818 research outputs found
Antenna Array Enabled Space/Air/Ground Communications and Networking for 6G
Antenna arrays have a long history of more than 100 years and have evolved
closely with the development of electronic and information technologies,
playing an indispensable role in wireless communications and radar. With the
rapid development of electronic and information technologies, the demand for
all-time, all-domain, and full-space network services has exploded, and new
communication requirements have been put forward on various space/air/ground
platforms. To meet the ever increasing requirements of the future sixth
generation (6G) wireless communications, such as high capacity, wide coverage,
low latency, and strong robustness, it is promising to employ different types
of antenna arrays with various beamforming technologies in space/air/ground
communication networks, bringing in advantages such as considerable antenna
gains, multiplexing gains, and diversity gains. However, enabling antenna array
for space/air/ground communication networks poses specific, distinctive and
tricky challenges, which has aroused extensive research attention. This paper
aims to overview the field of antenna array enabled space/air/ground
communications and networking. The technical potentials and challenges of
antenna array enabled space/air/ground communications and networking are
presented first. Subsequently, the antenna array structures and designs are
discussed. We then discuss various emerging technologies facilitated by antenna
arrays to meet the new communication requirements of space/air/ground
communication systems. Enabled by these emerging technologies, the distinct
characteristics, challenges, and solutions for space communications, airborne
communications, and ground communications are reviewed. Finally, we present
promising directions for future research in antenna array enabled
space/air/ground communications and networking
A Vision and Framework for the High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) Networks of the Future
A High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) is a network node that operates in
the stratosphere at an of altitude around 20 km and is instrumental for
providing communication services. Precipitated by technological innovations in
the areas of autonomous avionics, array antennas, solar panel efficiency
levels, and battery energy densities, and fueled by flourishing industry
ecosystems, the HAPS has emerged as an indispensable component of
next-generations of wireless networks. In this article, we provide a vision and
framework for the HAPS networks of the future supported by a comprehensive and
state-of-the-art literature review. We highlight the unrealized potential of
HAPS systems and elaborate on their unique ability to serve metropolitan areas.
The latest advancements and promising technologies in the HAPS energy and
payload systems are discussed. The integration of the emerging Reconfigurable
Smart Surface (RSS) technology in the communications payload of HAPS systems
for providing a cost-effective deployment is proposed. A detailed overview of
the radio resource management in HAPS systems is presented along with
synergistic physical layer techniques, including Faster-Than-Nyquist (FTN)
signaling. Numerous aspects of handoff management in HAPS systems are
described. The notable contributions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in HAPS,
including machine learning in the design, topology management, handoff, and
resource allocation aspects are emphasized. The extensive overview of the
literature we provide is crucial for substantiating our vision that depicts the
expected deployment opportunities and challenges in the next 10 years
(next-generation networks), as well as in the subsequent 10 years
(next-next-generation networks).Comment: To appear in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorial
Seven Defining Features of Terahertz (THz) Wireless Systems: A Fellowship of Communication and Sensing
Wireless communication at the terahertz (THz) frequency bands (0.1-10THz) is
viewed as one of the cornerstones of tomorrow's 6G wireless systems. Owing to
the large amount of available bandwidth, THz frequencies can potentially
provide wireless capacity performance gains and enable high-resolution sensing.
However, operating a wireless system at the THz-band is limited by a highly
uncertain channel. Effectively, these channel limitations lead to unreliable
intermittent links as a result of a short communication range, and a high
susceptibility to blockage and molecular absorption. Consequently, such
impediments could disrupt the THz band's promise of high-rate communications
and high-resolution sensing capabilities. In this context, this paper
panoramically examines the steps needed to efficiently deploy and operate
next-generation THz wireless systems that will synergistically support a
fellowship of communication and sensing services. For this purpose, we first
set the stage by describing the fundamentals of the THz frequency band. Based
on these fundamentals, we characterize seven unique defining features of THz
wireless systems: 1) Quasi-opticality of the band, 2) THz-tailored wireless
architectures, 3) Synergy with lower frequency bands, 4) Joint sensing and
communication systems, 5) PHY-layer procedures, 6) Spectrum access techniques,
and 7) Real-time network optimization. These seven defining features allow us
to shed light on how to re-engineer wireless systems as we know them today so
as to make them ready to support THz bands. Furthermore, these features
highlight how THz systems turn every communication challenge into a sensing
opportunity. Ultimately, the goal of this article is to chart a forward-looking
roadmap that exposes the necessary solutions and milestones for enabling THz
frequencies to realize their potential as a game changer for next-generation
wireless systems.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure
Aerial collective systems
Deployment of multiple flying robots has attracted the interest of several research groups in the recent times both because such a feat represents many interesting scientific challenges and because aerial collective systems have a huge potential in terms of applications. By working together, multiple robots can perform a given task quicker or more efficiently than a single system. Furthermore, multiple robots can share computing, sensing and communication payloads thus leading to lighter robots that could be safer than a larger system, easier to transport and even disposable in some cases. Deploying a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles instead of a single aircraft allows rapid coverage of a relatively larger area or volume. Collaborating airborne agents can help each other by relaying communication or by providing navigation means to their neighbours. Flying in formation provides an effective way of decongesting the airspace. Aerial swarms also have an enormous artistic potential because they allow creating physical 3D structures that can dynamically change their shape over time. However, the challenges to actually build and control aerial swarms are numerous. First of all, a flying platform is often more complicated to engineer than a terrestrial robot because of the inherent weight constraints and the absence of mechanical link with any inertial frame that could provide mechanical stability and state reference. In the first section of this chapter, we therefore review this challenges and provide pointers to state-of-the-art methods to solve them. Then as soon as flying robots need to interact with each other, all sorts of problems arise such as wireless communication from and to rapidly moving objects and relative positioning. The aim of section 3 is therefore to review possible approaches to technically enable coordination among flying systems. Finally, section 4 tackles the challenge of designing individual controllers that enable a coherent behavior at the level of the swarm. This challenge is made even more difficult with flying robots because of their 3D nature and their motion constraints that are often related to the specific architectures of the underlying physical platforms. In this third section is complementary to the rest of this book as it focusses only on methods that have been designed for aerial collective systems
A Review of Radio Frequency Based Localization for Aerial and Ground Robots with 5G Future Perspectives
Efficient localization plays a vital role in many modern applications of
Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) and Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which would
contribute to improved control, safety, power economy, etc. The ubiquitous 5G
NR (New Radio) cellular network will provide new opportunities for enhancing
localization of UAVs and UGVs. In this paper, we review the radio frequency
(RF) based approaches for localization. We review the RF features that can be
utilized for localization and investigate the current methods suitable for
Unmanned vehicles under two general categories: range-based and fingerprinting.
The existing state-of-the-art literature on RF-based localization for both UAVs
and UGVs is examined, and the envisioned 5G NR for localization enhancement,
and the future research direction are explored
1-D broadside-radiating leaky-wave antenna based on a numerically synthesized impedance surface
A newly-developed deterministic numerical technique for the automated design of metasurface antennas is applied here for the first time to the design of a 1-D printed Leaky-Wave Antenna (LWA) for broadside radiation. The surface impedance synthesis process does not require any a priori knowledge on the impedance pattern, and starts from a mask constraint on the desired far-field and practical bounds on the unit cell impedance values. The designed reactance surface for broadside radiation exhibits a non conventional patterning; this highlights the merit of using an automated design process for a design well known to be challenging for analytical methods. The antenna is physically implemented with an array of metal strips with varying gap widths and simulation results show very good agreement with the predicted performance
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