Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for Wireless Communications: Principles, Challenges, and Opportunities

Recently there has been a flurry of research on the use of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) in wireless networks to create smart radio environments. In a smart radio environment, surfaces are capable of manipulating the propagation of incident electromagnetic waves in a programmable manner to actively alter the channel realization, which turns the wireless channel into a controllable system block that can be optimized to improve overall system performance. In this article, we provide a tutorial overview of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) for wireless communications. We describe the working principles of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and elaborate on different candidate implementations using metasurfaces and reflectarrays. We discuss the channel models suitable for both implementations and examine the feasibility of obtaining accurate channel estimates. Furthermore, we discuss the aspects that differentiate RIS optimization from precoding for traditional MIMO arrays highlighting both the arising challenges and the potential opportunities associated with this emerging technology. Finally, we present numerical results to illustrate the power of an RIS in shaping the key properties of a MIMO channel.Comment: to appear in the IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking (TCCN

Optical fibre sensors - applications and potential

Fibre optic sensors have progressed considerably during the past few years and are now establishing their potential as very real contenders in the environmental, structural monitoring and industrial sensing areas. This paper will explore some examples of these emerging applications and analyse the benefits which optical fibre technology offers within these measurement sectors. We shall then continue to explore emerging prospects which offer new opportunities for future research and exploitation

Living IoT: A Flying Wireless Platform on Live Insects

Sensor networks with devices capable of moving could enable applications ranging from precision irrigation to environmental sensing. Using mechanical drones to move sensors, however, severely limits operation time since flight time is limited by the energy density of current battery technology. We explore an alternative, biology-based solution: integrate sensing, computing and communication functionalities onto live flying insects to create a mobile IoT platform. Such an approach takes advantage of these tiny, highly efficient biological insects which are ubiquitous in many outdoor ecosystems, to essentially provide mobility for free. Doing so however requires addressing key technical challenges of power, size, weight and self-localization in order for the insects to perform location-dependent sensing operations as they carry our IoT payload through the environment. We develop and deploy our platform on bumblebees which includes backscatter communication, low-power self-localization hardware, sensors, and a power source. We show that our platform is capable of sensing, backscattering data at 1 kbps when the insects are back at the hive, and localizing itself up to distances of 80 m from the access points, all within a total weight budget of 102 mg.Comment: Co-primary authors: Vikram Iyer, Rajalakshmi Nandakumar, Anran Wang, In Proceedings of Mobicom. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 15 pages, 201

Technical approaches, chapter 3, part E

Radar altimeters, scatterometers, and imaging radar are described in terms of their functions, future developments, constraints, and applications

Spatial Identification Methods and Systems for RFID Tags

Disertační práce je zaměřena na metody a systémy pro měření vzdálenosti a lokalizaci RFID tagů pracujících v pásmu UHF. Úvod je věnován popisu současného stavu vědeckého poznání v oblasti RFID prostorové identifikace a stručnému shrnutí problematiky modelování a návrhu prototypů těchto systémů. Po specifikaci cílů disertace pokračuje práce popisem teorie modelování degenerovaného kanálu pro RFID komunikaci. Detailně jsou rozebrány metody měření vzdálenosti a odhadu směru příchodu signálu založené na zpracování fázové informace. Pro účely lokalizace je navrženo několik scénářů rozmístění antén. Modely degenerovaného kanálu jsou simulovány v systému MATLAB. Významná část této práce je věnována konceptu softwarově definovaného rádia (SDR) a specifikům jeho adaptace na UHF RFID, která využití běžných SDR systémů značně omezují. Diskutována je zejména problematika průniku nosné vysílače do přijímací cesty a požadavky na signál lokálního oscilátoru používaný pro směšování. Prezentovány jsou tři vyvinuté prototypy: experimentální dotazovač EXIN-1, měřicí systém založený na platformě Ettus USRP a anténní přepínací matice pro emulaci SIMO systému. Závěrečná část je zaměřena na testování a zhodnocení popisovaných lokalizačních technik, založených na měření komplexní přenosové funkce RFID kanálu. Popisuje úzkopásmové/širokopásmové měření vzdálenosti a metody odhadu směru signálu. Oba navržené scénáře rozmístění antén jsou v závěru ověřeny lokalizačním měřením v reálných podmínkách.The doctoral thesis is focused on methods and systems for ranging and localization of RFID tags operating in the UHF band. It begins with a description of the state of the art in the field of RFID positioning with short extension to the area of modeling and prototyping of such systems. After a brief specification of dissertation objectives, the thesis overviews the theory of degenerate channel modeling for RFID communication. Details are given about phase-based ranging and direction of arrival finding methods. Several antenna placement scenarios are proposed for localization purposes. The degenerate channel models are simulated in MATLAB. A significant part of the thesis is devoted to software defined radio (SDR) concept and its adaptation for UHF RFID operation, as it has its specialties which make the usage of standard SDR test equipment very disputable. Transmit carrier leakage into receiver path and requirements on local oscillator signals for mixing are discussed. The development of three experimental prototypes is also presented there: experimental interrogator EXIN-1, measurement system based on Ettus USRP platform, and antenna switching matrix for an emulation of SIMO system. The final part is focused on testing and evaluation of described positioning techniques based on complex backscatter channel transfer function measurement. Both narrowband/wideband ranging and direction of arrival methods are validated. Finally, both proposed antenna placement scenarios are evaluated with real-world measurements.