5 research outputs found
Sub-6GHz Assisted MAC for Millimeter Wave Vehicular Communications
Sub-6GHz vehicular communications (using DSRC, ITS-G5 or C-V2X) have been
developed to support active safety applications. Future connected and automated
driving applications can require larger bandwidth and higher data rates than
currently supported by sub-6GHz V2X technologies. This has triggered the
interest in developing mmWave vehicular communications. However, solutions are
necessary to solve the challenges resulting from the use of high-frequency
bands and the high mobility of vehicles. This paper contributes to this active
research area by proposing a sub-6GHz assisted mmWave MAC that decouples the
mmWave data and control planes. The proposal offloads mmWave MAC control
functions (beam alignment, neighbor identification and scheduling) to a
sub-6GHz V2X technology, and reserves the mmWave channel for the data plane.
This approach improves the operation of the MAC as the control functions
benefit from the longer range, and the broadcast and omnidirectional
transmissions of sub-6GHz V2X technologies. This simulation study demonstrates
that the proposed sub-6GHz assisted mmWave MAC reduces the control overhead and
delay, and increases the spatial sharing compared to a mmWave-only
configuration (IEEE 802.11ad tailored to vehicular networks). The proposed MAC
is here evaluated for V2V communications using 802.11p for the control plane
and 802.11ad for the data plane. However, the proposal is not restricted to
these technologies, and can be adapted to other technologies such as C-V2X and
5G NR.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Beam management for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications in millimeter wave 5G
Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) is expected to leverage the full potential of wireless communications. With the growing adoption of 5G and its support for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications, beamformed vehicular communications at millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands are expected to enable the most demanding connected driving applications. Beamformed V2X links present the challenge of beam management in such a fast-changing scenario. This paper goes through the practical limitations of the 5G V2X stack to support successful beamforming procedures. Two beam management strategies are proposed. Both strategies are evaluated in terms of power performance, beam recovery time and channel usage. The results suggest that significant differences apply when the beam is more frequently updated, whereas little improvement is seen by increasing the size of the beamset. Also, the selection of a proper strategy is shown to be important to alleviate the channel from overheads, and substantial differences in required signaling can be seen depending on the beam-tracking approach.This work was partly funded by the Spanish Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología under projects TEC2013-47360- C3-1-P, TEC2016-78028-C3-1-P and MDM2016-0600, and Catalan Research Group 2017 SGR 219. The Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU17/05561) and Generalitat de Catalunya DI programme (2018- DI-084) also contribute with predoctoral grants for the authors.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Seven Defining Features of Terahertz (THz) Wireless Systems: A Fellowship of Communication and Sensing
Wireless communication at the terahertz (THz) frequency bands (0.1-10THz) is
viewed as one of the cornerstones of tomorrow's 6G wireless systems. Owing to
the large amount of available bandwidth, THz frequencies can potentially
provide wireless capacity performance gains and enable high-resolution sensing.
However, operating a wireless system at the THz-band is limited by a highly
uncertain channel. Effectively, these channel limitations lead to unreliable
intermittent links as a result of a short communication range, and a high
susceptibility to blockage and molecular absorption. Consequently, such
impediments could disrupt the THz band's promise of high-rate communications
and high-resolution sensing capabilities. In this context, this paper
panoramically examines the steps needed to efficiently deploy and operate
next-generation THz wireless systems that will synergistically support a
fellowship of communication and sensing services. For this purpose, we first
set the stage by describing the fundamentals of the THz frequency band. Based
on these fundamentals, we characterize seven unique defining features of THz
wireless systems: 1) Quasi-opticality of the band, 2) THz-tailored wireless
architectures, 3) Synergy with lower frequency bands, 4) Joint sensing and
communication systems, 5) PHY-layer procedures, 6) Spectrum access techniques,
and 7) Real-time network optimization. These seven defining features allow us
to shed light on how to re-engineer wireless systems as we know them today so
as to make them ready to support THz bands. Furthermore, these features
highlight how THz systems turn every communication challenge into a sensing
opportunity. Ultimately, the goal of this article is to chart a forward-looking
roadmap that exposes the necessary solutions and milestones for enabling THz
frequencies to realize their potential as a game changer for next-generation
wireless systems.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure