for achieving global wireless coverage by considering all these layers are thoroughly discussed. Emphasis is placed on the available antenna systems in satellite, airborne and ground layers by highlighting strengths and weakness and by providing some interesting trends in research. A summary of the most suitable applicative scenarios for future 6G wireless communications are finally illustrated
IRS-assisted UAV Communications: A Comprehensive Review
Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) can smartly adjust the wavefronts in
terms of phase, frequency, amplitude and polarization via passive reflections
and without any need of radio frequency (RF) chains. It is envisaged as an
emerging technology which can change wireless communication to improve both
energy and spectrum efficiencies with low energy consumption and low cost. It
can intelligently configure the wireless channels through a massive number of
cost effective passive reflecting elements to improve the system performance.
Similarly, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication has gained a viable
attention due to flexible deployment, high mobility and ease of integration
with several technologies. However, UAV communication is prone to security
issues and obstructions in real-time applications. Recently, it is foreseen
that UAV and IRS both can integrate together to attain unparalleled
capabilities in difficult scenarios. Both technologies can ensure improved
performance through proactively altering the wireless propagation using smart
signal reflections and maneuver control in three dimensional (3D) space. IRS
can be integrated in both aerial and terrene environments to reap the benefits
of smart reflections. This study briefly discusses UAV communication, IRS and
focuses on IRS-assisted UAC communications. It surveys the existing literature
on this emerging research topic and highlights several promising technologies
which can be implemented in IRS-assisted UAV communication. This study also
presents several application scenarios and open research challenges. This study
goes one step further to elaborate research opportunities to design and
optimize wireless systems with low energy footprint and at low cost. Finally,
we shed some light on future research aspects for IRS-assisted UAV
communication
Mobile Radio Channel Measurements for air-to-ground and non-conventional future applications
La tesi si suddivide in quattro parti: due iniziali di tipo compilativo e le altre due sperimentali. Nella prima parte vengono descritti gli UAVs: classificazioni e applicazioni da un punto di vista delle telecomunicazioni e della sicurezza; una seconda parte sempre compilativa, espone invece una panoramica sulle caratteristiche del canale Air-to-Ground e la possibilità di modelling attraverso diversi scenari. La terza parte rappresenta il corpo della tesi, in quanto presenta la descrizione di una campagna di misure condotta in ambiente industriale, fatta con due diversi setup di misure: onde mm e UWB. Dopo la presentazione dello scopo, vengono poi trattati gli esperimenti, descritto l'equipment ed estratte le conclusioni mostrando funzioni come il Power Angle Profile e la Risposta Impulsiva. L'ultimo capitolo tratta infine di una campagna da condurre in ambiente urbano, presentando però solo il piano di misure, in quanto i risultati saranno a breve disponibili
Dynamic Radar Network of UAVs: A Joint Navigation and Tracking Approach
Nowadays there is a growing research interest on the possibility of enriching
small flying robots with autonomous sensing and online navigation capabilities.
This will enable a large number of applications spanning from remote
surveillance to logistics, smarter cities and emergency aid in hazardous
environments. In this context, an emerging problem is to track unauthorized
small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) hiding behind buildings or concealing in
large UAV networks. In contrast with current solutions mainly based on static
and on-ground radars, this paper proposes the idea of a dynamic radar network
of UAVs for real-time and high-accuracy tracking of malicious targets. To this
end, we describe a solution for real-time navigation of UAVs to track a dynamic
target using heterogeneously sensed information. Such information is shared by
the UAVs with their neighbors via multi-hops, allowing tracking the target by a
local Bayesian estimator running at each agent. Since not all the paths are
equal in terms of information gathering point-of-view, the UAVs plan their own
trajectory by minimizing the posterior covariance matrix of the target state
under UAV kinematic and anti-collision constraints. Our results show how a
dynamic network of radars attains better localization results compared to a
fixed configuration and how the on-board sensor technology impacts the accuracy
in tracking a target with different radar cross sections, especially in non
line-of-sight (NLOS) situations
Intelligent Multi-Modal Sensing-Communication Integration: Synesthesia of Machines
In the era of sixth-generation (6G) wireless communications, integrated
sensing and communications (ISAC) is recognized as a promising solution to
upgrade the physical system by endowing wireless communications with sensing
capability. Existing ISAC is mainly oriented to static scenarios with
radio-frequency (RF) sensors being the primary participants, thus lacking a
comprehensive environment feature characterization and facing a severe
performance bottleneck in dynamic environments. To date, extensive surveys on
ISAC have been conducted but are limited to summarizing RF-based radar sensing.
Currently, some research efforts have been devoted to exploring multi-modal
sensing-communication integration but still lack a comprehensive review.
Therefore, we generalize the concept of ISAC inspired by human synesthesia to
establish a unified framework of intelligent multi-modal sensing-communication
integration and provide a comprehensive review under such a framework in this
paper. The so-termed Synesthesia of Machines (SoM) gives the clearest cognition
of such intelligent integration and details its paradigm for the first time. We
commence by justifying the necessity of the new paradigm. Subsequently, we
offer a definition of SoM and zoom into the detailed paradigm, which is
summarized as three operation modes. To facilitate SoM research, we overview
the prerequisite of SoM research, i.e., mixed multi-modal (MMM) datasets. Then,
we introduce the mapping relationships between multi-modal sensing and
communications. Afterward, we cover the technological review on
SoM-enhance-based and SoM-concert-based applications. To corroborate the
superiority of SoM, we also present simulation results related to dual-function
waveform and predictive beamforming design. Finally, we propose some potential
directions to inspire future research efforts.Comment: This paper has been accepted by IEEE Communications Surveys &
Tutorial
Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces in Challenging Environments: Underwater, Underground, Industrial and Disaster
Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have been introduced to improve
the signal propagation characteristics by focusing the signal power in the
preferred direction, thus making the communication environment "smart". The
typical use cases and applications for the "smart" environment include beyond
5G communication networks, smart cities, etc. The main advantage of employing
RISs in such networks is a more efficient exploitation of spatial degrees of
freedom. This advantage manifests in better interference mitigation as well as
increased spectral and energy efficiency due to passive beam steering.
Challenging environments comprise a range of scenarios, which share the fact
that it is extremely difficult to establish a communication link using
conventional technology due to many impairments typically associated with the
propagation medium and increased signal scattering. Although the challenges for
the design of communication networks, and specifically the Internet of Things
(IoT), in such environments are known, there is no common enabler or solution
for all these applications. Interestingly, the use of RISs in such scenarios
can become such an enabler and a game changer technology. Surprisingly, the
benefits of RIS for wireless networking in underwater and underground medium as
well as in industrial and disaster environments have not been addressed yet. In
this paper, we aim at filling this gap by discussing potential use cases,
deployment strategies and design aspects for RIS devices in underwater IoT,
underground IoT as well as Industry 4.0 and emergency networks. In addition,
novel research challenges to be addressed in this context are described.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, submitted for publication in IEEE journa
Architecture and Methods for Innovative Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Network Applications
Nowadays wireless sensor netwoks (WSN) technology, wireless communications and digital electronics have made it realistic to produce a large scale miniaturized devices integrating sensing, processing and communication capabilities. The focus of this paper is to present an innovative mobile platform for heterogeneous sensor networks, combined with adaptive methods to optimize the communication architecture for novel potential applications in multimedia and entertainment. In fact, in the near future, some of the applications foreseen for WSNs will employ multi-platform systems with a high number of different devices, which may be completely different in nature, size, computational and energy capabilities, etc. Nowadays, in addition, data collection could be performed by UAV platforms which can be a sink for ground sensors layer, acting essentially as a mobile gateway. In order to maximize the system performances and the network lifespan, the authors propose a recently developed hybrid technique based on evolutionary algorithms. The goal of this procedure is to optimize the communication energy consumption in WSN by selecting the optimal multi-hop routing schemes, with a suitable hybridization of different routing criteria. The proposed approach can be potentially extended and applied to ongoing research projects focused on UAV-based sensing with WSN augmentation and real-time processing for immersive media experiences
A Tutorial on Environment-Aware Communications via Channel Knowledge Map for 6G
Sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication networks are expected to have
dense infrastructures, large-dimensional channels, cost-effective hardware,
diversified positioning methods, and enhanced intelligence. Such trends bring
both new challenges and opportunities for the practical design of 6G. On one
hand, acquiring channel state information (CSI) in real time for all wireless
links becomes quite challenging in 6G. On the other hand, there would be
numerous data sources in 6G containing high-quality location-tagged channel
data, making it possible to better learn the local wireless environment. By
exploiting such new opportunities and for tackling the CSI acquisition
challenge, there is a promising paradigm shift from the conventional
environment-unaware communications to the new environment-aware communications
based on the novel approach of channel knowledge map (CKM). This article aims
to provide a comprehensive tutorial overview on environment-aware
communications enabled by CKM to fully harness its benefits for 6G. First, the
basic concept of CKM is presented, and a comparison of CKM with various
existing channel inference techniques is discussed. Next, the main techniques
for CKM construction are discussed, including both the model-free and
model-assisted approaches. Furthermore, a general framework is presented for
the utilization of CKM to achieve environment-aware communications, followed by
some typical CKM-aided communication scenarios. Finally, important open
problems in CKM research are highlighted and potential solutions are discussed
to inspire future work
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