Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is an enabling technology to engineer the radio signal propagation in wireless networks. By smartly tuning the signal reflection via a large number of low-cost passive reflecting elements, IRS is capable of dynamically altering wireless channels to enhance the communication performance. It is thus expected that the new IRS-aided hybrid wireless network comprising both active and passive components will be highly promising to achieve a sustainable capacity growth cost-effectively in the future. Despite its great potential, IRS faces new challenges to be efficiently integrated into wireless networks, such as reflection optimization, channel estimation, and deployment from communication design perspectives. In this paper, we provide a tutorial overview of IRS-aided wireless communications to address the above issues, and elaborate its reflection and channel models, hardware architecture and practical constraints, as well as various appealing applications in wireless networks. Moreover, we highlight important directions worthy of further investigation in future work.

Intelligent Reflecting Surface-Aided Wireless Communications: A Tutorial

Mobile-edge computing (MEC) and wireless power transfer are two promising techniques to enhance the computation capability and to prolong the operational time of low-power wireless devices that are ubiquitous in Internet of Things. However, the computation performance and the harvested energy are significantly impacted by the severe propagation loss. In order to address this issue, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-enabled MEC wireless-powered system is studied in this paper. The computation rate maximization problems in a UAV-enabled MEC wireless powered system are investigated under both partial and binary computation offloading modes, subject to the energy-harvesting causal constraint and the UAV’s speed constraint. These problems are non-convex and challenging to solve. A two-stage algorithm and a three-stage alternative algorithm are, respectively, proposed for solving the formulated problems. The closed-form expressions for the optimal central processing unit frequencies, user offloading time, and user transmit power are derived. The optimal selection scheme on whether users choose to locally compute or offload computation tasks is proposed for the binary computation offloading mode. Simulation results show that our proposed resource allocation schemes outperform other benchmark schemes. The results also demonstrate that the proposed schemes converge fast and have low computational complexity.

Computation Rate Maximization in UAV-Enabled Wireless-Powered Mobile-Edge Computing Systems

Mobile edge computing (MEC) and wireless power transfer (WPT) are two promising techniques to enhance the computation capability and to prolong the operational time of low-power wireless devices that are ubiquitous in Internet of Things. However, the computation performance and the harvested energy are significantly impacted by the severe propagation loss. In order to address this issue, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-enabled MEC wireless powered system is studied in this paper. The computation rate maximization problems in a UAV-enabled MEC wireless powered system are investigated under both partial and binary computation offloading modes, subject to the energy harvesting causal constraint and the UAV's speed constraint. These problems are non-convex and challenging to solve. A two-stage algorithm and a three-stage alternative algorithm are respectively proposed for solving the formulated problems. The closed-form expressions for the optimal central processing unit frequencies, user offloading time, and user transmit power are derived. The optimal selection scheme on whether users choose to locally compute or offload computation tasks is proposed for the binary computation offloading mode. Simulation results show that our proposed resource allocation schemes outperforms other benchmark schemes. The results also demonstrate that the proposed schemes converge fast and have low computational complexity.

Computation Rate Maximization in UAV-Enabled Wireless Powered Mobile-Edge Computing Systems

In this paper, we consider a multiple-input multiple-output wireless powered communication network, where multiple users harvest energy from a dedicated power station in order to be able to transmit their information signals to an information receiving station. Employing a practical non-linear energy harvesting (EH) model, we propose a joint time allocation and power control scheme, which takes into account the uncertainty regarding the channel state information (CSI) and provides robustness against imperfect CSI knowledge. In particular, we formulate two non-convex optimization problems for different objectives, namely system sum throughput maximization and the maximization of the minimum individual throughput across all wireless powered users. To overcome the non-convexity, we apply several transformations along with a one-dimensional search to obtain an efficient resource allocation algorithm. Numerical results reveal that a significant performance gain can be achieved when the resource allocation is designed based on the adopted non-linear EH model instead of the conventional linear EH model. Besides, unlike a non-robust baseline scheme designed for perfect CSI, the proposed resource allocation schemes are shown to be robust against imperfect CSI knowledge.

Robust Resource Allocation for MIMO Wireless Powered Communication Networks Based on a Non-Linear EH Model

In this letter, we propose intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) aided multi-antenna physical layer security. We present a power efficient scheme to design the secure transmit power allocation and the surface reflecting phase shift. It aims to minimize the transmit power subject to the secrecy rate constraint at the legitimate user. Due to the non-convex nature of the formulated problem, we propose an alternative optimization algorithm and the semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation to deal with this issue. Also, the closed-form expression of the optimal secure beamformer is derived. Finally, simulation results are presented to validate the proposed algorithm, which highlights the performance gains of the IRS to improve the secure transmission.

Intelligent Reflecting Surface Aided Multi-Antenna Secure Transmission

A multiple-input single-output cognitive radio downlink network is studied with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer. In this network, a secondary user coexists with multiple primary users and multiple energy harvesting receivers. In order to guarantee secure communication and energy harvesting, the problem of robust secure artificial noise-aided beamforming and power splitting design is investigated under imperfect channel state information (CSI). Specifically, the transmit power minimization problem and the max–min fairness energy harvesting problem are formulated for both the bounded CSI error model and the probabilistic CSI error model. These problems are non-convex and challenging to solve. A 1-D search algorithm is proposed to solve these problems based on ${\mathcal S}\text {-Procedure} $ under the bounded CSI error model and based on Bernstein-type inequalities under the probabilistic CSI error model. It is shown that the optimal robust secure beamforming can be achieved under the bounded CSI error model, whereas a suboptimal beamforming solution can be obtained under the probabilistic CSI error model. A tradeoff is elucidated between the secrecy rate of the secondary user receiver and the energy harvested by the energy harvesting receivers under a max–min fairness criterion.

Robust AN-Aided Beamforming and Power Splitting Design for Secure MISO Cognitive Radio With SWIPT

The explosive growth of mobile devices and the rapid increase of wideband wireless services call for advanced communication techniques that can achieve high spectral efficiency and meet the massive connectivity requirement. CR and NOMA are envisioned to be important solutions for fifth generation wireless networks. Integrating NOMA techniques into CRNs has tremendous potential to improve spectral efficiency and increase system capacity. However, there are many technical challenges due to the severe interference caused by using NOMA. Many efforts have been made to facilitate the application of NOMA into CRNs and to investigate the performance of CRNs with NOMA. This article aims to survey the latest research results along this direction. A taxonomy is devised to categorize the literature based on operation paradigms, enabling techniques, design objectives, and optimization characteristics. Moreover, the key challenges are outlined to provide guidelines for the domain researchers and designers to realize CRNs with NOMA. Finally, open issues are discussed.

State of the Art, Taxonomy, and Open Issues on Cognitive Radio Networks with NOMA

A multiple-input single-output cognitive radio downlink network is studied with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer. In this network, a secondary user coexists with multiple primary users and multiple energy harvesting receivers. In order to guarantee secure communication and energy harvesting, the problem of robust secure artificial noise-aided beamforming and power splitting design is investigated under imperfect channel state information (CSI). Specifically, the transmit power minimization problem and the max-min fairness energy harvesting problem are formulated for both the bounded CSI error model and the probabilistic CSI error model. These problems are non-convex and challenging to solve. A one-dimensional search algorithm is proposed to solve these problems based on ${\cal S}\text{-Procedure} $ under the bounded CSI error model and based on Bernstein-type inequalities under the probabilistic CSI error model. It is shown that the optimal robust secure beamforming can be achieved under the bounded CSI error model, whereas a suboptimal beamforming solution can be obtained under the probabilistic CSI error model. A tradeoff is elucidated between the secrecy rate of the secondary user receiver and the energy harvested by the energy harvesting receivers under a max-min fairness criterion.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-enabled communication networks are promising in the fifth and beyond wireless communication systems. In this paper, we shed light on three UAV-enabled mobile edge computing (MEC) architectures. Those architectures have been receiving ever increasing research attention for improving computation performance and decreasing execution latency by integrating UAV into MEC networks. We present a comprehensive survey for the state-of-the-art research in this domain. Important implementation issues are clarified. Moreover, in order to provide an enlightening guidance for future research directions, key challenges and open issues are discussed.

Zan Li

Papers

Robust AN-Aided Beamforming and Power Splitting Design for Secure MISO Cognitive Radio With SWIPT

State of the Art, Taxonomy, and Open Issues on Cognitive Radio Networks with NOMA

Robust AN-Aided Beamforming and Power Splitting Design for Secure MISO Cognitive Radio With SWIPT

Mobile Edge Computing in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Networks

Mobile Edge Computing in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Networks