Multi-Satellite DVB-RCS System with RCST based on Software Defined Radio

Abstract-Multi-mode satellite terminals are actually the most desired devices on the market, thanks to their flexibility and suitability. A multi-mode radio communication terminal is a terminal allowing two or more transmission mode. In the last few years many research resources have been invested in the study of this new type of terminal. In this work, we define a multi-mode terminal as a terminal capable of communicating both with a Bent-Pipe (BP) satellite and with an On-Board Processor (OBP) satellite and dynamically setting its transmission parameters (e.g. transmission power and code rate). In order to realize this multimode functionality, the most suitable technology is the Software Defined Radio (SDR). The SDR is a set of Hardware and Software technologies that allow one to obtain reconfigurable architectures for network and wireless terminals. The goal of our work is to plan a satellite system based on Digital Video Broadcast with the Return Channel Satellite (DVB-RCS) standard in which the Return Channel Satellite Terminals (RCSTs) are able to adapt it to the channel state, configuring the transmission chain via software, respecting a certain Quality of Service (QoS) constraint on the Packet Error Rate (PER)

Satellite system performance assessment for in-flight entertainment and air traffic control

Concurrent satellite systems have been proposed for IFE (In-Flight Entertainment) communications, thus demonstrating the capability of satellites to provide multimedia access to users in aircraft cabin. At the same time, an increasing interest in the use of satellite communications for ATC (Air Traffic Control) has been motivated by the increasing load of traditional radio links mainly in the VHF band, and uses the extended capacities the satellite may provide. However, the development of a dedicated satellite system for ATS (Air Traffic Services) and AOC (Airline Operational Communications) seems to be a long-term perspective. The objective of the presented system design is to provide both passenger application traffic access (Internet, GSM) and a high-reliability channel for aeronautical applications using the same satellite links. Due to the constraints in capacity and radio bandwidth allocation, very high frequencies (above 20 GHz) are considered here. The corresponding design implications for the air interface are taken into account and access performances are derived using a dedicated simulation model. Some preliminary results are shown in this paper to demonstrate the technical feasibility of such system design with increased capacity. More details and the open issues will be studied in the future of this research work

Wireless communication, identification and sensing technologies enabling integrated logistics: a study in the harbor environment

In the last decade, integrated logistics has become an important challenge in the development of wireless communication, identification and sensing technology, due to the growing complexity of logistics processes and the increasing demand for adapting systems to new requirements. The advancement of wireless technology provides a wide range of options for the maritime container terminals. Electronic devices employed in container terminals reduce the manual effort, facilitating timely information flow and enhancing control and quality of service and decision made. In this paper, we examine the technology that can be used to support integration in harbor's logistics. In the literature, most systems have been developed to address specific needs of particular harbors, but a systematic study is missing. The purpose is to provide an overview to the reader about which technology of integrated logistics can be implemented and what remains to be addressed in the future

Interoperability of wireless communication technologies in hybrid networks: Evaluation of end-to-end interoperability issues and quality of service requirements

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Hybrid Networks employing wireless communication technologies have nowadays brought closer the vision of communication “anywhere, any time with anyone”. Such communication technologies consist of various standards, protocols, architectures, characteristics, models, devices, modulation and coding techniques. All these different technologies naturally may share some common characteristics, but there are also many important differences. New advances in these technologies are emerging very rapidly, with the advent of new models, characteristics, protocols and architectures. This rapid evolution imposes many challenges and issues to be addressed, and of particular importance are the interoperability issues of the following wireless technologies: Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) IEEE802.11, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) IEEE 802.16, Single Channel per Carrier (SCPC), Digital Video Broadcasting of Satellite (DVB-S/DVB-S2), and Digital Video Broadcasting Return Channel through Satellite (DVB-RCS). Due to the differences amongst wireless technologies, these technologies do not generally interoperate easily with each other because of various interoperability and Quality of Service (QoS) issues. The aim of this study is to assess and investigate end-to-end interoperability issues and QoS requirements, such as bandwidth, delays, jitter, latency, packet loss, throughput, TCP performance, UDP performance, unicast and multicast services and availability, on hybrid wireless communication networks (employing both satellite broadband and terrestrial wireless technologies). The thesis provides an introduction to wireless communication technologies followed by a review of previous research studies on Hybrid Networks (both satellite and terrestrial wireless technologies, particularly Wi-Fi, WiMAX, DVB-RCS, and SCPC). Previous studies have discussed Wi-Fi, WiMAX, DVB-RCS, SCPC and 3G technologies and their standards as well as their properties and characteristics, such as operating frequency, bandwidth, data rate, basic configuration, coverage, power, interference, social issues, security problems, physical and MAC layer design and development issues. Although some previous studies provide valuable contributions to this area of research, they are limited to link layer characteristics, TCP performance, delay, bandwidth, capacity, data rate, and throughput. None of the studies cover all aspects of end-to-end interoperability issues and QoS requirements; such as bandwidth, delay, jitter, latency, packet loss, link performance, TCP and UDP performance, unicast and multicast performance, at end-to-end level, on Hybrid wireless networks. Interoperability issues are discussed in detail and a comparison of the different technologies and protocols was done using appropriate testing tools, assessing various performance measures including: bandwidth, delay, jitter, latency, packet loss, throughput and availability testing. The standards, protocol suite/ models and architectures for Wi-Fi, WiMAX, DVB-RCS, SCPC, alongside with different platforms and applications, are discussed and compared. Using a robust approach, which includes a new testing methodology and a generic test plan, the testing was conducted using various realistic test scenarios on real networks, comprising variable numbers and types of nodes. The data, traces, packets, and files were captured from various live scenarios and sites. The test results were analysed in order to measure and compare the characteristics of wireless technologies, devices, protocols and applications. The motivation of this research is to study all the end-to-end interoperability issues and Quality of Service requirements for rapidly growing Hybrid Networks in a comprehensive and systematic way. The significance of this research is that it is based on a comprehensive and systematic investigation of issues and facts, instead of hypothetical ideas/scenarios or simulations, which informed the design of a test methodology for empirical data gathering by real network testing, suitable for the measurement of hybrid network single-link or end-to-end issues using proven test tools. This systematic investigation of the issues encompasses an extensive series of tests measuring delay, jitter, packet loss, bandwidth, throughput, availability, performance of audio and video session, multicast and unicast performance, and stress testing. This testing covers most common test scenarios in hybrid networks and gives recommendations in achieving good end-to-end interoperability and QoS in hybrid networks. Contributions of study include the identification of gaps in the research, a description of interoperability issues, a comparison of most common test tools, the development of a generic test plan, a new testing process and methodology, analysis and network design recommendations for end-to-end interoperability issues and QoS requirements. This covers the complete cycle of this research. It is found that UDP is more suitable for hybrid wireless network as compared to TCP, particularly for the demanding applications considered, since TCP presents significant problems for multimedia and live traffic which requires strict QoS requirements on delay, jitter, packet loss and bandwidth. The main bottleneck for satellite communication is the delay of approximately 600 to 680 ms due to the long distance factor (and the finite speed of light) when communicating over geostationary satellites. The delay and packet loss can be controlled using various methods, such as traffic classification, traffic prioritization, congestion control, buffer management, using delay compensator, protocol compensator, developing automatic request technique, flow scheduling, and bandwidth allocation

Preliminary study of cooperation in hybrid ad-hoc networks

In this paper, we present a first approach to evolve a cooperative behavior in ad hoc networks. Since wireless nodes are energy constrained, it may not be in the best interest of a node to always accept relay requests. On the other hand, if all nodes decide not to expend energy in relaying, then network throughput will drop dramatically. Both these extreme scenarios are unfavorable to the interests of a user. In this paper we deal with the issue of user cooperation in ad hoc networks by developing the algorithm called Generous Tit-For-Tat. We assume that nodes are rational, i.e., their actions are strictly determined by self-interest, and that each node is associated with a minimum lifetime constraint. Given these lifetime constraints and the assumption of rational behavior, we study the added behavior of the network.En este proyecto mostramos un primer acercamiento a la evolución de las redes Ad-Hoc cooperativas. Puesto que los nodos wireless disponen de energía finita, puede que no estén interesados en aceptar transmitir tráfico de otros nodos. Por otra parte, si ningún nodo decide gastar energía en retransmitir tráfico de otros, entonces la tasa de transferencia en la red cae críticamente. Estos casos extremos son desfavorables para el usuario. En este trabajo tratamos estas cuestiones gracias al desarrollo de un algoritmo llamado "Generous Tit-For Tat". Asumiremos que los nodos son egoístas y tienen energía finita, así que las decisiones se determinarán por propio interés y cada nodo será asociado con un tiempo limitado de energía. Dadas esas limitaciones y la suposición del comportamiento racional estudiaremos el comportamiento agregado de la red.En aquest treball mostrem una primera aproximació a l'evolució de les xarxes Ad-Hoc cooperatives. Donat que els nodes wireless disposen d'energia finita, poden no estar interessats en transmetre tràfic d'altres nodes. Per altra banda, si cap node decideix gastar energia en passar tràfic d'altres, llavors la tassa de transferència a la xarxa cau críticament. Aquests casos extrems son desfavorables per l'usuari. En aquest treball tractem aquestes qüestions gràcies al desenvolupament d'un algoritme anomenat "Generous Tit-For-Tat". Assumirem que els nodes son egoistes y tenen energia finita, així que les decisions es determinaran pel seu propi interès i cada node s'associarà amb un temps limitat d'energia. Donades aquestes limitacions y la suposició del comportament racional, estudiarem el comportament agregat de la xarxa.Nota: Aquest document conté originàriament altre material i/o programari només consultable a la Biblioteca de Ciència i Tecnologia

Rapidly deployable satellite communications for emergency situations: the WISECOM trials

This paper presents a general overview of the WISECOM (Wireless Infrastructure over Satellite for Emergency Communications) system, focusing on the trials performed on a specifically developed demonstrator during a live simulation of a disaster event. The WISECOM system is intended to rapidly deploy a complete communications infrastructure in the early hours after a disaster occurs through the integration of several terrestrial networks, such as GSM, WiFi, WiMAX and TETRA, with satellite systems, such as Inmarsat BGAN and DVB-RCS. In order to test the fulfilment of the different capabilities that are required by the system, a demonstrator has been designed, implemented and finally used in a simulation scenario. The architecture of the developed demonstrator is described introducing two versions of the system intended to be used in the different phases after the disaster event. The work details the different capabilities tested on the WISECOM demonstrator, before and during the live simulation, taking into account the drawbacks of already existing solutions for communication in emergency scenarios and analysing the achieved improvements. The main aim of the system is to provide victims and members of rescue forces with voice and data services, such as transmission of images and Location Based Services, in order to improve the coordination of rescue operations and reduce the necessary time until victims receive a proper treatment