Military Radio Communications Research in Australia

An overview of recent research by the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation in the field of military radio communications is presented. A philosophy for improving digital radio system performance over complex, variable channels is outlined. A key breakthrough, called PDF-directed adaptive radio, which can provide substantially greater throughput over HF channels whilst minimising bit-error rate and delay, is described. Simulation results for fast adaptive Schemes applied to both serial-tone and parallel-tone HF modems are presented and shown to significantly out-perform fixed rate modems and modems employing hybrid automatic-repeat-request schemes. A new detector scheme is discussed which has superior performance to conventional detectors for digital traffic in the presence of inter-symbol interference and impulsive noise

Optimization of communication data rates under fading conditions

Imperial Users onl

Neural networks and early fast Doppler for prediction in meteor-burst communications systems.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.In meteor-burst communications systems, the channel is bursty with a continuously fluctuating signal-to-noise ratio. Adaptive data rate systems attempt to use the channel more optimally by varying the bit rate. Current adaptive rate systems use a method of closed-loop decision-feedback to control the transmitted data rate. It is proposed that an open-loop adaptive data rate system without a decision feedback path may be possible using implicit channel information carried in the first few milliseconds of the link establishment probe signal. The system would have primary application in low-cost half-duplex telemetry systems. It is shown that the key elements in such a system would be channel predictors. The development of these predictors is the focus of this research. Two novel methods of predicting channel parameters are developed. The first utilises early fast Doppler information that precedes many long duration, large signal-to-noise-ratio overdense trails. The presence of early fast Doppler at the trail commencement is used as a toggle to operate at a higher data rate. Factors influencing the use of early fast Doppler for this purpose are also presented. The second method uses artificial neural networks. Data measured during trail formation is processed and presented to the neural networks for prediction of trail parameters. Several successful neural networks are presented which predict trail type, underdense or overdense, and peak trail amplitude from the first 50ms of the trail's lifetime. This method allows better estimation of the developing trail. This fact can be used to implement a multi-rate open-loop adaptive data rate system

Channel-predictive link layer ARQ protocols in wireless networks

Communication performance over a wireless channel should be considered according to two main parameters: energy and throughput. The reliable data transfer is a key to these goals. The reliable node-to-node data transfer is performed by link layer protocols. One prominent approach is Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) protocol. The traditional ARQ protocols attempt to recover the erroneously transmitted frames by retransmitting those frames, regardless of the channel state. Since this channel state unaware behaviour may cause unnecessary retransmissions, traditional ARQ protocols are expected to be energy inefficient. Some ideas have been proposed such as stochastic learning automaton based ARQ, and channel probing based ARQ. However, these algorithms do not attempt to estimate the channel\u27s existing condition. Instead, the retransmission decision is made according to a simple feedback, on whether the previous frame was successful. This thesis presents four proposed algorithms, which incorporates the channel state estimate in the feedback process to judiciously select a frame (re)transmission timing instant. Algorithms have been applied on Stop-and-Wait (S-W) ARQ, and the performance have been compared with respect to simple S-W ARQ, and probing based S-W ARQ. In probing based ARQ, when the channel deteriorates, transmitter starts probing channel periodically, but the periodicity is chosen arbitrarily, regardless of the fading state. In contrast, the proposed algorithms estimate the channel\u27s existing condition by using feedbacks, and the probing interval is chosen according to the Average Fading Duration (AFD) of received signal. Simulations are performed with Rayleigh Fading Channel. The performance results show that at the cost of some additional delay, significiant gain on energy saving and throughput performance can be achieved when AFD based intelligent probing is done

802.16e System Profile for NASA Extra-Vehicular Activities

This report identifies an 802.16e system profile that is applicable to a lunar surface wireless network, and specifically for meeting extra-vehicular activity (EVA) data flow requirements. EVA suit communication needs are addressed. Design-driving operational scenarios are considered. These scenarios are then used to identify a configuration of the 802.16e system (system profile) that meets EVA requirements, but also aim to make the radio realizable within EVA constraints. Limitations of this system configuration are highlighted. An overview and development status is presented by Toyon Research Corporation concerning the development of an 802.16e compatible modem under NASA s Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program. This modem is based on the recommended system profile developed as part of this report. Last, a path forward is outlined that presents an evolvable solution for the EVA radio system and lunar surface radio networks. This solution is based on a custom link layer, and 802.16e compliant physical layer compliant to the identified system profile, and a later progression to a fully interoperable 802.16e system

Time diversity solutions to cope with lost packets

A dissertation submitted to Departamento de Engenharia Electrotécnica of Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia of Universidade Nova de Lisboa in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engenharia Electrotécnica e de ComputadoresModern broadband wireless systems require high throughputs and can also have very high Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements, namely small error rates and short delays. A high spectral efficiency is needed to meet these requirements. Lost packets, either due to errors or collisions, are usually discarded and need to be retransmitted, leading to performance degradation. An alternative to simple retransmission that can improve both power and spectral efficiency is to combine the signals associated to different transmission attempts. This thesis analyses two time diversity approaches to cope with lost packets that are relatively similar at physical layer but handle different packet loss causes. The first is a lowcomplexity Diversity-Combining (DC) Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) scheme employed in a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) architecture, adapted for channels dedicated to a single user. The second is a Network-assisted Diversity Multiple Access (NDMA) scheme, which is a multi-packet detection approach able to separate multiple mobile terminals transmitting simultaneously in one slot using temporal diversity. This thesis combines these techniques with Single Carrier with Frequency Division Equalizer (SC-FDE) systems, which are widely recognized as the best candidates for the uplink of future broadband wireless systems. It proposes a new NDMA scheme capable of handling more Mobile Terminals (MTs) than the user separation capacity of the receiver. This thesis also proposes a set of analytical tools that can be used to analyse and optimize the use of these two systems. These tools are then employed to compare both approaches in terms of error rate, throughput and delay performances, and taking the implementation complexity into consideration. Finally, it is shown that both approaches represent viable solutions for future broadband wireless communications complementing each other.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - PhD grant(SFRH/BD/41515/2007); CTS multi-annual funding project PEst-OE/EEI/UI0066/2011, IT pluri-annual funding project PEst-OE/EEI/LA0008/2011, U-BOAT project PTDC/EEATEL/ 67066/2006, MPSat project PTDC/EEA-TEL/099074/2008 and OPPORTUNISTICCR project PTDC/EEA-TEL/115981/200

Optimum hybrid error correction scheme under strict delay constraints

In packet-based wireless networks, media-based services often require a multicast-enabled transport that guarantees quasi error free transmission under strict delay constraints. Furthermore, both multicast and delay constraints deeply influence the architecture of erasure error recovery (EER). Therefore, we propose a general architecture of EER and study its optimization in this thesis. The architecture integrates overall existing important EER techniques: Automatic Repeat Request, Forward Error Correction and Hybrid ARQ techniques. Each of these EER techniques can be viewed as a special case of Hybrid Error Correction (HEC) schemes. Since the Gilbert-Elliott (GE) erasure error model has been proven to be valid for a wide range of packet based wireless networks, in this thesis, we present the general architecture and its optimization based on the GE channel model. The optimization target is to satisfy a certain target packet loss level under strict delay constraints efficiently. Through the optimization for a given real-time multicast scenario, the total needed redundancy information can be minimized by choosing the best HEC scheme automatically among the entire schemes included in the architecture. As a result, the performance of the optimum HEC scheme can approach the Shannon limit as closely as possible dynamically according to current channel state information.In Paket-basierten drahtlosen Netzwerken benötigen Medien-basierte Dienste oft Multicast-fähigen Transport, der quasi-fehlerfreie Übertragung unter strikten Zeitgrenzen garantiert. Außerdem beeinflussen sowohl Multicast als auch Zeitbegrenzungen stark die Architektur von Auslöschungs-Fehlerschutz (Erasure Error Recovery, EER). Daher stellen wir eine allgemeine Architektur der EER vor und untersuchen ihre Optimierung in dieser Arbeit. Die Architektur integriert alle wichtigen EER-Techniken: Automatic Repeat Request, Forward Error Correction und Hybrid ARQ. Jede dieser EER-Techniken kann als Spezialfall der Hybrid Error Correction (HEC) angesehen werden. Da das Gilbert-Elliot (GE) Auslöschungs-Fehler-Modell für einen weiten Bereich von Paket-basierten drahtlosen Netzwerken als gültig erwiesen wurde, präsentieren wir in dieser Arbeit die allgemeine Architektur und deren Optimierung basierend auf dem GE Kanalmodell. Zweck der Optimierung ist es, eine gewisse Ziel-Paketfehlerrate unter strikten Zeitgrenzen effizient zu erreichen. Durch die Optimierung für ein gegebenes Echtzeit-Mutlicast-Szenario kann die insgesamt benötigte Redundanz-Information minimiert werden. Dies erfolgt durch automatische Auswahl des optimalen HEC Schemas unter all den Schemata, die in die Architektur integriert sind. Das optimale HEC-Schema kann die Shannon Grenze so nahe wie möglich, dynamisch, entsprechend dem derzeitigen Kanalzustand, erreichen