31 research outputs found
Normal Inverse Gaussian Approximation for Arrival Time Difference in Flow-Induced Molecular Communications
In this paper, we consider molecular communications in one-dimensional
flow-induced diffusion channels with a perfectly absorbing receiver. In such
channels, the random propagation delay until the molecules are absorbed follows
an inverse Gaussian (IG) distribution and is referred to as first hitting time.
Knowing the distribution for the difference of the first hitting times of two
molecules is very important if the information is encoded by a limited set of
molecules and the receiver exploits their arrival time and/or order. Hence, we
propose a moment matching approximation by a normal inverse Gaussian (NIG)
distribution and we derive an expression for the asymptotic tail probability.
Numerical evaluations showed that the NIG approximation matches very well with
the exact solution obtained by numerical convolution of the IG density
functions. Moreover, the asymptotic tail probability outperforms
state-of-the-art tail approximations.Comment: This paper has been submitted to IEEE Transactions on Molecular,
Biological and Multi-Scale Communication
Colour-Specific Microfluidic Droplet Detection for Molecular Communication
Droplet-based microfluidic systems are a promising platform forlab-on-a-chip
(LoC) applications. These systems can also be used toenhance LoC applications
with integrated droplet control information or for data transmission scenarios
in the context of molecular communication. For both use-cases the detection and
characterisation of droplets in small microfluidic channels is crucial. So far,
only complex lab setups with restricted capabilities have been presented as
detection devices. We present a new low-cost and portable droplet detector. The
device is used to confidently distinguish between individual droplets in a
droplet-based microfluidic system. Using on-off keying a 16-bit sequence is
successfully transmittedfor the first time with such a setup. Furthermore, the
devices capabilities to characterise droplets regarding colour and size are
demonstrated. Such an application of a spectral sensor in a microfluidic system
presents new possibilities, such as colour-coded data transmission or analysis
of droplet content
Bacterial relay for energy efficient molecular communications
In multi-cellular organisms, molecular signaling spans multiple distance scales and is essential to tissue structure and functionality. Molecular communications is increasingly researched and developed as a key subsystem in the Internet-of-Nano-Things paradigm. While short range microscopic diffusion communications is well understood, longer range channels can be inefficient and unreliable. Static and mobile relays have been proposed in both conventional wireless systems and molecular communication contexts. In this paper, our main contribution is to analyze the information delivery energy efficiency of bacteria mobile relays. We discover that these mobile relays offer superior energy efficiency compared with pure diffusion information transfer over long diffusion distances. This paper has widespread implications ranging from understanding biological processes to designing new efficient synthetic biology communication systems