Physical Layer Service Integration in 5G: Potentials and Challenges

High transmission rate and secure communication have been identified as the key targets that need to be effectively addressed by fifth generation (5G) wireless systems. In this context, the concept of physical-layer security becomes attractive, as it can establish perfect security using only the characteristics of wireless medium. Nonetheless, to further increase the spectral efficiency, an emerging concept, termed physical-layer service integration (PHY-SI), has been recognized as an effective means. Its basic idea is to combine multiple coexisting services, i.e., multicast/broadcast service and confidential service, into one integral service for one-time transmission at the transmitter side. This article first provides a tutorial on typical PHY-SI models. Furthermore, we propose some state-of-the-art solutions to improve the overall performance of PHY-SI in certain important communication scenarios. In particular, we highlight the extension of several concepts borrowed from conventional single-service communications, such as artificial noise (AN), eigenmode transmission etc., to the scenario of PHY-SI. These techniques are shown to be effective in the design of reliable and robust PHY-SI schemes. Finally, several potential research directions are identified for future work.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Unmanned aerial vehicles enabled IoT platform for disaster management

© 2019 by the authors. Efficient and reliable systems are required to detect and monitor disasters such as wildfires as well as to notify the people in the disaster-affected areas. Internet of Things (IoT) is the key paradigm that can address the multitude problems related to disaster management. In addition, an unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)-enabled IoT platform connected via cellular network can further enhance the robustness of the disaster management system. The UAV-enabled IoT platform is based on three main research areas: (i) ground IoT network; (ii) communication technologies for ground and aerial connectivity; and (iii) data analytics. In this paper, we provide a holistic view of a UAVs-enabled IoT platform which can provide ubiquitous connectivity to both aerial and ground users in challenging environments such as wildfire management. We then highlight key challenges for the design of an efficient and reliable IoT platform. We detail a case study targeting the design of an efficient ground IoT network that can detect and monitor fire and send notifications to people using named data networking (NDN) architecture. The use of NDN architecture in a sensor network for IoT integrates pull-based communication to enable reliable and efficient message dissemination in the network and to notify the users as soon as possible in case of disastrous situations. The results of the case study show the enormous impact on the performance of IoT platform for wildfire management. Lastly, we draw the conclusion and outline future research directions in this field

A Survey of Scheduling in 5G URLLC and Outlook for Emerging 6G Systems

Future wireless communication is expected to be a paradigm shift from three basic service requirements of 5th Generation (5G) including enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra Reliable and Low Latency communication (URLLC) and the massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC). Integration of the three heterogeneous services into a single system is a challenging task. The integration includes several design issues including scheduling network resources with various services. Specially, scheduling the URLLC packets with eMBB and mMTC packets need more attention as it is a promising service of 5G and beyond systems. It needs to meet stringent Quality of Service (QoS) requirements and is used in time-critical applications. Thus through understanding of packet scheduling issues in existing system and potential future challenges is necessary. This paper surveys the potential works that addresses the packet scheduling algorithms for 5G and beyond systems in recent years. It provides state of the art review covering three main perspectives such as decentralised, centralised and joint scheduling techniques. The conventional decentralised algorithms are discussed first followed by the centralised algorithms with specific focus on single and multi-connected network perspective. Joint scheduling algorithms are also discussed in details. In order to provide an in-depth understanding of the key scheduling approaches, the performances of some prominent scheduling algorithms are evaluated and analysed. This paper also provides an insight into the potential challenges and future research directions from the scheduling perspective

Towards a POMDP-based Control in Hybrid Brain-Computer Interfaces

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) provide a unique communication channel between the brain and computer systems. After extensive research and implementation on ample fields of application, numerous challenges to assure reliable and quick data processing have resulted in the hybrid BCI (hBCI) paradigm, consisting on the combination of two BCI systems. However, not all challenges have been properly addressed (e.g. re-calibration, idle-state modelling, adaptive thresholds, etc) to allow hBCI implementation outside of the lab. In this paper, we review electroencephalography based hBCI studies and state potential limitations. We propose a sequential decision-making framework based on Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) to design and to control hBCI systems. The POMDP framework is an excellent candidate to deal with the limitations raised above. To illustrate our opinion, an example of architecture using a POMDP-based hBCI control system is provided, and future directions are discussed. We believe this framework will encourage research efforts to provide relevant means to combine information from BCI systems and push BCI out of the laboratory