Sliding Window Spectrum Sensing for Full-Duplex Cognitive Radios with Low Access-Latency

In a cognitive radio system the failure of secondary user (SU) transceivers to promptly vacate the channel can introduce significant access-latency for primary or high-priority users (PU). In conventional cognitive radio systems, the backoff latency is exacerbated by frame structures that only allow sensing at periodic intervals. Concurrent transmission and sensing using self-interference suppression has been suggested to improve the performance of cognitive radio systems, allowing decisions to be taken at multiple points within the frame. In this paper, we extend this approach by proposing a sliding-window full-duplex model allowing decisions to be taken on a sample-by-sample basis. We also derive the access-latency for both the existing and the proposed schemes. Our results show that the access-latency of the sliding scheme is decreased by a factor of 2.6 compared to the existing slotted full-duplex scheme and by a factor of approximately 16 compared to a half-duplex cognitive radio system. Moreover, the proposed scheme is significantly more resilient to the destructive effects of residual self-interference compared to previous approaches.Comment: Published in IEEE VTC Spring 2016, Nanjing, Chin

Versatility Of Low-Power Wide-Area Network Applications

Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) is regarded as the leading communication technology for wide-area Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications. It offers low-power, long-range, and low-cost communication. With different communication requirements for varying IoT applications, many competing LPWAN technologies operating in both licensed (e.g., NB-IoT, LTE-M, and 5G) and unlicensed (e.g., LoRa and SigFox) bands have emerged. LPWANs are designed to support applications with low-power and low data rate operations. They are not well-designed to host applications that involve high mobility, high traffic, or real-time communication (e.g., volcano monitoring and control applications).With the increasing number of mobile devices in many IoT domains (e.g., agricultural IoT and smart city), mobility support is not well-addressed in LPWAN. Cellular-based/licensed LPWAN relies on the wired infrastructure to enable mobility. On the other hand, most unlicensed LPWANs operate on the crowded ISM band or are required to duty cycle, making handling mobility a challenge. In this dissertation, we first identify the key opportunities of LPWAN, highlight the challenges, and show potential directions for future research. We then enable the versatility of LPWAN applications first by enabling applications involving mobility over LPWAN. Specifically, we propose to handle mobility in LPWAN over white space considering Sensor Network Over White Space (SNOW). SNOW is a highly scalable and energy-efficient LPWAN operating over the TV white spaces. TV white spaces are the allocated but locally unused available TV channels (54 - 698 MHz in the US). We proposed a dynamic Carrier Frequency Offset (CFO) estimation and compensation technique that considers the impact of the Doppler shift due to mobility. Also, we design energy-efficient and fast BS discovery and association approaches. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of our approach through experiments in different deployments. Finally, we present a collision detection and recovery technique called RnR (Reverse & Replace Decoding) that applies to LPWANs. Additionally, we discuss future work to enable handling burst transmission over LPWAN and localization in mobile LPWAN

Spectrum sensing algorithms and software-defined radio implementation for cognitive radio system

The scarcity of spectral resources in wireless communications, due to a fixed frequency allocation policy, is a strong limitation to the increasing demand for higher data rates. However, measurements showed that a large part of frequency channels are underutilized or almost unoccupied. The cognitive radio paradigm arises as a tempting solution to the spectral congestion problem. A cognitive radio must be able to identify transmission opportunities in unused channels and to avoid generating harmful interference with the licensed primary users. Its key enabling technology is the spectrum sensing unit, whose ultimate goal consists in providing an indication whether a primary transmission is taking place in the observed channel. Such indication is determined as the result of a binary hypothesis testing experiment wherein null hypothesis (alternate hypothesis) corresponds to the absence (presence) of the primary signal. The first parts of this thesis describes the spectrum sensing problem and presents some of the best performing detection techniques. Energy Detection and multi-antenna Eigenvalue-Based Detection algorithms are considered. Important aspects are taken into account, like the impact of noise estimation or the effect of primary user traffic. The performance of each detector is assessed in terms of false alarm probability and detection probability. In most experimental research, cognitive radio techniques are deployed in software-defined radio systems, radio transceivers that allow operating parameters (like modulation type, bandwidth, output power, etc.) to be set or altered by software.In the second part of the thesis, we introduce the software-defined radio concept. Then, we focus on the implementation of Energy Detection and Eigenvalue-Based Detection algorithms: first, the used software platform, GNU Radio, is described, secondly, the implementation of a parallel energy detector and a multi-antenna eigenbased detector is illustrated and details on the used methodologies are given. Finally, we present the deployed experimental cognitive testbeds and the used radio peripherals. The obtained algorithmic results along with the software-defined radio implementation may offer a set of tools able to create a realistic cognitive radio system with real-time spectrum sensing capabilities

Wireless Sensor Networking in Challenging Environments

Recent years have witnessed growing interest in deploying wireless sensing applications in real-world environments. For example, home automation systems provide fine-grained metering and control of home appliances in residential settings. Similarly, assisted living applications employ wireless sensors to provide continuous health and wellness monitoring in homes. However, real deployments of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) pose significant challenges due to their low-power radios and uncontrolled ambient environments. Our empirical study in over 15 real-world apartments shows that low-power WSNs based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard are highly susceptible to external interference beyond user control, such as Wi-Fi access points, Bluetooth peripherals, cordless phones, and numerous other devices prevalent in residential environments that share the unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM band with IEEE 802.15.4 radios. To address these real-world challenges, we developed two practical wireless network protocols including the Adaptive and Robust Channel Hopping (ARCH) protocol and the Adaptive Energy Detection Protocol (AEDP). ARCH enhances network reliability through opportunistically changing radio\u27s frequency to avoid interference and environmental noise and AEDP reduces false wakeups in noisy wireless environments by dynamically adjusting the wakeup threshold of low-power radios. Another major trend in WSNs is the convergence with smart phones. To deal with the dynamic wireless conditions and varying application requirements of mobile users, we developed the Self-Adapting MAC Layer (SAML) to support adaptive communication between smart phones and wireless sensors. SAML dynamically selects and switches Medium Access Control protocols to accommodate changes in ambient conditions and application requirements. Compared with the residential and personal wireless systems, industrial applications pose unique challenges due to their critical demands on reliability and real-time performance. We developed an experimental testbed by realizing key network mechanisms of industrial Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks (WSANs) and conducted an empirical study that revealed the limitations and potential enhancements of those mechanisms. Our study shows that graph routing is more resilient to interference and its backup routes may be heavily used in noisy environments, which demonstrate the necessity of path diversity for reliable WSANs. Our study also suggests that combining channel diversity with retransmission may effectively reduce the burstiness of transmission failures and judicious allocation of multiple transmissions in a shared slot can effectively improve network capacity without significantly impacting reliability

Novel Interference And Spectrum Aware Routing Techniques}{for Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

Tez (Doktora) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2011Thesis (PhD) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 2011Yüksek hızlı kablosuz ağlara artan rağbet nedeniyle, radyo spektrumu dünya üzerinde en çok kullanılan ve pahalı doğal kaynaklardan biri haline gelmiştir. Lisanslı spektrumu etkin şekilde kullanma ve paylaşmaya olanak sağlaması nedeniyle radyo spektrumundan yararlanma potansiyelini arttıran bilişsel radyo teknolojisi büyük ilgi toplamaktadır. Söz konusu potansiyelden faydalanmak üzere bilişsel radyo ağları tasarlanırken üzerinde önemle durulması gereken en önemli konulardan bir tanesi de yönlendirmedir. Çalışmamızda bilişsel radyo ağlarında kullanılmak üzere önerilen yönlendirme teknikleri hakkında bir bakış açısı sunulmakla beraber asıl olarak girişim ve spektruma dayalı özgün yönlendirme teknikleri önerilmektedir. Öncelikle, spektrum kullanım karakteristikleri ve ağdaki akışların yarattığı girişim göz önüne alınarak yönlendirme ölçütleri tasarlanmıştır. Ayrıca, bilişsel radyo ağları için otonom dağıtık uyarlanır menzil kontrol stratejisi önerilmiştir. Bu önerilere ek olarak dağıtık ve etkin bir kümeleme tabanlı yönlendirme tekniği geliştirilmiştir. Son olarak, bilişsel radyo ağları için otonom dağıtık uyarlanır menzil kontrol stratejisi ve spektrum erişebilirliği ve girişim maliyeti ölçütlerini bir arada kullanan özgün bir yönlendirme tekniği önerilmiştir. Önerilen yeni yönlendirme ölçütlerinin kullanımı nedeniyle önerilen teknik trafiği kullanılabilir spektrumun daha çok ve girişimin daha az olduğu rotalara yönlendirmektedir. NS2 benzetim ortamı kullanılarak gerçekleştirilen testler, önerilen yöntemlerin bilişsel radyo ağlarına uygunluğunu ve ağ başarımını arttırdığını göstermiştir. Ayrıca güncel bilişsel radyo teknolojisini kullanan diğer yöntemlerle karşılaştırıldığında önerilen tekniklerin hem uçtan uca veri aktarımını arttırdığı hem de uçtan uca gecikmeyi azalttığı ve başarımlarının daha yüksek olduğu gözlemlenmiştir.Radio spectrum has become one of the most heavily used and expensive natural resource around the world because of the growing demand for high-speed wireless networks. Cognitive radio has received great attention due to tremendous potential to improve the utilization of the radio spectrum by efficiently reusing and sharing the licensed spectrum. To design such mobile cognitive radio networks, routing is one of the key challenging issues to be addressed and requires deep investigation. This study gives some insights about the potential routing approaches that can be employed, and suggests novel interference and spectrum aware routing techniques for cognitive radio networks. First, the spectrum usage characteristics, and the interference created by existing flows in the network both from the primary and secondary users are taken into account to define routing metrics. Next, an autonomous distributed adaptive transmission range control scheme for cognitive radio networks is proposed. A distributed and efficient cluster based routing technique, which benefits from new metrics, is also introduced. The last proposed routing algorithm incorporates novel metrics and autonomous distributed adaptive transmission range control mechanism to provide self adaptivity. As a consequence, the proposed protocol routes traffic across paths with better spectrum availability and reduced interference via these new routing metrics. Extensive experimental evaluations are performed in the ns2 simulator to show that proposed protocols provide better adaptability to the environment and maximize throughput, minimize end-to-end delay in a number of realistic scenarios and outperforms recently proposed routing protocols developed for cognitive radio networks.DoktoraPh

Design and implementation of an SDR-based multi-frequency ground-based SAR system

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has proven a valuable tool in the monitoring of the Earth, either at a global or local scales. SAR is a coherent radar system able to image extended areas with high resolution, and finds applications in many areas such as forestry, agriculture, mining, structure inspection or security operations. Although space-borne SAR systems can image extended areas, their main limitation is the long revisit times, which are not suitable for applications where the target experiments rapid changes, in the scale of minutes to few days. GBSAR systems have proven useful to fill this revisit time gap by imaging relatively small areas continuously, with extensions usually smaller than a few square kilometers. Ground Based SAR (GBSAR) systems have been used extensively for the monitoring of slope instability, and are a common tool in the mining sector. The development of the GBSAR is relatively recent, and various developments have taken place since the 2000s, transitioning from the usage of Vector Network Analyzers (VNAs) to custom radar cores tailored for this application. This transition is accompanied by a reduction in cost, but at the same time is accompanied by a loss of operational flexibility. Specifically, most GBSAR sensors now operate at a single frequency, losing the value of the multi-band operation that VNAs provided. This work is motivated by the idea that it is worth to use the value of multi-frequency GBSAR measurements, while maintaining a limited system cost. In order to implement a GBSAR with these characteristics, it is realized that Software Defined Radio (SDR) devices are a good option for fast and flexible implementation of broadband transceivers. This thesis details the design and implementation process of an SDR-based Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) GBSAR system from the ground up, presenting the main issues related with the usage of the most common SDR analog architecture, the Zero-IF transceiver. The main problem is determined to be the behavior of spurs related to IQ imbalances of the analog transceiver with the FMCW demodulation process. Two effective techniques to overcome these issues, the Super Spatial Variant Apodization (SSVA) and the Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) signal reconstruction techniques, are implemented and tested. The thesis also deals with the digital implementation of the signal generator and digital receiver, which are implemented on top of an RF Network-on-Chip (RFNoC) architecture in the SDR Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Another important aspect of this work is the development of an radiofrequency front-end that extends the capabilities of the SDR, implementing filtering, amplification, leakage mitigation and up-conversion to X-band. Finally, a set of test campaigns is described, in which the operation of the system is verified and the value of multi-frequency GBSAR observations is shown.El radar d'obertura sintètica (SAR) ha demostrat ser una eina valuosa en el monitoratge de la Terra, sigui a escala global o local. El SAR és un sistema de radar coherent capaç d’obtenir imatges de zones extenses amb alta resolució i té aplicacions en moltes àrees com la silvicultura, l’agricultura, la mineria, la inspecció d’estructures o les operacions de seguretat. Tot i que els sistemes SAR embarcats en plataformes orbitals poden obtenir imatges d'àrees extenses, la seva principal limitació és el temps de revisita, que no són adequats per a aplicacions on l'objectiu experimenta canvis ràpids, en una escala de minuts a pocs dies. Els sistemes GBSAR han demostrat ser útils per omplir aquesta bretxa de temps, obtenint imatges d'àrees relativament petites de manera contínua, amb extensions generalment inferiors a uns pocs quilòmetres quadrats. Els sistemes SAR terrestres (GBSAR) s’han utilitzat àmpliament per al control de la inestabilitat de talussos i esllavissades i són una eina comuna al sector miner. El desenvolupament del GBSAR és relativament recent i s’han produït diversos desenvolupaments des de la dècada de 2000, passant de l’ús d’analitzadors de xarxes vectorials (VNA) a nuclis de radar personalitzats i adaptats a aquesta aplicació. Aquesta transició s’acompanya d’una reducció del cost, però al mateix temps d’una pèrdua de flexibilitat operativa. Concretament, la majoria dels sensors GBSAR funcionen a una única freqüència, perdent el valor de l’operació en múltiples bandes que proporcionaven els VNA. Aquesta tesi està motivada per la idea de recuperar el valor de les mesures GBSAR multifreqüència, mantenint un cost del sistema limitat. Per tal d’implementar un GBSAR amb aquestes característiques, s’adona que els dispositius de ràdio definida per software (SDR) són una bona opció per a la implementació ràpida i flexible dels transceptors de banda ampla. Aquesta tesi detalla el procés de disseny i implementació d’un sistema GBSAR d’ona contínua modulada en freqüència (FMCW) basat en la tecnologia SDR, presentant els principals problemes relacionats amb l’ús de l’arquitectura analògica de SDR més comuna, el transceptor Zero-IF. Es determina que el problema principal és el comportament dels espuris relacionats amb el balanç de les cadenes de fase i quadratura del transceptor analògic amb el procés de desmodulació FMCW. S’implementen i comproven dues tècniques efectives per minimitzar aquests problemes basades en la reconstrucció de la senyal contaminada per espuris: la tècnica anomenada Super Spatial Variant Apodization (SSVA) i una tècnica basada en la transformada de Fourier amb finestra (STFT). La tesi també tracta la implementació digital del generador de senyal i del receptor digital, que s’implementen sobre una arquitectura RF Network-on-Chip (RFNoC). Un altre aspecte important d’aquesta tesi és el desenvolupament d’un front-end de radiofreqüència que amplia les capacitats de la SDR, implementant filtratge, amplificació, millora de l'aïllament entre transmissió i recepció i conversió a banda X. Finalment, es descriu un conjunt de campanyes de prova en què es verifica el funcionament del sistema i es mostra el valor de les observacions GBSAR multifreqüència

WN: COGNET: Cognitive radio networks based on OFDM

Issued as final reportNational Science Foundation (U.S.

Enhanced snr-based admission control algorithm for vehicular ad-hoc network

Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) becomes a fundamental subcategory of mobile ad-hoc networks that provides vehicles to communicate with each other and with roadside infrastructure smartly. Data traffic in VANET can be categorized into safety and non-safety, where safety is a very critical point and non-safety is related to entertainment. Various VANET performance challenges are considered in terms of Quality of Service (QoS) which cause performance degradation as performance anomaly where high rates of vehicles wait for the low rates of vehicle transmitting time and starvation problem where some vehicles cannot transfer their data. Three main achievements have been accomplished. Starting with the impact of the increasing vehicle speed on performance anomaly problem consequences has been investigated. Followed by high-speed effects on data delivery is illustrated and how 802.11p has outperformed 802.11 in terms of data delivery is also demonstrated. Lastly, starvation problem is investigated where results showed increased data loss when vehicle nodes unable to deliver data correctly. Finally, a QoS-aware Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) admission control mechanism (QASAC) is proposed to handle the performance anomaly problem while maintaining the QoS levels for high and low traffics. This can result in wasting throughput and cause data loss. The investigation results show that 802.11p has enhanced the number of dropped packets up to 70%. Also, the 802.11p end to end delay has decreased up to 12% less than the results of the 802.11 MAC protocol. The packet delivery ratio has been enhanced by up to 41% by 802.11p. The starvation problem investigation phase shows that 802.11p perform better than 802.11 which mainly affected by the increased speed of the vehicle. QASAC assigned different SNR values to different vehicles group based on the sending SNR values and in each group. Unlike recently proposed admission control in VANET networks, the proposed architecture differentiate between both high priority and low priority traffic QASAC has been compared against the latest SNR based admission control mechanism. QASAC has enhanced the performance of data delivery up to 23% in terms of data dropping rates for high priority traffic