Showing papers on "Telecommunications link published in 2019"

Securing UAV Communications via Joint Trajectory and Power Control

Abstract: Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication is anticipated to be widely applied in the forthcoming fifth-generation wireless networks, due to its many advantages such as low cost, high mobility, and on-demand deployment. However, the broadcast and line-of-sight nature of air-to-ground wireless channels give rise to a new challenge on how to realize secure UAV communications with the destined nodes on the ground. This paper aims to tackle this challenge by applying the physical layer security technique. We consider both the downlink and uplink UAV communications with a ground node, namely, UAV-to-ground (U2G) and ground-to-UAV (G2U) communications, respectively, subject to a potential eavesdropper on the ground. In contrast to the existing literature on the wireless physical layer security only with the ground nodes at fixed or quasi-static locations, we exploit the high mobility of the UAV to proactively establish favorable and degraded channels for the legitimate and eavesdropping links, through its trajectory design. We formulate new problems to maximize the average secrecy rates of the U2G and G2U transmissions, by jointly optimizing the UAV’s trajectory, and the transmit power of the legitimate transmitter over a given flight period of the UAV. Although the formulated problems are non-convex, we propose iterative algorithms to solve them efficiently by applying the block coordinate descent and successive convex optimization methods. Specifically, both the transmit power and UAV trajectory are optimized, with the other being fixed in an alternating manner, until the algorithms converge. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithms can improve the secrecy rates for both U2G and G2U communications, as compared to other benchmark schemes without power control and/or trajectory optimization.

Cellular UAV-to-X Communications: Design and Optimization for Multi-UAV Networks

Abstract: In this paper, we consider a single-cell cellular network with a number of cellular users (CUs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in which multiple UAVs upload their collected data to the base station (BS). Two transmission modes are considered to support the multi-UAV communications, i.e., UAV-to-network (U2N) and UAV-to-UAV (U2U) communications. Specifically, the UAV with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the U2N link uploads its collected data directly to the BS through U2N communication, while the UAV with a low SNR for the U2N link can transmit data to a nearby UAV through underlaying U2U communication for the sake of quality of service. We first propose a cooperative UAV sense-and-send protocol to enable the UAV-to-X communications, and then formulate the subchannel allocation and UAV speed optimization problem to maximize the uplink sum-rate. To solve this NP-hard problem efficiently, we decouple it into three sub-problems: U2N and cellular user (CU) subchannel allocation, U2U subchannel allocation, and UAV speed optimization. An iterative subchannel allocation and speed optimization algorithm (ISASOA) is proposed to solve these sub-problems jointly. The simulation results show that the proposed ISASOA can upload 10% more data than the greedy algorithm.

Embedded Pilot-Aided Channel Estimation for OTFS in Delay–Doppler Channels

Abstract: Orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) modulation was shown to provide significant error performance advantages over orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in delay–Doppler channels. In order to detect OTFS modulated data, the channel impulse response needs to be known at the receiver. In this paper, we propose embedded pilot-aided channel estimation schemes for OTFS. In each OTFS frame, we arrange pilot, guard, and data symbols in the delay–Doppler plane to suitably avoid interference between pilot and data symbols at the receiver. We develop such symbol arrangements for OTFS over multipath channels with integer and fractional Doppler shifts, respectively. At the receiver, channel estimation is performed based on a threshold method and the estimated channel information is used for data detection via a message passing algorithm. Thanks to our specific embedded symbol arrangements, both channel estimation and data detection are performed within the same OTFS frame with minimum overhead. We compare through simulations the error performance of OTFS using the proposed channel estimation and OTFS with ideally known channel information and observe only a marginal performance loss. We also demonstrate that the proposed channel estimation in OTFS significantly outperforms OFDM with known channel information. Finally, we present extensions of the proposed schemes to multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and multi-user uplink/downlink.

Channel Estimation for Orthogonal Time Frequency Space (OTFS) Massive MIMO

Abstract: Orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) modulation outperforms orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in high-mobility scenarios. One challenge for OTFS massive MIMO is downlink channel estimation due to the large number of base station antennas. In this paper, we propose a 3D-structured orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm based channel estimation technique to solve this problem. First, we show that the OTFS MIMO channel exhibits 3D-structured sparsity: normal sparsity along the delay dimension, block sparsity along the Doppler dimension, and burst sparsity along the angle dimension. Based on the 3D-structured channel sparsity, we then formulate the downlink channel estimation problem as a sparse signal recovery problem. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve accurate channel state information with low pilot overhead.

Throughput Maximization for UAV-Enabled Wireless Powered Communication Networks

Abstract: This paper studies an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-enabled wireless powered communication network (WPCN), in which a UAV is dispatched as a mobile access point (AP) to serve a set of ground users periodically. The UAV employs the radio frequency (RF) wireless power transfer (WPT) to charge the users in the downlink, and the users use the harvested RF energy to send independent information to the UAV in the uplink. Unlike the conventional WPCN with fixed APs, the UAV-enabled WPCN can exploit the mobility of the UAV via trajectory design, jointly with the wireless resource allocation optimization, to maximize the system throughput. In particular, we aim to maximize the uplink common (minimum) throughput among all ground users over a finite UAV’s flight period, subject to its maximum speed constraint and the users’ energy neutrality constraints. The resulted problem is nonconvex and thus difficult to be solved optimally. To tackle this challenge, we first consider an ideal case without the UAV’s maximum speed constraint, and obtain the optimal solution to the relaxed problem. The optimal solution shows that the UAV should successively hover above a finite number of ground locations for downlink WPT, as well as above each of the ground users for uplink communication. Next, we consider the general problem with the UAV’s maximum speed constraint. Based on the above multilocation-hovering solution, we first propose an efficient successive hover-and-fly trajectory design, jointly with the downlink and uplink wireless resource allocation, and then propose a locally optimal solution by applying the techniques of alternating optimization and successive convex programming (SCP). Numerical results show that the proposed UAV-enabled WPCN achieves significant throughput gains over the conventional WPCN with fixed-location AP.

Optimizing Resource Allocation in the Short Blocklength Regime for Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications

Abstract: In this paper, we aim to find the global optimal resource allocation for ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), where the blocklength of channel codes is short. The achievable rate in the short blocklength regime is neither convex nor concave in bandwidth and transmit power. Thus, a non-convex constraint is inevitable in optimizing resource allocation for URLLC. We first consider a general resource allocation problem with constraints on the transmission delay and decoding error probability, and prove that a global optimal solution can be found in a convex subset of the original feasible region. Then, we illustrate how to find the global optimal solution for an example problem, where the energy efficiency (EE) is maximized by optimizing antenna configuration, bandwidth allocation, and power control under the latency and reliability constraints. To improve the battery life of devices and EE of communication systems, both uplink and downlink resources are optimized. The simulation and numerical results validate the analysis and show that the circuit power is dominated by the total power consumption when the average inter-arrival time between packets is much larger than the required delay bound. Therefore, optimizing antenna configuration and bandwidth allocation without power control leads to minor EE loss.

Resource Allocation for Multi-UAV Aided IoT NOMA Uplink Transmission Systems

Abstract: Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication is a promising technology for Internet of Things (IoT) systems. In this paper, we combine UAV communication and nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) for constructing high capacity IoT uplink transmission systems, where UAVs are used as aerial base stations for collecting data from IoT nodes while NOMA is invoked for uplink transmission. We aim to maximize the system capacity by jointly optimize the subchannel assignment, the uplink transmit power of IoT nodes, and the flying heights of UAVs. We commence by proposing an efficient subchannel assignment algorithm relying on the classic ${K}$ -means clustering method and matching theory. Then, we determine both the distributed uplink transmit power of IoT nodes and flying heights of UAVs based on successive optimization approach. An alternative optimization algorithm is also proposed for finding the near-optimal solutions. Finally, the numerical results demonstrate the superiority of our proposed scheme.

Deep Learning for TDD and FDD Massive MIMO: Mapping Channels in Space and Frequency

Abstract: Can we map the channels at one set of antennas and one frequency band to the channels at another set of antennas— possibly at a different location and a different frequency bandƒ If this channel-to-channel mapping is possible, we can expect dramatic gains for massive MIMO systems. For example, in FDD massive MIMO, the uplink channels can be mapped to the downlink channels or the downlink channels at one subset of antennas can be mapped to the downlink channels at all the other antennas. This can significantly reduce (or even eliminate) the downlink training/feedback overhead. In the context of cell-free/distributed massive MIMO systems, this channel mapping can be leveraged to reduce the fronthaul signaling overheadIn this paper, we introduce the new concept of channel mapping in space and frequency, where the channels at one set of antennas and one frequency band are mapped to the channels at another set of antennas and frequency band. First, we prove that this channel-to-channel mapping function exists under certain conditions. Then, we leverage the powerful learning capabilities of deep neural networks to efficiently learn this non-trivial channel mapping function, which is also confirmed by the simulation results.

On the Uplink Max–Min SINR of Cell-Free Massive MIMO Systems

Abstract: A cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output system is considered using a max-min approach to maximize the minimum user rate with per-user power constraints. First, an approximated uplink user rate is derived based on channel statistics. Then, the original max-min signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio problem is formulated for the optimization of receiver filter coefficients at a central processing unit and user power allocation. To solve this max-min non-convex problem, we decouple the original problem into two sub-problems, namely, receiver filter coefficient design and power allocation. The receiver filter coefficient design is formulated as a generalized Eigenvalue problem, whereas the geometric programming (GP) is used to solve the user power allocation problem. Based on these two sub-problems, an iterative algorithm is proposed, in which both problems are alternately solved while one of the design variables is fixed. This iterative algorithm obtains a globally optimum solution, whose optimality is proved through establishing an uplink-downlink duality. Moreover, we present a novel sub-optimal scheme which provides a GP formulation to efficiently and globally maximize the minimum uplink user rate. The numerical results demonstrate that the proposed scheme substantially outperforms the existing schemes in the literature.

Sparse Bayesian Learning for the Time-Varying Massive MIMO Channels: Acquisition and Tracking

Abstract: The low-rank property of the channel covariances can be adopted to reduce the overhead of the channel training in massive MIMO systems. In this paper, with the help of the virtual channel representation, we apply such property to both time-division duplex and frequency-division duplex systems, where the time-varying channel scenarios are considered. First, we formulate the dynamic massive MIMO channel as one sparse signal model. Then, an expectation maximization-based sparse Bayesian learning framework is developed to learn the model parameters of the sparse virtual channel. Specifically, the Kalman filter (KF) and the Rauch–Tung–Striebel smoother are utilized to track the model parameters of the uplink (UL) spatial sparse channel in the expectation step. During the maximization step, a fixed-point theorem-based algorithm and a low-complex searching method are constructed to recover the temporal varying characteristics and the spatial signatures, respectively. With the angle reciprocity, we recover the downlink (DL) model parameters from the UL ones. After that, the KF with the reduced dimension is adopt to fully exploit the channel temporal correlations to enhance the DL/UL virtual channel tracking accuracy. A monitoring scheme is also designed to detect the change of model parameters and trigger the relearning process. Finally, we demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed schemes through the numerical simulations.

Transceiver Design and Multihop D2D for UAV IoT Coverage in Disasters

Abstract: When natural disasters strike, the coverage for Internet of Things (IoT) may be severely destroyed, due to the damaged communications infrastructure. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be exploited as flying base stations to provide emergency coverage for IoT, due to its mobility and flexibility. In this paper, we propose multiantenna transceiver design and multihop device-to-device (D2D) communication to guarantee the reliable transmission and extend the UAV coverage for IoT in disasters. First, multihop D2D links are established to extend the coverage of UAV emergency networks due to the constrained transmit power of the UAV. In particular, a shortest-path-routing algorithm is proposed to establish the D2D links rapidly with minimum nodes. The closed-form solutions for the number of hops and the outage probability are derived for the uplink and downlink. Second, the transceiver designs for the UAV uplink and downlink are studied to optimize the performance of UAV transmission. Due to the nonconvexity of the problem, they are first transformed into convex ones and then, low-complexity algorithms are proposed to solve them efficiently. Simulation results show the performance improvement in the throughput and outage probability by the proposed schemes for UAV wireless coverage of IoT in disasters.

Deep Learning-Based Downlink Channel Prediction for FDD Massive MIMO System

Abstract: In a frequency division duplexing (FDD) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, the acquisition of downlink channel state information (CSI) at base station (BS) is a very challenging task due to the overwhelming overheads required for downlink training and uplink feedback. In this letter, we reveal a deterministic uplink-to-downlink mapping function when the position-to-channel mapping is bijective. Motivated by the universal approximation theorem, we then propose a sparse complex-valued neural network (SCNet) to approximate the uplink-to-downlink mapping function. Different from general deep networks that operate in the real domain, the SCNet is constructed in the complex domain and is able to learn the complex-valued mapping function by off-line training. After training, the SCNet is used to directly predict the downlink CSI based on the estimated uplink CSI without the need of either downlink training or uplink feedback. Numerical results show that the SCNet achieves better performance than general deep networks in terms of prediction accuracy and exhibits remarkable robustness over complicated wireless channels, demonstrating its great potential for practical deployments.

Cellular-Connected UAV: Uplink Association, Power Control and Interference Coordination

Abstract: The line-of-sight (LoS) air-to-ground channel brings both opportunities and challenges in cellular-connected unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communications. On one hand, the LoS channels make more cellular base stations (BSs) visible to a UAV as compared to the ground users, which leads to a higher macro-diversity gain for UAV-BS communications. On the other hand, they also render the UAV to impose/suffer more severe uplink/downlink interference to/from the BSs, thus requiring more sophisticated inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) techniques with more BSs involved. In this paper, we consider the uplink transmission from a UAV to cellular BSs, under spectrum sharing with the existing ground users. To investigate the optimal ICIC design and air-ground performance trade-off, we maximize the weighted sum-rate of the UAV and existing ground users by jointly optimizing the UAV’s uplink cell associations and power allocations over multiple resource blocks. However, this problem is non-convex and difficult to be solved optimally. We first propose a centralized ICIC design to obtain a locally optimal solution based on the successive convex approximation (SCA) method. As the centralized ICIC requires global information of the network and substantial information exchange among an excessively large number of BSs, we further propose a decentralized ICIC scheme of significantly lower complexity and signaling overhead for implementation, by dividing the cellular BSs into small-size clusters and exploiting the LoS macro-diversity for exchanging information between the UAV and cluster-head BSs only. Numerical results show that the proposed centralized and decentralized ICIC schemes both achieve a near-optimal performance, and draw important design insights based on practical system setups.

Narrowband IoT: A Survey on Downlink and Uplink Perspectives

Abstract: Narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) is a radio access technology standardized by the 3GPP to support a large set of use cases for massive machine-type communications. Compared to human-oriented 4G technologies, NB-IoT has key design features in terms of increased coverage, enhanced power saving, and a reduced set of functionalities. These features allow for connectivity of devices in challenging positions, enabling long battery life and reducing device complexity. This article provides a detailed overview on NB-IoT, together with analysis and performance evaluation of the technology. Both uplink and downlink directions are presented, including recent updates on the support of multicast transmissions. The article summarizes the possible configurations of NB-IoT, discusses the procedures for data transmission and reception, and analyzes aspects such as latency and resource occupation. We present a performance evaluation focusing on both uplink and downlink, with the aim to understand the channel occupancy of NB-IoT for different real-life IoT use cases and cell deployments. Further analysis focuses on the impact of various radio access parameters on the capacity of NB-IoT. Finally, results focusing on a new use case for NB-IoT (i.e., firmware update of a group of devices) are presented in the form of a comparison between unicast and multicast transmission modes.

Uplink Cooperative NOMA for Cellular-Connected UAV

Abstract: Aerial–ground interference mitigation is a challenging issue in the emerging cellular-connected unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communications. Due to the strong line-of-sight (LoS) air-to-ground (A2G) channels, the UAV may impose/suffer more severe uplink/downlink interference to/from the cellular base stations (BSs) as compared to the ground users. To tackle this challenge, we propose in this paper to apply the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) technique to the uplink communication from a UAV to cellular BSs, under spectrum sharing with the existing ground users. However, for our considered system, traditional NOMA with only local interference cancellation (IC) at individual BSs, termed non-cooperative NOMA, may provide very limited gain compared to the orthogonal multiple access (OMA). This is because there are a large number of co-channel BSs due to the LoS A2G channels, and thus, the rate performance of the UAV is severely limited by the BS with the worst channel condition with the UAV. To mitigate the UAV's uplink interference without significantly compromising its achievable rate, a new cooperative NOMA scheme is proposed in this paper by exploiting the existing backhaul links among BSs. Specifically, some BSs with better channel conditions are selected to decode the UAV's signals first, and then forward the decoded signals to their backhaul-connected BSs for IC. To investigate the optimal design of cooperative NOMA and air-ground performance tradeoff, we maximize the weighted sum-rate of the UAV and ground users by jointly optimizing the UAV's rate and power allocations over multiple resource blocks as well as their associated BSs. However, this problem is difficult to be solved optimally. To obtain useful insights, we first consider two special cases with egoistic and altruistic transmission strategies of the UAV, respectively, and solve their corresponding problems optimally. Next, we consider the general case and propose an efficient suboptimal solution by applying the alternating optimization and successive convex approximation techniques. Numerical results show that the proposed cooperative NOMA scheme yields significant throughput gains than those by the traditional OMA as well as the non-cooperative NOMA benchmark.

Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Communication Systems

Abstract: In this paper, we establish a framework for enabling ultra-reliable and low-latency communications in the control and non-payload communications (CNPC) links of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication systems. We first derive the available range of the CNPC links between UAVs and a ground control station. The available range is defined as the maximal horizontal communication distance within which the round-trip delay and the overall packet loss probability can be ensured with a required probability. To exploit the macro-diversity gain of the distributed multi-antenna systems (DAS) and the array gain of the centralized multi-antenna systems (CAS), we consider a modified DAS (M-DAS), where the ground control station is equipped with the distributed access points (APs), and each AP can have multiple antennas. We then show that the available range can be maximized by judiciously optimizing the altitude of UAVs, the duration of the uplink and downlink phases, and the antenna configuration. To solve the non-convex problem, we propose an algorithm that can converge to the optimal solution in DAS and CAS, and then extend it into more general M-DAS. The simulation and numerical results validate our analysis and show that the available range of M-DAS can be significantly larger than those of the DAS and CAS.

Exploiting Bi-Directional Channel Reciprocity in Deep Learning for Low Rate Massive MIMO CSI Feedback

Abstract: Channel state information (CSI) feedback is important for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless systems to achieve their capacity gain in frequency division duplex mode. For massive MIMO systems, CSI feedback may consume too much bandwidth and degrade spectrum efficiency. This letter proposes a learning-based CSI feedback framework based on limited feedback and bi-directional reciprocal channel characteristics. The massive MIMO base station exploits the available uplink CSI to help recovering the unknown downlink CSI from low rate user feedback. We propose two deep learning architectures, DualNet-MAG and DualNet-ABS, to significantly reduce the CSI feedback payload based on the multipath reciprocity. DualNet-MAG and DualNet-ABS can exploit the bi-directional correlation of the magnitude and the absolute value of real/imaginary parts of the CSI coefficients, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate that our architectures bring an obvious improvement compared with the downlink-based architecture.

Energy-Efficient Joint User-RB Association and Power Allocation for Uplink Hybrid NOMA-OMA

Abstract: In this paper, energy efficient resource allocation is considered for an uplink hybrid system, where non-orthogonal multiple access is integrated into orthogonal multiple access (OMA). To ensure the quality of service for the users, a minimum rate requirement is predefined for each user. An energy efficiency (EE) maximization problem is formulated by jointly optimizing the user clustering, channel assignment, and power allocation (PA). To address this problem, a many-to-one bipartite graph is first constructed considering the users and resource blocks (RBs) as the two sets of nodes. Based on swap matching, a joint user-RB association and PA scheme is proposed, which converges within a limited number of iterations. Moreover, for the PA under a given user-RB association, a feasibility condition is first derived. If feasible, a low-complexity algorithm is proposed, which obtains optimal EE for any successive interference cancellation (SIC) order and an arbitrary number of users. In addition, for the special case of two users per cluster, analytical solutions are provided for the two orders in which SIC can be implemented. These solutions shed light on how the power is allocated for each user to maximize the EE. Numerical results are presented, which show that the proposed joint user-RB association and PA algorithm outperforms other hybrid multiple-access-based and OMA-based schemes.

Performance Limits of Cognitive-Uplink FSS and Terrestrial FS for Ka-Band

Abstract: This paper investigates the performance limits of cognitive-uplink fixed satellite service (FSS) and terrestrial fixed service (FS) operating in the range 27.5–29.5 GHz for Ka-band. In light of standard recommendations from the International Telecommunications Union and a rain-fading channel model, we analyze the interference level at the FS receiver by considering statistical properties of the channel, propagation losses, and antenna patterns. By employing the interference constraint criterion at the FS, an analytical expression for the capacity of the cognitive-uplink FSS is derived, which is useful in understanding the limits in performance and the potential application of the considered coexistence scenario. Simulations are carried out to verify the theoretical derivations and highlight the impact of key parameters on the performance limits.

Beam Squint and Channel Estimation for Wideband mmWave Massive MIMO-OFDM Systems

Abstract: With the increasing scale of antenna arrays in wideband millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications, the physical propagation delays of electromagnetic waves traveling across the whole array will become large and comparable to the time-domain sample period, which is known as the spatial-wideband effect. In this case, different subcarriers in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system will “see” distinct angles of arrival (AoAs) for the same path. This effect is known as beam squint , resulting from the spatial-wideband effect, and makes the approaches based on the conventional multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) model, such as channel estimation and precoding, inapplicable. After discussing the relationship between beam squint and the spatial-wideband effect, we propose a channel estimation scheme for frequency-division duplex (FDD) mmWave massive MIMO-OFDM systems with hybrid analog/digital precoding, which takes the beam squint effect into consideration. A compressive sensing-based approach is developed to extract the frequency-insensitive parameters of each uplink channel path, i.e., the AoA and the time delay, and the frequency-sensitive parameter, i.e., the complex channel gain. With the help of the reciprocity of these frequency-insensitive parameters in FDD systems, the downlink channel estimation can be greatly simplified, where only limited pilots are needed to obtain downlink complex gains and reconstruct downlink channels. Furthermore, the uplink and downlink channel covariance matrices can be constructed from these frequency-insensitive channel parameters rather than through a long-term average, which enables the minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) channel estimation to further enhance performance. Numerical results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed scheme over the conventional methods under general system configurations in mmWave communications.

EP-Based Joint Active User Detection and Channel Estimation for Massive Machine-Type Communications

Abstract: Massive machine-type communication (mMTC) is a newly introduced service category in 5G wireless communication systems to support a variety of Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications. In recovering sparsely represented multi-user vectors, compressed sensing-based multi-user detection (CS-MUD) can be used. CS-MUD is a feasible solution to the grant-free uplink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) environments. In CS-MUD, active user detection (AUD) and channel estimation (CE) should be performed before data detection. In this paper, we propose the expectation propagation-based joint AUD and CE (EP-AUD/CE) technique for mMTC networks. The EP algorithm is a Bayesian framework that approximates a computationally intractable probability distribution to an easily tractable distribution. The proposed technique finds a close approximation of the posterior distribution of the sparse channel vector. Using the approximate distribution, AUD and CE are jointly performed. We show by numerical simulations that the proposed technique substantially enhances AUD and CE performances over competing algorithms.

Dynamic Metasurface Antennas for Uplink Massive MIMO Systems

Abstract: Massive multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) communications are the focus of considerable interest in recent years. While the theoretical gains of massive MIMO have been established, implementing MIMO systems with large-scale antenna arrays in practice is challenging. Among the practical challenges associated with massive MIMO systems are increased cost, power consumption, and physical size. In this paper, we study the implementation of massive MIMO antenna arrays using dynamic metasurface antennas (DMAs), an emerging technology which inherently handles the aforementioned challenges. Specifically, DMAs realize large-scale planar antenna arrays and can adaptively incorporate signal processing methods such as compression and analog combining in the physical antenna structure, thus reducing the cost and power consumption. First, we propose a mathematical model for massive MIMO systems with DMAs and discuss their constraints compared to ideal antenna arrays. Then, we characterize the fundamental limits of uplink communications with the resulting systems and propose two algorithms for designing practical DMAs for approaching these limits. Our numerical results indicate that the proposed approaches result in practical massive MIMO systems whose performance is comparable to that achievable with ideal antenna arrays.

Efficient Downlink Channel Reconstruction for FDD Multi-Antenna Systems

Abstract: In this paper, we propose an efficient downlink channel reconstruction scheme for a frequency-division-duplex multi-antenna system by utilizing uplink channel state information combined with limited feedback. Based on the spatial reciprocity in a wireless channel, the downlink channel is reconstructed by using frequency-independent parameters. First, we estimate the gains, delays, and angles during uplink sounding. The gains are then refined through downlink training and sent back to the base station (BS). With limited overhead, the refinement can substantially improve the accuracy of the downlink channel reconstruction. The BS can then reconstruct the downlink channel with the uplink-estimated delays and angles and the downlink-refined gains. We also introduce and extend the Newtonized orthogonal matching pursuit (NOMP) algorithm to detect the delays and gains in a multi-antenna multi-subcarrier condition. The results of our analysis show that the extended NOMP algorithm achieves high-estimation accuracy. The simulations and over-the-air tests are performed to assess the performance of the efficient downlink channel reconstruction scheme. The results show that the reconstructed channel is close to the practical channel and that the accuracy is enhanced when the number of BS antennas increases, thereby highlighting the promising application of the proposed scheme in large-scale antenna array systems.

Physical-Layer Schemes for Wireless Coded Caching

Abstract: We investigate the potentials of applying the coded caching paradigm in wireless networks. In order to do this, we investigate physical layer schemes for downlink transmission from a multiantenna transmitter to several cache-enabled users. As the baseline scheme, we consider employing coded caching on the top of max–min fair multicasting, which is shown to be far from optimal at high-SNR values. Our first proposed scheme, which is near-optimal in terms of DoF, is the natural extension of multiserver coded caching to Gaussian channels. As we demonstrate, its finite SNR performance is not satisfactory, and thus we propose a new scheme in which the linear combination of messages is implemented in the finite field domain, and the one-shot precoding for the MISO downlink is implemented in the complex field. While this modification results in the same near-optimal DoF performance, we show that this leads to significant performance improvement at finite SNR. Finally, we extend our scheme to the previously considered cache-enabled interference channels, and moreover we provide an ergodic rate analysis of our scheme. Our results convey the important message that although directly translating schemes from the network coding ideas to wireless networks may work well at high-SNR values, careful modifications need to be considered for acceptable finite SNR performance.

Uplink Grant-Free Access Solutions for URLLC services in 5G New Radio

Abstract: Ultra-reliable low latency communication requires innovative resource management solutions that can guarantee high reliability at low latency. Grant-free random access, where channel resources are accessed without undergoing assignment through a handshake process, is proposed in 5G New Radio as an important latency reducing solution. However, this comes at an increased likelihood of collisions resulting from uncoordinated channel access. Novel reliability enhancement techniques are therefore needed. This article provides an overview of grant-free random access in 5G New Radio focusing on the ultra-reliable low latency communication service class, and presents two reliability-enhancing solutions. The first proposes retransmissions over shared resources, whereas the second proposal incorporates grant-free transmission with non-orthogonal multiple access where overlapping transmissions are resolved through the use of advanced receivers. Both proposed solutions result in significant performance gains, in terms of reliability as well as resource efficiency. For example, the proposed non-orthogonal multiple access scheme can support a normalized load of more than 1.5 users/slot at packet loss rates of ~ 10−5 a significant improvement over conventional grant-free schemes like slotted-ALOHA.

Large-Scale-Fading Decoding in Cellular Massive MIMO Systems With Spatially Correlated Channels

Abstract: Massive multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) systems can suffer from coherent intercell interference due to the phenomenon of pilot contamination. This paper investigates a two-layer decoding method that mitigates both coherent and non-coherent interference in multi-cell Massive MIMO. To this end, each base station (BS) first estimates the channels to intra-cell users using either minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) or element-wise MMSE estimation based on uplink pilots. The estimates are used for local decoding on each BS followed by a second decoding layer where the BSs cooperate to mitigate inter-cell interference. An uplink achievable spectral efficiency (SE) expression is computed for arbitrary two-layer decoding schemes. A closed form expression is then obtained for correlated Rayleigh fading, maximum-ratio combining, and the proposed large-scale fading decoding (LSFD) in the second layer. We also formulate a sum SE maximization problem with both the data power and LSFD vectors as optimization variables. Since this is an NP-hard problem, we develop a low-complexity algorithm based on the weighted MMSE approach to obtain a local optimum. The numerical results show that both data power control and LSFD improve the sum SE performance over single-layer decoding multi-cell Massive MIMO systems.

Energy Efficiency of the Cell-Free Massive MIMO Uplink With Optimal Uniform Quantization

Abstract: A cell-free Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) uplink is considered, where the access points (APs) are connected to a central processing unit (CPU) through limited-capacity wireless microwave links. The quantized version of the weighted signals are available at the CPU, by exploiting the Bussgang decomposition to model the effect of quantization. A closed-form expression for spectral efficiency is derived taking into account the effects of channel estimation error and quantization distortion. The energy efficiency maximization problem is considered with per-user power, backhaul capacity and throughput requirement constraints. To solve this non-convex problem, we decouple the original problem into two sub-problems, namely, receiver filter coefficient design, and power allocation. The receiver filter coefficient design is formulated as a generalized eigenvalue problem whereas a successive convex approximation (SCA) and a heuristic sub-optimal scheme are exploited to convert the power allocation problem into a standard geometric programming (GP) problem. An iterative algorithm is proposed to alternately solve each sub-problem. Complexity analysis and convergence of the proposed schemes are investigated. Numerical results indicate the superiority of the proposed algorithms over the case of equal power allocation.

Multidimensional Constellations for Uplink SCMA Systems—A Comparative Study

Abstract: Sparse code multiple access (SCMA) is a class of non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) that is proposed to support uplink machine-type communication services. In an SCMA system, designing multidimensional constellation plays an important role in the performance of the system. Since the behavior of multidimensional constellations highly depends on the type of the channel, it is crucial to employ a constellation that is suitable for a certain application. In this paper, we first highlight and review the key performance indicators (KPIs) of multidimensional constellations that should be considered in their design process for various channel scenarios. We then provide a survey on the known multidimensional constellations in the context of SCMA systems with their design criteria. The performance of some of those constellations are evaluated for uncoded, high-rate, and low-rate LTE turbo-coded SCMA systems under different channel conditions through extensive simulations. All turbo-coded comparisons are performed for bit-interleaved coded modulation, with a concatenated detection and decoding scheme. Simulation results confirm that multidimensional constellations that satisfy KPIs of a certain channel scenario outperform others. Moreover, the bit error rate performance of uncoded systems, and the performance of the coded systems are coupled to their bit-labeling. The performance of the systems also remarkably depends on the behavior of the multiuser detector at different signal-to-noise ratio regions.

Multi-Beam UAV Communication in Cellular Uplink: Cooperative Interference Cancellation and Sum-Rate Maximization

Abstract: Integrating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the cellular network as new aerial users is a promising solution to meet their ever-increasing communication demands in a plethora of applications. Due to the high UAV altitude, the channels between UAVs and the ground base stations (GBSs) are dominated by the strong line-of-sight (LoS) links, which brings both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, a UAV can communicate with a large number of GBSs at the same time, leading to a higher macro-diversity gain as compared to terrestrial users. However, on the other hand, severe interference may be generated to/from the GBSs in the uplink/downlink, which renders the interference management with coexisting terrestrial and aerial users a more challenging problem to solve. To deal with the above new trade-off, this paper studies the uplink communication from a multi-antenna UAV to a set of GBSs in its signal coverage region. Among these GBSs, we denote available GBSs as the ones that do not serve any terrestrial users at the assigned resource block (RB) of the UAV, and occupied GBSs as the rest that are serving their respectively associated terrestrial users in the same RB. We propose a new cooperative interference cancellation strategy for the multi-beam UAV uplink communication, which aims to eliminate the co-channel interference at each of the occupied GBSs and in the meanwhile maximize the sum-rate to the available GBSs. Specifically, the multi-antenna UAV sends multiple data streams to selected available GBSs, which in turn forward their decoded data streams to their backhaul-connected occupied GBSs for interference cancellation. To draw useful insights and facilitate our proposed design, the maximum degrees-of-freedom (DoF) achievable by the multi-beam UAV communication for sum-rate maximization in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime is first characterized, subject to the stringent constraint that all the occupied GBSs do not suffer from any interference in the UAV’s uplink transmission. Then, based on the DoF-optimal design, the achievable sum-rate at finite SNR is maximized, subject to given maximum allowable interference power constraints at each of the occupied GBSs. The numerical examples validate the DoF and sum-rate performance of our proposed designs, as compared to benchmark schemes with fully cooperative, local, or no interference cancellation at the GBSs.

Optimal Resource Allocation in Full-Duplex Ambient Backscatter Communication Networks for Wireless-Powered IoT

Abstract: This paper considers an ambient backscatter communication network in which a full-duplex access point (FAP) simultaneously transmits downlink orthogonal frequency division multiplexing signals to its legacy user (LU) and receives uplink signals backscattered from multiple backscatter devices (BDs) in a time-division-multiple-access manner. To maximize the system throughput and ensure fairness, we aim to maximize the minimum throughput among all BDs by jointly optimizing the backscatter time and reflection coefficients of the BDs, and the FAP’s subcarrier power allocation, subject to the LU’s throughput constraint, the BDs’ harvested-energy constraints, and other practical constraints. For the case with a single BD, we obtain closed-form solutions and propose an efficient algorithm by using the Lagrange duality method. For the general case with multiple BDs, we propose an iterative algorithm by leveraging the block coordinated decent and successive convex optimization techniques. In addition, we study the throughput region which characterizes the Pareto-optimal throughput tradeoffs among all BDs. Finally, extensive simulation results show that the proposed joint design achieves significant throughput gain as compared to the benchmark schemes.