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This paper proposes on-driving experience sharing algorithms at junctions in infrastructure-assisted vehicles-to-everything networks. For the purpose, a millimeter-wave (mmWave) technology is used because it provides multi-Gbps data rates which is helpful for handling users’ short stay times at junctions and spatial reuse due to high beam directionality which is helpful for interference-avoidance among densely deployed vehicles at junctions. To realize on-driving experience sharing, the proposed algorithms focus on joint resource allocation and scheduling for 3GPP-compliant multiple unicast vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications where the vehicles are group leaders (GLs) in 3GPP Mode 4(d). The resource allocation stands for the roadside unit (RSU) allocation to scheduled V2V GL links where RSU is essentially required for overcoming blockage by establishing two-hop relaying. Because vehicles stay for short times at junctions, this paper designs two algorithms without or with delay considerations. Without delay considerations, the joint optimization of RSU allocation and scheduling was originally formulated as mixed 0-1 non-convex optimization. However our proposed algorithm reformulates the problem into mixed 0-1 convex optimization, which is computationally easier to solve. With delay considerations, our proposed algorithm dynamically controls video contents frame rates for time-average on-driving video sharing quality maximization subject to delay constraints, inspired by Lyapunov optimization. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that our algorithms can significantly outperform in a variety of scenarios. Furthermore, we conduct the cost analysis for the proposed algorithms in terms of capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenditure (OPEX). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grant-free non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme is considered as a promising candidate for the enabling of massive connectivity and reduced signalling overhead for Internet of Things (IoT) applications in massive machine-type communication (mMTC) networks. Exploiting the inherent nature of sporadic transmissions in the grant-free NOMA systems, compressed sensing based multiuser detection (CS-MUD) has been deemed as a powerful solution to user activity detection (UAD) and data detection (DD). In this paper, block coordinate descend (BCD) method is employed in CS-MUD to reduce the computational complexity. We propose two modified BCD based algorithms, called enhanced BCD (EBCD) and complexity reduction enhanced BCD (CR-EBCD), respectively. To be specific, by incorporating a novel candidate set pruning mechanism into the original BCD framework, our proposed EBCD algorithm achieves remarkable CS-MUD performance improvement. In addition, the proposed CR-EBCD algorithm further ameliorates the proposed EBCD by eliminating the redundant matrix multiplications during the iteration process. As a consequence, compared with the proposed EBCD algorithm, our proposed CR-EBCD algorithm enjoys two orders of magnitude complexity saving without any CS-MUD performance degradation, rendering it a viable solution for future mMTC scenarios. Extensive simulation results demonstrate the bound-approaching performance as well as ultra-low computational complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Range-based positioning using wireless signal has gained remarkable attention in past decades. Accurately extracting the distance information, i.e., estimating parameters of individual multipath, is of interest. It has been shown that diffuse multipath component (DMC) in wireless propagation channel has significant influence on channel estimation and, thus, the ranging performance. In addition to specular component (SC), DMC should be considered in order to improve the estimated accuracy of channel paths’ parameters and, thus, the ranging performance. In this paper, we extend the quasi-maximum likelihood space-alternating generalized expectation-maximization (SAGE) algorithm by incorporating an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) filter to estimate the channel parameters under the presence of DMC. The parameters of both DMC and SC are estimated in an iterative approach, where the DMC is assumed as colored noise and the ARMA-filter is used to estimate the contributions from DMC. The validation of the algorithm based on measured data shows that both SC and DMC can be accurately estimated by the proposed approach. A comparison with standard SAGE and AR-SAGE is conducted, where the results reveal that the proposed method outperforms other two approaches in terms of ranging accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose an adaptive vehicle clustering algorithm based on fuzzy C-means algorithm, which aims at minimizing power consumption of the vehicles. Specifically, the proposed algorithm firstly dynamically allocates the computing resources of each virtual machine in the vehicle, according to the popularity of different virtualized network functions. The optimal clustering number to minimize the total energy consumption of vehicles is determined using the fuzzy C-means algorithm and the clustering head is selected based on vehicles moving direction, weighted mobility, and entropy. Simulation results are provided to confirm that the proposed algorithm can decrease the power consumption of vehicles while satisfying the vehicle delay requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dq impedance measurement is of great importance as a part of the impedance-based analysis. At present, impedance of objects in single-phase vehicle-grid system are mainly obtained by injecting the voltage or current disturbance of one single frequency into the system circularly. However, as the number of measurement frequency points increases, there will produce much time-consuming of measurement. In this paper, a quick dq impedance measurement algorithm for single-phase vehicle-grid system based on multi-frequency sweep is proposed. First, pseudo-random binary sequences (PRBS) and ternary sequences are modified as the driving signals rather than directly injecting into the control link. Then three types of disturbance with specific frequency characteristics are introduced into the system and their parameters setting principle are given for the first time. According to the different characteristics of measurement objects, the proposed algorithms are also different to ensure the maximum specificity and sensitivity. Finally, for different objects in vehicle-grid system like traction network, single-phase converter and dual-interleaved converter, simulation and experimental results based on the hardware in the loop real-time simulation platform both show the correctness of the proposed algorithm, and the possible causes of errors are also analyzed in detail. Moreover, the proposed algorithm makes it possible to quickly measure the dq impedance of the single-phase vehicle-grid system, and the correctness of the theoretical and measured value can be judged and used for the stability analysis of electrical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the performance potential of a novel dual-mode power-split hybrid powertrain. First, the steady-state power split characteristics for the proposed hybrid powertrain in different modes are analyzed. The mode switching strategy is developed to maximize powertrain efficiency, which is verified by using dynamic programming based on direct transmit points (DTPs). Moreover, a novel multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on the decomposition (MOEA/D) method used in a nested way with dynamic programming is proposed to solve the multi-objective optimization of the PS-HEVs for the first time, and the computational efficiency and superiority of the proposed algorithm is compared with the commonly used NSGA-II algorithm. The results show that the MOEA/D based multi-objective optimization framework has similar performance in the search for the Pareto frontier but significantly higher computational efficiency than that of the NSGA-II algorithm. The obtained Pareto frontier provides optimal design candidates for hybrid powertrain systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel bit loading algorithm to multicarrier non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) systems to maximize the system total throughput while satisfying the users’ individual quality of service (QoS) constraints. Although bit loading is generally a non-deterministic polynomial-time (NP)-hard problem, even for orthogonal multiple access (OMA), the mutual interference between the users, and the dependence of power coefficients and modulation orders are additional challenges that add substantial complexity to the optimization problem. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an efficient bit loading algorithm for multicarrier NOMA systems and compare the complexity and throughput with a corresponding OMA system. The obtained results show that for the case of NOMA, bit loading provides an additional degree of freedom that allows non-uniform spectrum sharing among the users. In particular scenarios, the system may experience hybrid modes of operation, where the system switches between NOMA and OMA. The obtained numerical results show that NOMA can outperform OMA by 100% in terms of spectral efficiency, for a two-user scenario. The complexity of the loading process for NOMA is noticeably higher than OMA, which is due to the high complexity associated with the bit error rate (BER) computation in the case of NOMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of vehicles (IoV) is a large information interaction network that collects information on vehicles, roads and pedestrians. One of the important uses of vehicle networks is to meet the entertainment needs of driving users through communication between vehicles and roadside units (RSUs). Due to the limited storage space of RSUs, determining the content cached in each RSU is a key challenge. With the development of 5G and video editing technology, short video systems have become increasingly popular. Current widely used cache update methods, such as partial file precaching and content popularity- and user interest-based determination, are inefficient for such systems. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a QoE-driven edge caching method for the IoV based on deep reinforcement learning. First, a class-based user interest model is established. Compared with the traditional file popularity- and user interest distribution-based cache update methods, the proposed method is more suitable for systems with a large number of small files. Second, a quality of experience (QoE)-driven RSU cache model is established based on the proposed class-based user interest model. Third, a deep reinforcement learning method is designed to address the QoE-driven RSU cache update issue effectively. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle and airborne navigation users are facing more and more complex signal interference and even spoofing. If vehicles and aircraft do not strengthen their anti-spoofing ability, their navigation performance is bound to be adversely affected. global navigation satellite system (GNSS) spoofing technology has gradually become a preferred interference method for spoofer because of its high concealment and great harm. For spoofer, user terminal increasingly adopts GNSS with inertial measurement unit (IMU): tightly-coupled GNSS/IMU, on this basis, user also configures a variety of anti-spoofing techniques to effectively deal with spoofing. Even if spoofer slowly changes user's positioning, if spoofing strategy is unreasonable, it will lead to the violation of parameter rationality of coupled filter output parameters and spoofing observation, which greatly increases the difficulty of spoofing. In view of the above problems, from the perspective of spoofer, in order to effectively counter the non cooperative target of assembling tightly-coupled GNSS/IMU by using GNSS spoofing, this paper establishes GNSS spoofing mathematical model, and proposes a slowly varying spoofing algorithm to avoid tightly-coupled GNSS/IMU with multiple anti-spoofing techniques based on the analysis of the influence mechanism of spoofing on the positioning of tightly-coupled GNSS/IMU, the algorithm proposes a measurement deviation determination method to avoid a variety of anti-spoofing techniques, which can gradually pull the positioning results of coupled system, and successfully avoid anti-spoofing techniques detection of least squares residual receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) and parameter rationality check. The experimental results show that the algorithm can gradually change positioning of tightly-coupled GNSS/IMU within 30 s, and the north, east and down displacements basically achieve the spoofing effect, the errors with the expected offset are −0.5 m, 1.9 m and 12.7 m respectively. At the same time, the detection of the above anti-spoofing techniques is avoided. The mean value of test statistics for tightly-coupled system is reduced by 75.4% and does not exceed the alarm threshold, so as to achieve the purpose of spoofing, the effectiveness and high concealment of the spoofing algorithm are proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For vehicle-to-network communications, handover (HO) management enables vehicles to maintain the connection with the network while transiting through coverage areas of different base stations (BSs). However, the high mobility of vehicles means shorter connection periods with each BS that leads to frequent HOs, hence raises the necessity for optimal HO decision making for high quality infotainment services. Machine learning is capable of capturing underlying pattern via data driven methods to find optimal solutions to complex problems, and much learning-based HO optimization research has been conducted focusing on specific network setups. However, attention still needs to be paid to the actual deployment aspect and standardized datasets or simulation environments for evaluation. This paper proposes a deep reinforcement learning-based HO algorithm using the input parameters that are configurable in the existing measurement report of cellular networks. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using the well-known network simulator ns-3 with its official LTE module. A realistic network setup in the city center of Glasgow (U.K.) is configured with vehicle trajectories generated by the routes mobility model using Google Maps Directions API. Evaluation results reveal that the proposed algorithm significantly outperforms the A3 RSRP baseline with an average of 25.72% packet loss reduction per HO, suggesting significant improvement in quality of service of phone call and video streaming, etc. The proposed algorithm also has a small implementation cost compared to some state-of-the-art and should be deployed by a software update to a local BS controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the hybrid precoder design in millimeter wave (mmWave) multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems with low-resolution analog phase shifters. Aiming at reducing the complexities of the near-optimal algorithms, we propose a low-complexity multi-user hybrid precoding scheme based on tree-coding-aided adaptive-cross-entroy (TC-ACE) algorithm. By defining some discrete variables for the analog precoders and combiners, the problem of hybrid precoding is transformed into a cross-entroy (CE) optimization problem, which can be solved by iteratively updating the probability distributions of the predefined discrete variables. In order to derive the closed-form expression of the probability distributions, tree-coding is used to encode each entry of the analog precoders and combiners with a binary number. Through iterations, optimal analog precoders and combiners will be obtained when its probabilities are sufficiently high. Simulation results show that when the number of users exceeds a certain value, the proposed scheme outperforms the alternating minimization algorithm and coordinate descent method in terms of both the sum-rate and complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new approach to accurately and efficiently identifying a large number of wireless devices blindly installed to known three-dimensional installation/fitting points, based on received signal strengths (RSSs) between the devices. The approach is non-trivial because of the factorial, mapping nature of the considered problem, the multiplicative ranging errors of the RSS measurements (with standard deviation of 5–7 dB), and the requirement of high mapping accuracy in many internet-of-things (IoT) applications, e.g., industrial IoT and aircraft. The consideration of a structured environment where the set of candidate node positions is known beforehand shifts the problem of interest from a pure position estimation problem to a position assignment problem. The key idea of the proposed approach is that we interpret the position mapping problem with a probabilistic graphical model, where the factorial nature of mapping (more specifically, the mutual exclusiveness of devices at every installation point) is fully captured. A max-product belief propagation is designed against the probabilistic graph, to estimate the max-marginal position distribution of each device. The Kuhn-Munkres algorithm is applied to preserve the mutual exclusiveness of devices throughout the belief propagation and to decide device locations based on the estimated position distributions. Large-scale simulations and field tests are carried out, showing that the new approach achieves close-to-100% accuracy in simulations with hundreds of blindfolded devices under RSS measurement errors with standard deviation of 5–7 dB. Our approach also achieves 100% accuracy in all field trials with 76 devices inside the cabin of a Fokker 100 airplane, dramatically outperforming baseline techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power control is becoming increasingly essential for the fifth-generation (5G) and beyond systems. An example use-case, among others, is the unmanned-aerial-vehicle (UAV) communications where the nearly line-of-sight (LoS) radio channels may result in very low signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios (SINRs). The authors in (Chiang et al., 2007) proposed to efficiently and reliably solve this kind of non-convex problem via a series of geometrical programmings (GPs) using condensation approximation. However, it is only applicable for a small-scale network with several communication pairs and practically infeasible with more (e.g., tens of) nodes to be jointly optimized. We therefore in this paper aim to provide new insights into this problem. By properly introducing auxiliary variables, the problem is transformed to an equivalent form which is simpler and more intuitive for condensation. A novel condensation method with linear complexity is also proposed based on the form. The enhancements make the GP-based power control feasible for both small- and especially large-scale networks that are common in 5G and beyond. The algorithm is verified via simulations. A preliminary case study of uplink UAV communications also shows the potential of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the problem of predictive gear scheduling for fuel consumption minimization in connected/automated heavy trucks. The literature highlights the fuel economy benefits of such predictive scheduling, but there is a need to optimize such scheduling online, in real time. To address this need, we begin by using dynamic programming (DP) to schedule gear shifting offline, in a manner that achieves a globally optimal Pareto tradeoff between the conflicting objectives of minimizing fuel consumption and shift frequency. The computational cost of DP is unfavorable for online implementation, but we present two algorithms addressing this challenge. Both algorithms rely on the fact that in the Pareto limit where fuel consumption minimization is the sole objective, DP furnishes a simple static shift map. Our first algorithm trains a recurrent neural network to prune the shift schedule generated by this map. The second algorithm performs this pruning in a direct manner tailored to reduce the schedule's rain flow count. We simulate these algorithms for different drive cycles. Both algorithms achieve a reasonable tradeoff between fuel consumption and gear shift frequency. However, the rain flow count algorithm is both more effective in approaching the DP-based Pareto front and more computationally efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure System (CVIS) can provide innovative services for traffic management and enable trips to be safer, more coordinated, and smarter. In the CVIS, the vehicles upload crowd sensing data to the Vehicular Edge Computing (VEC) server for quick data fusion and informed decision-making. However, with the ever-increasing number of vehicles, the VEC server cannot undertake massive computation-intensive tasks due to the limited edge computing capabilities. In this paper, we propose a reverse offloading framework that can fully utilize the vehicular computation resource to relieve the burden of the VEC server and further reduce the system latency. Under the proposed offloading framework, the binary reverse offloading (BRO) and partial reverse offloading (PRO) strategies are designed for two types of tasks, i.e., non-partitioned tasks and partitioned tasks. We formulate the system latency minimization problem by optimizing reverse offloading decisions, and the communication and computation resources allocation. Due to the non-convex and existing variables coupling, the original problem is transformed into the equivalent weighted-sum optimization problem. Based on the alternative optimization, we decouple the weighted-sum optimization problems into the two subproblems, and the closed-form expressions of transmission power and computation frequency of vehicles and RSU are derived. Low complexity greedy based efficient searching (GES) algorithm and joint alternative optimization based bi-section searching (JAOBSS) algorithm are proposed for BRO and PRO strategies, respectively. The algorithm complexity and performance bounds are analyzed. Simulation results show that the proposed GES algorithm can achieve optimal performance with low complexity. Besides, the proposed GES and JAOBSS algorithms can significantly improve the performance compared with other baseline schemes by 6.14% and 13.46% at least. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is deployed to assist the terahertz (THz) communications. The sum-rate of user equipments (UEs) is maximized while guaranteeing the rate requirement of each UE. A block coordinate searching (BCS) algorithm is proposed to jointly optimize the IRS’s coordinates, phase shifts, THz sub-bands allocation and power control. Specifically, the relaxation with penalties based (RPB) algorithm is developed to obtain feasible coordinates of the IRS and guarantee the monotonicity of objective value. In addition, the IRS phase shifts are formulated as closed-form expressions with introduced pricing factors. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can significantly enhance system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a computation offloading problem in a three-tier network consisting of multiple mobile users (MUs), multiple edge clouds, and a central cloud. On this basis, we formulate a system Energy Time Cost ($ETC$) minimization problem by jointly optimizing the resource allocation, mobile-edge matching decision, and offloading decision. Due to the difficulty of directly solving the formulated problem, we decompose it and propose two offloading algorithms, namely Gale-Shapley based Minimum/Sequential Offloading Algorithm (GS-MOA/GS-SOA), to optimize offloading decisions by minimizing the system $ETC$ , in which the mobile-edge matching strategies based on the proposed Gale-Shapley based Mobile-Edge mAtching aLgorithm (GS-MEAL) and resource allocations are optimized iteratively. The simulations show the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the execution requirements of delay-sensitive services in vehicular edge computing (VEC) networks, vehicular services need to be offloaded to edge computing nodes. For complex, large-scale services, the services need to be migrated if the services are not completed before the vehicles leave the coverage of edge computing nodes. Trust and resource matching between areas thus become major problems. This paper studies the decision model of vehicular service offloading and migration. First, software-defined network (SDN) technology is introduced into the traditional network architecture, and a two-layer distributed SDN-controlled VEC network architecture is designed, which is divided into a domain control layer and an area control layer. In this framework, we use the consortium blockchain as a carrier to share network topology information between SDN controllers to prevent information leakage. We then established a service offloading and migration optimization problem model to minimize service execution delay, reduce energy consumption and maximize the throughput of the blockchain system. We describe the problem model as a Markov Decision Process (MDP), introduce a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm named asynchronous advantage actor-critic (A3C) and design a dynamic service offloading and migration algorithm (DSOMA) based on A3C to solve the problem. Simulation results show that DSOMA can increase the throughput of the blockchain system, and DSOMA is superior to the deep Q-learning (DQN) algorithm and greedy offloading algorithm in reducing service execution delay and system energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers optimal joint time, frequency, and power allocation for energy-efficient device-to-device (D2D) communications in an overlay cellular network, where multiple D2D transmitters communicate with their corresponding D2D receivers while utilizing the energy harvested from a cellular base station (BS). Due to channel estimation error and feedback delays, the channel state information (CSI) available at the transmitters is usually imperfect, which can significantly deteriorate the energy efficiency (EE) of the considered system. To mitigate the impact of imperfect CSI, we formulate a non-convex robust optimization problem for the maximization of the EE (in bits/Joule) of the system while ensuring quality of service (QoS) requirements on the minimum data rata and the minimum amount of harvested energy for cellular and D2D users, respectively. We reveal that the optimal energy-efficient D2D transmission should exhaust all the harvested energy of each D2D transmitter. Exploiting this fact, we propose an efficient iterative algorithm for obtaining the optimal solution. To strike a balance between performance and computational complexity, we further propose a low-complexity suboptimal algorithm. Simulation results show that compared with several baseline schemes, both the proposed optimal and suboptimal algorithms can significantly improve the EE of wireless-powered D2D communications under imperfect CSI. Moreover, the proposed suboptimal algorithm is close-to-optimal when the number of cellular users are small or the channel estimation error is large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the running of electric locomotives, a large amount of operating data will be stored through the Analog-Digital Converter (ADC) and the recording oscillograph of the on-board Traction Control Unit (TCU). Analysis based on mass data to detect slipping is of great significance for saving energy, improving the performance and safety of the traction control system of electric locomotives. Therefore, after analyzing and summarizing the advantages of Empirical Wavelet Transform (EWT) and Fuzzy Entropy (FE) algorithm in data processing and the classification theory of Support Vector Machine (SVM), this paper proposed a SVM slipping detection method based on EWT and FE algorithm. Firstly, feature extraction is carried out on the locomotive wheelset velocity data collected by the on-board velocity sensor, that is, the feature vector of data is extracted by calculating fuzzy entropy value after EWT, and the velocity data is converted into feature matrix for slipping-detection of SVM. Then considering the defects of traditional optimization algorithms such as Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) in the parameter optimization of SVM, Genetic Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm (GAPSO) is proposed to optimize the parameters of SVM classification model, and the slipping detection model of SVM is established through training samples, which realizes high-precision slipping detection. Finally, combined with a large number of locomotive data, the comparative analysis test is carried out, the results show that the feature extraction method based on EWT and FE algorithm has excellent ability of mode decomposition and feature extraction, GAPSO has efficient optimization ability, and the proposed slipping detection method can accurately detect slipping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is an efficient solution to significantly enhance the energy efficiency of the wireless communication system. In this paper, a downlink multi-cluster NOMA network is considered, where each cluster is supported by one IRS. This paper aims to minimize the transmit power by jointly optimizing the beamforming, the power allocation and the phase shift of each IRS. The formulated problem is non-convex and challenging to be solved due to the coupled variables, i.e., the beamforming vector, the power allocation coefficient and the phase shift matrix. To address this non-convex problem, an alternating optimization based algorithm is proposed. Specifically, the primal problem is divided into two subproblems for beamforming optimization and phase shifting feasiblity, where the two subproblems are solved iteratively. Moreover, to guarantee the feasibility of the beamforming optimization problem, an iterative algorithm is proposed to search the feasible initial points. To reduce the complexity, a simplified algorithm based on partial exhaustive search for this system model is also proposed. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed alternating algorithm can yield a better performance gain than the partial exhaustive search algorithm, NOMA with random IRS phase shift scheme and OMA-IRS scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies a novel design of user pairing and resource allocation in a simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT)-enabled cooperative non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system with coexisting power-splitting (PS) and time-switching (TS) users. In this system, near NOMA users (NUs) that are close to a source can assist the communications between the source and far NOMA users (FUs) using the energy harvested by either PS or TS strategy. The design aims to maximize the sum-rate of the system by optimizing user pairing and power allocation between NUs and FUs as well as performing PS and TS control at NUs, while guaranteeing the target data rates and the minimum harvested energy requirements of users. Since the joint design is formulated as a non-convex mixed-integer non-linear programming (MINLP) problem that is challenging to tackle, we propose a two-step user pairing and resource allocation algorithm. Specifically, we decouple the original problem into an inner resource allocation problem and an outer user pairing problem. For the inner problem, we propose successive convex approximation (SCA) and block coordinate descent (BCD)-based algorithms to perform power allocation as well as PS and TS control iteratively, with the algorithms’ convergence being theoretically proved. By exploiting the characteristics of the outer problem of user pairing, this problem is well tackled by the Hungarian algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate the proposed joint design yields better performance gains than the existing schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the beam synthesis and management methods for the phased antenna array-based wireless communications systems, e.g., 5 G mmWave communications. First, we propose a novel on-off beam synthesis method that can synthesize any given on-off beam pattern. The proposed method maximizes the beam power towards a given set of on-directions while suppressing the power towards all off-directions. Second, by using a set of beams synthesized by the proposed on-off beam synthesis method, we design a non-interactive hierarchical beam management algorithm that can greatly reduce the radio resource usage, feedback overhead, and the latency of the beam discovery, compared to the exhaustive beam search algorithms. Since the proposed beam management algorithm is non-interactive, it can be applied to the initial access as well as the beam tracking, and is especially useful for supporting a massive number of devices. Finally, we show the validness of the proposed beam synthesis and management methods by conducting experiments on a phased antenna array experimental testbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Device-to-Device (D2D) communication with short communication distance is an efficient way to improve spectrum efficiency and mitigate interference. To realize the optimal resource configuration including wireless channel matching and power allocation, a distributed resource matching scheme is proposed based on deep reinforcement learning(DRL). The reward is defined as the difference of achieve rate of D2D users and the consumed power, which is limited by the Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) of the other cellular users on the current channel. The proposed algorithm maximizes the D2D throughput and energy efficiency in a distributed manner, without online coordination and message exchange between users. The considered resource allocation problem is formulated as a random non-cooperative game with multiple players (D2D pairs), where each player is a learning agent, whose task is to learn its best strategy based on locally observed information, multi-user communication resource matching algorithm is proposed based on a Double Deep Q-network (DDQN), where the total cellular throughput and user energy efficiency could converge to the Nash equilibrium (NE) under the mixed strategy. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the communication rate and energy efficiency of each user by selecting the optimal strategy, and has better convergence performance compared with existing schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a means of generating residuals based on a fault isolation observer (FIO) and evaluating them using a support vector machine (SVM) is proposed. The proposed FIO generates the isolated residual signals and they shows robust performance regardless of unknown road surface conditions. This FIO is designed using a linear time-invariant quarter-car model. While quarter-car models have the form of a bilinear system, in this study the authors convert this bilinear model to a linear model with model uncertainty based on the assumption that the control input is limited. Therefore, the proposed FIO can be used regardless of the type of damper or controller. Furthermore, the SVM based residual evaluator without empirically set thresholds is used to evaluate the generated residuals. The proposed fault diagnosis algorithm is expected to reduce the effort required in the design procedure and it can also detect a small amount of sensor fault that cannot be detected by traditional limit-checking method. The proposed fault diagnosis algorithm is verified using low cost production accelerometers and a quarter-car test rig. Consequently, the fault diagnosis algorithm proposed in this paper can detect the faults of a sprung mass accelerometer and an unsprung mass accelerometer independently, and this algorithm can reduce the effort required in designing the diagnosis algorithm greatly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being an effective non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) technique, sparse code multiple access (SCMA) is promising for future wireless communication. Compared with orthogonal techniques, SCMA enjoys higher overloading tolerance and lower complexity because of its sparsity. In this paper, based on deterministic message passing algorithm (DMPA), algorithmic simplifications such as domain changing and probability approximation are applied for SCMA decoding. Early termination, adaptive decoding, and initial noise reduction are also employed for faster convergence and better performance. Numerical results show that the proposed optimizations benefit both decoding complexity and speed. Furthermore, efficient hardware architectures based on folding and retiming are proposed. VLSI implementation is also given in this paper. Comparison with the state-of-the-art have shown the proposed decoder's advantages in both latency and throughput (multi-Gbps). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose three new compressive sensing-based algorithms for channel estimation in millimeter wave hybrid MIMO systems over doubly (time and frequency) selective channels. Utilizing the basis expansion model (BEM) for effectively representing doubly selective channels, we first propose a BEM-based block orthogonal matching pursuit (BBOMP) algorithm, which can work with any training sequence structure. Next, we present the second algorithm to reduce the complexity of the BBOMP method by employing a special training sequence which results in a computationally efficient block sparse sensing matrix. Finally, in order to further decrease the computational complexity, we propose the third algorithm, where the channel estimation is split into two separate steps of tap detection and gain estimation. The proposed algorithms exploit the entire available training sequence to estimate all channel parameters, and can capture channel variations across the entire training frames without requiring a feedback channel. The Cramer-Rao lower bound and the computational complexity of the proposed algorithms are also addressed. Intensive computer simulations are conducted to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed approaches, showing that they can significantly improve the mean squared error performance compared with the state-of-the-art approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the sub-channels and power allocation issue in the multi-carrier NOMA communication system. To maximize the sum rate of the system, we design a fast dynamic resource allocation (FDRA) algorithm. The algorithm can quickly identify the interference nodes with poor channel conditions, and reduces the search complexity of the algorithm. By jointly optimizing sub-carrier and power resource allocation, the proposed scheme can take full advantage of the channel capacity, and maximize the system performance while ensuring the quality of service (QoS) of each user. Simulation results show that when compared with the joint resource allocation (JRA) algorithm and the genetic algorithm (GA), the FDRA algorithm can achieve the best performance on the complexity and the sum rate of the system. Thus, the proposed algorithm can provide a fast and efficient resource allocation scheme for the downlink multi-carrier NOMA systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) have been widely used in enormous applications, and simultaneously face many security threats. The trust management mechanism plays an important role in protecting network security. Many theories, e.g., subjective logic, Bayesian, cloud model, entropy theory, evidence theory, etc., have been adopted to evaluate the node trust of wireless sensor networks. However, due to the unique characteristics of the underwater dynamic environment, the existing trust mechanisms used in traditional networks (such as P2P networks, Ad-hoc networks, etc.) cannot be directly used in UWSNs. Therefore, this paper proposes a new trust evaluation and update mechanism for underwater wireless sensor networks based on the C4.5 decision tree algorithm (TEUC). In the TEUC, trust evidences are first collected including data-based, link-based and node-based trust evidences. Then, the collected trust evidences are used to train the C4.5 decision tree. In addition, the reward and penalty factors are defined to update trust based on the sliding time window. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the traditional ones in a dynamic network environment in terms of malicious node detection and energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous vehicles will generate data from the variety of sensors they employ to track the surrounding environment. This data is inherently valuable, as it gives algorithm designers the potential to leverage prior experience in order to improve driving performance over time. This paper uses the lens of autonomous racing to provide an example of how data from previous iterations of driving can be used to improve quantitative metrics of performance. Two complementary algorithms are demonstrated in this paper. The first algorithm uses iterative learning control (ILC) to simultaneously improve lateral and longitudinal tracking of the desired racing trajectory over multiple laps, while the second algorithm is focused on altering the trajectory itself using a search method. When driven experimentally at the limits of handling, the result is a reduction in lap time of nearly 1.4 seconds, a major improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are wireless self-organizing networks, whose communication is conducted through open wireless channels, thus making it vulnerable to various attacks. It is therefore necessary to employ encryption technology to ensure secure communication. In view of the foregoing, key agreement techniques are introduced to VANET communications. The group key agreement (GKA) protocol allows a group of participants to establish a public session key for a secure communication channel over an insecure network. The traditional GKA protocol is inefficient, however, and consumes considerable amounts of resources. With the aim of resolving problems related to information security and privacy preservation in VANETs, this paper proposes a full session key agreement scheme based on chaos mapping. In this paper, the first phase describes the key agreement between the fog server and group administrator; the second phase describes the group key agreement for vehicle nodes in the group where the vehicle can only communicate with vehicles having the same group key without the aid of a trusted key center or centralized key distributor. The proposed scheme is based on Chebyshev chaotic mapping algorithm, in which a chaotic map is utilized to provide a one-way hash; Chebyshev polynomial is also employed to establish a public multi-party key; it avoids the modular multiplication index or scalar multiplication on the elliptic curve. The proposed scheme does not only satisfy the security requirements in VANETs but also performs detailed analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ultra-short baseline (USBL) positioning system has important application in the positioning of underwater vehicles. The installation error angle of the USBL positioning system has an important influence on the positioning accuracy of USBL system. The traditional calibration methods have limited estimation accuracy for installation error angles and have high route requirements. To solve the above problems, a calibration method of installation error angle based on attitude determination is proposed in this paper. When strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) and USBL are fixed together in the application process, the installation error angle of USBL is fixed and unchanged. Then the calibration of installation error angle can be accomplished with the idea of attitude determination. The vector observation model based on the installation error angle matrix is established first. Observation vectors are obtained by the relative position of transponders in the USBL coordinate frame. The reference vector is calculated by position of transponder, position and attitude of SINS and lever arm between SINS and USBL. By constructing the observation vectors and the reference vectors, the proposed method can calibrate the installation error angle of SINS and USBL in real time. The advantages of the proposed method are that it has no specific requirements for the calibration route and can calibrate the installation error angle in real time with high accuracy. In order to verify the performance of the proposed algorithm, simulation experiment and field experiment are carried out in this paper. The results of simulation experiment and field experiment show that the proposed method can give the estimated installation error angle of USBL in real time, and the estimated result is the best among several methods. The proposed method can not only achieve the calibration of the installation error angle in circular trajectory, but also in straight trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent workat the U.S. Army CCDC Ground Vehicle Systems Center has shown that machine learning classifiers can quickly construct high-fidelity mobility maps. Training these classifiers, on the other hand, is still a challenge, since each data instance is labeled by performing a computationally intensive, physics-based simulation. In this paper we introduce an active learning framework, based on the query-by-bagging algorithm, that substantially reduces the number of simulations needed to train a classifier. Experimental results suggest that our sampling algorithm can train a neural network, with higher accuracy, using less than half the number of simulations when compared to random sampling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, a two-dimensional (2D) moving trajectory can be reconstructed using data collected from a 6-axis IMU (inertial measurement unit), which consists of a 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer. Since the power consumption of a gyroscope is significantly larger than that of an accelerometer, to be energy-efficient, it is more preferable to use two gyro-free IMUs as alternatives. The existing gyro-free trajectory reconstruction approach is an angular velocity (i.e. ω) -based method. The design of an ω-free gyro-free approach remains as a research gap, which motivates this research work. In this paper, an ω-free accelerometer pair (OFAP) method is proposed, which can yield a lower accumulated error, has a lower power consumption, is more scalable, and can deliver the same trajectory reconstruction performance as the existing approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless network communication has developed rapidly in recent years, especially in the field of Internet of vehicles (IoV). However, due to the limitations of traditional network architecture, resource scheduling in wireless network environment is still facing great challenges. We focus on the urgent need of users for bandwidth resources in the IoV scenario under virtual network environment. This paper proposes a bandwidth aware multi domain virtual network embedding (BA-VNE) algorithm. The algorithm is mainly aimed at the problem that users need a lot of bandwidth in wireless communication mode, and solves the problem of bandwidth resource allocation from the perspective of virtual network embedding (VNE). In order to improve the performance of the algorithm, we introduce particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to optimize the performance of the algorithm. In order to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm, we have carried out simulation experiments from link bandwidth, mapping cost and virtual network request (VNR) acceptance rate. The final results show that the proposed algorithm is better than other representative algorithms in the above indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the maneuverability and stability of a vehicle and fully leverage the advantages of torque vectoring technology in vehicle dynamics control, a finite-time yaw rate and sideslip angle tracking controller is proposed by combining a second-order sliding mode (SOSM) controller with the backstepping method in this paper. However, existing research indicates that first-order sliding mode (FOSM) control suffers from the chattering problem, while the traditional SOSM controller requires knowing the bound of the uncertain term in advance to obtain the switching gain, which is difficult in practice. To address these problems, this paper proposes an adaptive second-order sliding mode (ASOSM) controller based on the backstepping method by adding the high-frequency switching term to the first derivative of the sliding mode variable, which implies that the actual control can be acquired after an integration process. The switching gain in the ASOSM controller is obtained by an adaptive algorithm without knowing any information of the uncertainty. The proposed algorithm is compared with FOSM and SOSM in different scenarios to demonstrate its applicability and robustness. Simulation results show that the bandwidth of the vehicle transient response can be improved by 21%. In addition, ASOSM and SOSM controllers are insensitive to vehicle mass and tire type, implying their robustness to such disturbances. Furthermore, ASOSM requires less control action because of the adaptive law when it performs similarly with SOSM and FOSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a quality of experience (QoE) based joint subcarrier and power allocation (JSPA) technique for orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) based downlink video transmission over doubly selective channels (DSCs), where the power allocation is made adaptive to the user velocity. Due to the doubly selective nature of wireless channels, OFDMA based wireless systems are vulnerable to inter-carrier interference (ICI). The proposed speed adaptive power allocation can combat ICI to a great extent compared to the non-adaptive power allocation schemes. Moreover, the proposed JSPA ensures a critical issue of fairness in QoE among users. By making use of space-alternating generalized expectation-maximization maximum a posteriori probability (SAGE-MAP) algorithm, this paper also studies the bit rate performance of the proposed resource allocation algorithm in the presence of perfect and imperfect channel state information (CSI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time synchronization in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) has gained significant attention in recent times. In this paper, we focus on the time synchronization in large-scale VANETs and propose an adaptive beacon time synchronization (ABTS) algorithm to enhance timing message synchronization. ABTS algorithm selects the best time synchronization pairs to decrease the number of timing messages transmitted. To guarantee the reliability of synchronization, the clock offset of the connected vehicles periodically readjust to provide a better degree of synchronization accuracy with minimum energy consumption. Based on two-way timing message synchronization, we derive maximum likelihood (ML) estimation and its equivalent Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for clock offset design in the generalized sender-to-receiver system by assuming a Gaussian noise model. We propose node pair selection algorithms to improve pairwise beacon message timing synchronization. The simulation results validate that our proposed ABTS algorithm performs better than other protocols in terms of synchronization accuracy, the rate of convergence and energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small cells in millimeter wave (mmWave) have been utilized extensively for the fifth generation (5 G) mobile networks. And full-duplex (FD) communications become possible with the development of self-interference (SI) cancellation technology. In this paper, we focus on the optimal allocation of the sub-channels in the small cells deployed densely underlying the mmWave networks. In order to improve the resource utilization and network capacity, device-to-device (D2D) communications are adopted in networks. For maximizing the system throughput, we propose a cooperative sub-channel allocation approach based on coalition formation game, and theoretically prove the convergence of the proposed allocation algorithm. The utility of the coalition formation game is closely related to the sum system throughput in this paper, and each link makes an individual decision to leave or join any coalition based on the principle of maximizing the utility. Besides, a threshold of the minimum transmission rate is given to improve the system fairness. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that our proposed scheme has a near-optimal performance on sum throughput. In addition, we verify the low complexity of the proposed scheme by simulating the number of switch operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the energy-efficient mobility-aware content caching problem with clustered small cells (SCs) in ultra-dense networks (UDNs). The UDN is regarded as one of the key solutions to overcome the explosive growth of mobile data traffic and consequential energy consumption. In addition, caching the popular contents at the edge of UDNs can further mitigate the challenges of traffic and energy. In this paper, we group the SCs into disjoint clusters and model the mobility of users between clusters as a Markov chain. We formulate the caching problem aimed at minimizing the overall energy consumption for content delivery to the moving users. Then we decompose the complicated task of energy consumption optimization in cache-enabled UDNs into two sub-problems. In the first sub-problem, we formulate the inter-cluster caching problem as minimizing the energy consumption for serving a user request by the macro base station. We show that the first sub-problem is NP-hard, and develop a polynomial-heuristic algorithm. Further, we define the mobility-oblivious version of the sub-problem, and provide a ${\textstyle {1 \over {2k }}}$ -approximation solution for the mobility-aware based on this mobility-oblivious version. In the second sub-problem, we consider the heterogeneity of small cells and define the intra-cluster caching problem. The aim of this sub-problem is the placement of content in different SCs within the cluster so that the energy consumption for the content delivery in that cluster is minimized. In particular, the second sub-problem fits the general framework of the generalized assignment problem, which allows us to exploit its rich literature, to determine the optimal solution for our problem. Through extensive simulations based on real wireless data and human mobility patterns, we demonstrate the benefits of our approach that is even up to 56% better compared to the conventional caching schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a dynamic 3D trajectory design of multiple cache-enabled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a wireless device-to-device (D2D) caching network with the goal of maximizing the long-term network throughput. By storing popular content at the nearby mobile user devices, D2D caching is an efficient method to improve network throughput and alleviate backhaul burden. With the attractive features of high mobility and flexible deployment, UAVs have recently attracted significant attention as cache-enabled flying base stations. The use of cache-enabled UAVs opens up the possibility of tracking the mobility pattern of the corresponding users and serving them under limited cache storage capacity. However, it is challenging to determine the optimal UAV trajectory due to the dynamic environment with frequently changing network topology and the coexistence of aerial and terrestrial caching nodes. In response, we propose a novel multi-agent reinforcement learning based framework to determine the optimal 3D trajectory of each UAV in a distributed manner without a central coordinator. In the proposed method, multiple UAVs can cooperatively make flight decisions by sharing the gained experiences within a certain proximity to each other. Simulation results reveal that our algorithm outperforms the traditional single- and multi-agent Q-learning algorithms. This work confirms the feasibility and effectiveness of cache-enabled UAVs which serve as an important complement to terrestrial D2D caching nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-Way Ranging (TWR) is a widely used method for distance estimation in asynchronous wireless networks, but the deviation between the clocks can lead to errors in distance estimation. The ultra-wideband (UWB) technology provides the best accuracy in distance estimation, but total emission time is drastically limited by harmonized standards. Localization accuracy, latency and network scalability are key performance metrics in wireless location characterization. This article advances a new sequencing of the localization process, called Double-Beacon Two-Way Ranging (DB-TWR) algorithm, and presents the related time-of-flight (ToF) estimation formula, which is able to compensate for clock error and to reduce the localization period. The Fine Time Measurement (FTM) protocol, specified by the Wireless LAN (WLAN) standard, uses the TWR method and as a result the clock deviation leads to systematic errors in ToF estimation. The paper proposes two additional timestamp s captures and a new ToF computation formula which compensates for clock deviation. The article provides a theoretical analysis and extensive simulations of errors propagation in the ranging process, both as a mean and as an uncertainty, and proves that the designed algorithms cancel the clock offsets entirely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel beam alignment algorithm based on the sparse graph coding theory is proposed for millimeter wave (mmWave) time-varying channels. Firstly, a pilot design method is introduced to transform the mmWave time-varying beam alignment into a sparse-graph design and detection problem. Inspired by Low-Density-Parity-Check (LDPC) codes and fountain codes, a multi-stage sparse coding method is proposed for the design of the measurement matrix and the theoretical bound of the probability of success is derived to guide the design of the sparse-graph. A beam alignment algorithm is subsequently proposed to detect the beam index and estimate the carrier frequency offset (CFO). Then, the Carmeŕ-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) is derived. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed beam alignment algorithm achieves significant performance improvements over the conventional counterparts in both the noiseless and noise cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drones have a wide range of applications in urban environments as they can both enhance people's daily activities and commercial activities through various operations and deployments. With the increasing number of drones, flight safety and efficiency become the main concern, and effective drone operations can make a difference. Accordingly, 4D path planning for drone operations is the focus of this paper, and the swarm-based method is proposed to solve this complicated optimization problem. Under the framework of ‘AirMatrix’, the problem is solved in two levels, i.e., 3D path planning for a single drone and conflict resolution among drones. In the multi-path planning level, multiple alternative flight paths for each drone are generated to increase the acceptance rate of a flight request. The constraints on a single flight path and two different flight paths are considered. The goal is to obtain several different short flight paths as alternatives. A clustering improved ant colony optimization CIACO) algorithm is employed to solve the multi-path planning problem. The crowding mechanism is used in clustering, and some improvements are made to strengthen the global and local search ability in the early and later phases of iterations. In the task scheduling level, the conflicts between two drones are defined in two circumstances. One is for the time interval of passing the same path point, another one is for the right-angle collision between two drones. A three-layer fitness function is proposed to maximize the number of permitted flights according to the safety requirement, in which the airspace utilization and the operators’ requests are both considered. A ‘cross-off’ strategy is developed to calculate the fitness value, and a ‘distributed-centralized’ strategy is applied considering the task priorities of drones. A genetic algorithm GA)-based task scheduling algorithm is also developed according to the characteristic of the established model. Simulation results demonstrate that 4D flight path of each drone can be generated by the proposed swarmed-based algorithms, and safe and efficient drone operations in a specific airspace can be ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies how to apply game theory to realize a well-function device-to-device enabled vehicular (D2D-V) communication system, where the uplink channel allocated to the cellular user (CU) is reused by multiple D2D-V users. Considering a non-cooperative setting where the CU and D2D-V users are selfish and profit-driven, a novel Stackelberg game framework is proposed to model the single-leader-multiple-follower hierarchical competition, where the CU and D2D-V users act as the leader and the followers, respectively. For the current D2D-V networks, the interference in the dense vehicle scene often leads to extremely poor communication quality. Moreover, a vehicle's mobility leads to an uncertain channel state and further affects the stability of communication. To achieve effective communication, robust Stackelberg game-based resource allocation is developed, and a price-penalty mechanism is further proposed. Unlike previous Stackelberg games, the robust game is highlighted by handling the channel uncertainty which is embedded in the interference probability constraints. Besides, a game equilibrium (GE) is considered to be the solution and its existence and uniqueness are investigated. Also, a distributed robust power control and nonuniform price bargaining algorithm is proposed to approach the GE. Numerical simulations are performed to evaluate the algorithm performances, and the results indicate that the proposed algorithm is effective in high mobility vehicular networks under uncertain channel environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a wireless powered mobile edge computing (MEC) network where a hybrid access point (H-AP) serves energy-constrained devices. For such a wireless powered MEC network, the H-AP first transmits wireless information and energy simultaneously in the downlink. Then, by utilizing the harvested energy, the device processes both its local data and the received data from the H-AP. In this system, we minimize the latency by jointly optimizing the power splitting ratio of rectifiers, the data offloading power, the local computing frequency, and the data offloading ratio at the device. By applying a polyblock outer approximation procedure, we propose an algorithm which guarantees the optimal solution. Simulation results verify the efficiency of the proposed algorithm compared to conventional schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carrier Aggregation is one of the vital approaches to achieve several orders of magnitude increase in peak data rates. While carrier aggregation benefits have been extensively studied in cellular networks, its application to satellite systems has not been thoroughly explored yet. Carrier aggregation can offer an enhanced and more consistent quality of service for users throughout the satellite coverage via combining multiple carriers, utilizing the unused capacity at other carriers, and enabling effective interference management. Furthermore, carrier aggregation can be a prominent solution to address the issue of the spatially heterogeneous satellite traffic demand. This paper investigates introducing carrier aggregation to satellite systems from a link layer perspective. Deployment of carrier aggregation in satellite systems with the combination of multiple carriers that have different characteristics requires effective scheduling schemes for reliable communications. To this end, a novel load balancing scheduling algorithm has been proposed to distribute data packets across the aggregated carriers based on channel capacities and to utilize spectrum efficiently. Moreover, in order to ensure that the received data packets are delivered without perturbing the original transmission order, a perceptive scheduling algorithm has been developed that takes into consideration channel properties along with the instantaneous available resources at the aggregated carriers. The proposed modifications have been carefully designed to make carrier aggregation transparent above the medium access control (MAC) layer. Additionally, the complexity analysis of the proposed algorithms has been conducted in terms of the computational loads. Simulation results are provided to validate our analysis, demonstrate the design tradeoffs, and to highlight the potentials of carrier aggregation applied to satellite communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Articulation angle sensing is an essential component of manoeuvrability and stability control systems for articulated heavy goods vehicles, particularly long combination vehicles. Existing solutions to this sensing task are limited by reliance on trailer modifications or information or by measurement accuracy, or both, restricting commercial adoption. In this paper we present a purely tractor-based sensor concept comprising a rear-facing camera and the parallel tracking and mapping (PTAM) image processing algorithm. The system requires no prior knowledge of or modifications to the trailer, is compatible with planar and non-planar trailer shapes, and with multiply-articulated vehicle combinations. The system is validated in full-scale vehicle tests on both a tractor semi-trailer combination and a truck and full-trailer combination, demonstrating robust performance in a number of conditions, including trailers with non-planar geometry and with minimal visual features. Average RMS measurement errors of 1.19, 1.03 and 1.53 degrees were demonstrated for the semi-trailer and full-trailer (drawbar and semi-trailer) respectively. This compares favourably with the state-of-the-art in the published literature. A number of improvements are proposed for future development based on the observations in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a flexible pilot assignment method to jointly optimize the uplink and downlink data transmission in multi-cell Massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems with correlated Rayleigh fading channels. By utilizing a closed-form expression of the ergodic spectral efficiency (SE) achieved with maximum ratio processing, we formulate an optimization problem for maximizing the minimum weighted sum of the uplink and downlink SEs subject to the transmit powers and pilot assignment sets. This combinatiorial optimization problem is solved by two sequential algorithms: a heuristic pilot assignment is first proposed to obtain a good pilot reuse set and the data power control is then implemented. Numerical results manifest that the proposed algorithm converges fast to a better minimum sum SE per user than the algorithms in previous works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been well-recognized that clustered Interference alignment (IA) can provide remarkable interference suppression performance for the existing small cell networks (SCNs). There is also a tendency that full-duplex (FD) radios would replace the half-duplex radios at future small base stations (SBSs). In this context, the intra-cell and inter-cell interference in SCNs would become much more serious, where the performance of clustered IA has not been evaluated yet. In this paper, we explore the maximum achievable sum-rate of the FD-based SCNs when clustered IA combined with power control strategy is applied. To achieve this, a mixed-integer optimization problem is formulated, which is furtherly decoupled into two subproblems for ease of handling. Then we propose the minimized rate loss (MRL) algorithm to address the clustering subproblem and a convex approximation method to address the power control subproblem. The two subproblems are performed alternatively till the sum-rate gains convergence. Preliminary simulations clearly demonstrate that the achievable sum-rate is limited by the number of antennas at the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]