Network lifetime extension, power conservation and interference suppression for next generation mobile wireless networks

Two major focus research areas related to the design of the next generation multihop wireless networks are network lifetime extension and interference suppression. In this dissertation, these two issues are addressed. In the area of interference suppression, a new family of projection multiuser detectors, based on a generalized, two-stage design is proposed. Projection multiuser detectors provide efficient protection against undesired interference of unknown power, while preserving simple design, with closed-form solution for error probabilities. It is shown that these detectors are linearly optimal, if the interference power is unknown. In the area of network lifetime extension, a new approach to minimum energy routing for multihop wireless networks in Rayleigh fading channels is proposed. It is based on the concept of power combining, whereby two users transmit same signal to the destination user, emulating transmit diversity with two transmit antennas. Analytical framework for the evaluation of the benefits of power combining, in terms of the total transmit power reduction, is defined. Simulation results, which match closely the analytical results, indicate that significant improvements, in terms of transmit power reduction and network lifetime extension, are achievable. The messaging load, generated by the new scheme, is moderate, and can be further optimized

Mobility modeling and management for next generation wireless networks

Mobility modeling and management in wireless networks are the set of tasks performed in order to model motion patterns, predict trajectories, get information on mobiles\u27 whereabouts and to make use of this information in handoff, routing, location management, resource allocation and other functions. In the literature, the speed of mobile is often and misleadingly referred to as the level of mobility, such as high or low mobility. This dissertation presents an information theoretic approach to mobility modeling and management, in which mobility is considered as a measure of uncertainty in mobile\u27s trajectory, that is, the mobility is low if the trajectory of a mobile is highly predictable even if the mobile is moving with high speed. On the other hand, the mobility is high if the trajectory of the mobile is highly erratic. Based on this mobility modeling concept, we classify mobiles into predictable and non-predictable mobility classes and optimize network operations for each mobility class. The dynamic mobility classification technique is applied to various mobility related issues of the next generation wireless networks such as location management, location-based services, and energy efficient routing in multihop cellular networks

Mobile ad hoc networks for intelligent systems

Advances in wireless technology and portable computing along with demands for high user mobility have provided a major promotion toward the development of ad hoc networks. Mobile ad hoc networks feature dynamic topology, self-organization, limited bandwidth and battery power of a node. They do not rely on specialized routers for path discovery and traffic routing. Research on ad hoc networks has been extensively investigated in the past few years and related work has focused on many of the layers of the communications architecture. This research intends to investigate applications of MANET for intelligent systems, including intelligent transportation system (ITS), sensor network and mobile intelligent robot network, and propose some approaches to topology management, link layer multiple access and routing algorithms. Their performance is evaluated by theoretical analysis and off-the-shelf simulation tools. Most current research on ad hoc networks assumes the availability of IEEE 802.11. However, the RTS/CTS protocol of 802.11 still leads to packet collision which in turn decreases the network throughput and lifetime. For sensor networks, sensors are mostly battery operated. Hence, resolving packet collision may improve network lifetime by saving valuable power. Using space and network diversity combination, this work proposes a new packet separation approach to packet collision caused by masked nodes. Inter-vehicle communication is a key component of ITS and it is also called vehicular ad hoc network. VANET has many features different from regular MANETs in terms of mobility, network size and connectivity. Given rapid topology changes and network partitioning, this work studies how to organize the numerous vehicular nodes and establish message paths between any pair of vehicular nodes if they are not apart too far away. In urban areas, the inter-vehicle communication has different requirements and constraints than highway environments. The proposed position-based routing strategy for VANETs utilizes the traffic pattern in city environments. Packets are forwarded based on traffic lights timing sequence and the moving direction of relaying vehicles. A multicast protocol is also introduced to visualize the real time road traffic with customized scale. Only vehicles related to a source node\u27s planned trajectory will reply the query packet. The visualized real time traffic information therefore helps the driver make better decision in route planning when traffic congestion happens. Nowadays robots become more and more powerful and intelligent. They can take part in operations in a cooperative manner which makes distributed control necessary. Ad hoc robot communication network is still fresh field for researchers working on networking technology. This work investigates some key issues in robot ad hoc network and evaluate the challenges while establishing robot ad hoc networks

FAULT-TOLERANT DISTRIBUTED CHANNEL ALLOCATION ALGORITHMS FOR CELLULAR NETWORKS

In cellular networks, channels should be allocated efficiently to support communication betweenmobile hosts. In addition, in cellular networks, base stations may fail. Therefore, designing a faulttolerantchannel allocation algorithm is important. That is, the algorithm should tolerate failuresof base stations. Many existing algorithms are neither fault-tolerant nor efficient in allocatingchannels.We propose channel allocation algorithms which are both fault-tolerant and efficient. In theproposed algorithms, to borrow a channel, a base station (or a cell) does not need to get channelusage information from all its interference neighbors. This makes the algorithms fault-tolerant,i.e., the algorithms can tolerate base station failures, and perform well in the presence of thesefailures.Channel pre-allocation has effect on the performance of a channel allocation algorithm. Thiseffect has not been studied quantitatively. We propose an adaptive channel allocation algorithmto study this effect. The algorithm allows a subset of channels to be pre-allocated to cells. Performanceevaluation indicates that a channel allocation algorithm benefits from pre-allocating allchannels to cells.Channel selection strategy also inuences the performance of a channel allocation algorithm.Given a set of channels to borrow, how a cell chooses a channel to borrow is called the channelselection problem. When choosing a channel to borrow, many algorithms proposed in the literaturedo not take into account the interference caused by borrowing the channel to the cells which havethe channel allocated to them. However, such interference should be considered; reducing suchinterference helps increase the reuse of the same channel, and hence improving channel utilization.We propose a channel selection algorithm taking such interference into account.Most channel allocation algorithms proposed in the literature are for traditional cellular networkswith static base stations and the neighborhood relationship among the base stations is fixed.Such algorithms are not applicable for cellular networks with mobile base stations. We proposea channel allocation algorithm for cellular networks with mobile base stations. The proposedalgorithm is both fault-tolerant and reuses channels efficiently.KEYWORDS: distributed channel allocation, resource planning, fault-tolerance, cellular networks,3-cell cluster model

Advanced Trends in Wireless Communications

Physical limitations on wireless communication channels impose huge challenges to reliable communication. Bandwidth limitations, propagation loss, noise and interference make the wireless channel a narrow pipe that does not readily accommodate rapid flow of data. Thus, researches aim to design systems that are suitable to operate in such channels, in order to have high performance quality of service. Also, the mobility of the communication systems requires further investigations to reduce the complexity and the power consumption of the receiver. This book aims to provide highlights of the current research in the field of wireless communications. The subjects discussed are very valuable to communication researchers rather than researchers in the wireless related areas. The book chapters cover a wide range of wireless communication topics