4 research outputs found
60 GHz Blockage Study Using Phased Arrays
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies offer the potential for enormous
capacity wireless links. However, designing robust communication systems at
these frequencies requires that we understand the channel dynamics over both
time and space: mmWave signals are extremely vulnerable to blocking and the
channel can thus rapidly appear and disappear with small movement of obstacles
and reflectors. In rich scattering environments, different paths may experience
different blocking trajectories and understanding these multi-path blocking
dynamics is essential for developing and assessing beamforming and
beam-tracking algorithms. This paper presents the design and experimental
results of a novel measurement system which uses phased arrays to perform
mmWave dynamic channel measurements. Specifically, human blockage and its
effects across multiple paths are investigated with only several microseconds
between successive measurements. From these measurements we develop a modeling
technique which uses low-rank tensor factorization to separate the available
paths so that their joint statistics can be understood.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the 51st Asilomar Conference on
Signals, Systems, and Computers, 201
Channel Dynamics and SNR Tracking in Millimeter Wave Cellular Systems
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies are likely to play a significant
role in fifth-generation (5G) cellular systems. A key challenge in developing
systems in these bands is the potential for rapid channel dynamics: since
mmWave signals are blocked by many materials, small changes in the position or
orientation of the handset relative to objects in the environment can cause
large swings in the channel quality. This paper addresses the issue of tracking
the signal to noise ratio (SNR), which is an essential procedure for rate
prediction, handover and radio link failure detection. A simple method for
estimating the SNR from periodic synchronization signals is considered. The
method is then evaluated using real experiments in common blockage scenarios
combined with outdoor statistical models
Improved Handover Through Dual Connectivity in 5G mmWave Mobile Networks
The millimeter wave (mmWave) bands offer the possibility of orders of
magnitude greater throughput for fifth generation (5G) cellular systems.
However, since mmWave signals are highly susceptible to blockage, channel
quality on any one mmWave link can be extremely intermittent. This paper
implements a novel dual connectivity protocol that enables mobile user
equipment (UE) devices to maintain physical layer connections to 4G and 5G
cells simultaneously. A novel uplink control signaling system combined with a
local coordinator enables rapid path switching in the event of failures on any
one link. This paper provides the first comprehensive end-to-end evaluation of
handover mechanisms in mmWave cellular systems. The simulation framework
includes detailed measurement-based channel models to realistically capture
spatial dynamics of blocking events, as well as the full details of MAC, RLC
and transport protocols. Compared to conventional handover mechanisms, the
study reveals significant benefits of the proposed method under several
metrics.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, to appear on the 2017 IEEE JSAC Special Issue
on Millimeter Wave Communications for Future Mobile Network