Diversity-Multiplexing Tradeoffs in MIMO Relay Channels

A multi-hop relay channel with multiple antenna terminals in a quasi-static slow fading environment is considered. For both full-duplex and half-duplex relays the fundamental diversity-multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) is analyzed. It is shown that, while decode-and-forward (DF) relaying achieves the optimal DMT in the full-duplex relay scenario, the dynamic decode-and-forward (DDF) protocol is needed to achieve the optimal DMT if the relay is constrained to half-duplex operation. For the latter case, static protocols are considered as well, and the corresponding achievable DMT performance is characterized.Comment: To appear at IEEE Global Communications Conf. (Globecom), New Orleans, LA, Nov. 200

Ultra Reliable UAV Communication Using Altitude and Cooperation Diversity

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that serve as aerial base stations is expected to become predominant in the next decade. However, in order for this technology to unfold its full potential it is necessary to develop a fundamental understanding of the distinctive features of air-to-ground (A2G) links. As a contribution in this direction, this paper proposes a generic framework for the analysis and optimization of the A2G systems. In contrast to the existing literature, this framework incorporates both height-dependent path loss exponent and small-scale fading, and unifies a widely used ground-to-ground channel model with that of A2G for analysis of large-scale wireless networks. We derive analytical expressions for the optimal UAV height that minimizes the outage probability of a given A2G link. Moreover, our framework allows us to derive a height-dependent closed-form expression and a tight lower bound for the outage probability of an \textit{A2G cooperative communication} network. Our results suggest that the optimal location of the UAVs with respect to the ground nodes does not change by the inclusion of ground relays. This enables interesting insights in the deployment of future A2G networks, as the system reliability could be adjusted dynamically by adding relaying nodes without requiring changes in the position of the corresponding UAVs