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With the ratification of the IEEE 802.11ad amendment to the 802.11 standard in December 2012, a major step has been taken to bring consumer wireless communication to the millimeter wave band. However, multi-gigabit-per-second throughput and small interference footprint come at the price of adverse signal propagation characteristics, and require a fundamental rethinking of Wi-Fi communication principles. This article describes the design assumptions taken into consideration for the IEEE 802.11ad standard and the novel techniques defined to overcome the challenges of mm-Wave communication. In particular, we study the transition from omnidirectional to highly directional communication and its impact on the design of IEEE 802.11ad. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

During rescue missions, transferring injured people from accident scenes to rescue sites is considered crucial and time-sensitive. In particular, a one-second delay could put more lives in danger. Though ambulances are commonly equipped with standard siren devices, such siren signals are not recognized by traffic light controllers. Therefore, rescue missions could be delayed at intersections due to an urgency-unaware traffic light control system. In the worst case, pile-up accidents could also happen when the ambulances lawfully ignores the traffic lights. This paper proposes A2T to enhance the efficiency of rescue missions, by establishing a communication mechanism among ambulances and infrastructures (e.g., traffic light controllers). Thailand, which had the highest road traffic death rate in the world in 2015, is selected as a use case in this paper. A2T promotes information sharing between ambulances and traffic light controllers along the rescue path in advance. Such information, including speeds, locations, and emergency routes, allows the traffic light controllers to launch a prioritized green traffic light accordingly. This allows the ambulances to go through any road intersection efficiently and safely. Our comprehensive performance evaluation shows that A2T achieves 100 percent waiting time reduction for the ambulances, with only 2.48 percent increase in delay of other vehicles at the intersections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This feature topic is a continuation of our November 2014 feature topic on the Future of Wi-Fi. In this second part of the feature topic, five papers selected from a pool of high-quality submissions are introduced. We hope our readers will find these articles useful for understanding recent developments and for inspiring their own work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The fifth generation (5G) of cellular networks has ambitious targets of data rate, end-toend latency, and connection reliability. With the recent spreading of information and communication technology (ICT) into healthcare, leading to an Internet of medical things, new e-health services are being offered, in particular to the elderly population who needs daily assistance. This paper aims at identifying the most representative healthcare scenarios that can benefit from 5G networks and synthesizing the communications requirements in these particular scenarios. The impact of three key 5G technologies, i.e., medical network slices, mobile edge computing, and the management of heterogeneous networks, will be discussed in the representative case study of the connected ambulance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-orthogonal transmission is a promising technology enabler to meet the requirements of 5G communication systems. Seminal papers demonstrated that non-orthogonal multiplexing techniques outperform orthogonal schemes in terms of capacity, latency, and user fairness. Since it is envisioned that satellites will be an integral component of the 5G infrastructure, it is worth studying how satellite communication systems can benefit from the application of non-orthogonal transmission schemes as well. Contrary to common perception, current communications through a satellite present a different architecture and face different impairments than those in the wireless terrestrial links. In particular, this work aims to describe different non-orthogonal schemes that are suitable for the forward link (i.e., satellite to user). In contrast with the return link of the satellite (i.e., user to satellite), where the use of non-orthogonal transmission schemes has been widely studied, less effort has been devoted to the forward link. In light of this, this article provides an overview and a novel taxonomy that is based on the forward link of different non-orthogonal multibeam transmission schemes. Finally, guidelines that open new avenues for research in this topic are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Design and implementation of Devices, Circuits, and Systems Series continues to attract original articles that cover a broad range of topics in telecommunication devices, circuits and systems advances and developments. The Series welcomes contributions from various industrial sectors like healthcare, automotive, energy, agriculture, smart manufacturing, consumer electronics, smart city, VR/AR/hologram, drones, and consumer electronics. While this issue features papers mainly about design and implementation of wireless optical systems, articles covering virtually any type of communication systems and applications can be considered for publication. Prospective authors are strongly encouraged to discuss their intended contribution with any one of the Series Editors prior to submitting an article in order to ensure that the article will be appropriate for the Series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is Part 2 of a Feature Topic (FT) series covering the convergence of communications, caching, and computing for next generation wireless mobile networks. The design and engineering philosophy of modern wireless networks is witnessing a fundamental shift from being "connection-centric" to being "content-centric". This FT aims to provide a comprehensive overview of recent progress in the theoretical foundation, architectural advances, modeling/analytics, protocol engineering, and prototyping of content-centric mobile networks. The response to our Call for Papers was overwhelming, with a total of 54 articles submitted by leading researchers and practitioners from around the world. Following a rigorous review process, Part 1 of this FT series, containing 12 articles, appeared in the August issue of IEEE Communications Magazine. The following additional six papers are selected to be included in Part 2 of the series. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

IEEE GLOBECOM 2011 recently concluded its 54th annual event in Houston, Texas with nearly 2,500 industry professionals, scientists and academics attending more than 1,400 presentations dedicated to furthering real-world innovations in engineering, telecommunications, IT business systems and economic modeling. Themed ?Energizing Global Communications,? the event ranked among the top five in conference history in regard to participation, presentations and original paper submissions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Emerging 5G systems will need to seamlessly guarantee novel types of services in a multi-do-main ecosystem. New methodologies of network and infrastructure sharing facilitate the cooperation among the operators, exploiting the core and access sections of the system architecture. Network slicing (NS) is the operators' best technique for building and managing a network. Without NS, the 5G requirements in terms of flexibility, optimal resource utilization, and investment returns cannot materialize. Before slicing is commercially available, different sections of the 5G architecture should be modified to include NS. In this work, we present a novel dynamic radio access network slicing resource sharing method aimed to guarantee optimal service level agreements through the monitoring of each slice tenant's key performance indicators. The experiments are conducted following the 3GPP specifications, and the solution is validated using a testbed based on the main 5G functionalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a part of the global effort to address the overwhelming demand for wireless broadband capacity, the wireless communities in the United States have undertaken innovative initiatives such as tiered-access to shared spectrum. The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a dynamic spectrum management framework for a Citizen Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) governed by a spectrum access system (SAS). The implementation of a SAS capable of dynamic frequency assignment and interference management is critical for the success of the proposed framework. In this paper we present the efforts toward a spectrum sharing system in the U.S. context by summarizing different interest groups? standpoint on the FCC proposed framework. We also present an example SAS architecture that accommodates the tiered access to shared spectrum and example approaches to achieve important SAS capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wireless communications are critical for public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) professionals during the emergency operations that follow natural or man-made disasters, scenarios in which both commercial and dedicated terrestrial networks often fail to provide the necessary support. The reason is threefold: they simply get destroyed by the disaster, they cannot sustain the sudden surge of network demand or they fail to deliver the necessary bandwidth and/or other QoS guarantees. Because LTE is expected to become the main wireless technology for broadband communication, a lot of studies have been devoted to assess its compliance for PPDR purposes and to find suitable architectural solutions able to meet mission-critical requirements. This approach is surely worthy, but it is based on the assumption that infrastructure-based terrestrial systems are reliable. As a consequence, in worstcase emergency scenarios appropriate guarantees can be provided only in the hypothesis of huge investment costs. Recent developments in satellite technologies are bringing the availability of non-terrestrial high performance channels, with better properties when comparing to LTE for what regards availability and reliability. On this basis, the paper proposes a network architecture based on the integration of satellite and LTE networks for both infrastructure-based and infrastructure-less scenarios. The proposal aims to provide field operators and people in distress with transparent accessibility, coverage guarantees and broadband performance when terrestrial infrastructures are lacking, and to expand their coverage, capacity and resilience otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

IEEE GLOBECOM 2014 (www.ieee-globecom.org/2014), the premier global conference dedicated to driving advancement in nearly every telecommunications field, held its 57th annual event from December 8?12 in Austin, Texas, the thriving national center for entrepreneurialism and innovation commonly recognized as ?the Silicon Hills.? Known for its high concentration of technology startups and corporations, the conference?s organizing committee combined the talents of thousands of industry professionals to ensure an enriching experience for both practitioners and academia. This included expanding the industrial program with a far wider breadth of keynotes, executive forums, demos and interactive sessions as well as offering amenities such as a downloadable mobile application, which placed session and conference proceeding information, locations and times at the fingertips of attendees. AT&T and the Austin Hilton further supported IEEE GLOBECOM 2014 by assuring access to the latest 4G LTE cellular technology and state-of-the-art WiFi connections were available throughout the conference venue. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

5G, the mobile communication technology for beyond 2020, will provide access to information and the sharing of data anywhere and anytime for anyone and anything. This paper describes the current status of the processes moving toward 5G, or "IMT for 2020 and beyond," in ITU-R. We also provide a view of 5G opportunities, challenges, requirements and technical solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This is the first issue in 2020 of the Optical Communications and Networks Series (OCNS). This series presents articles on the latest developments in this key technology field, which offers unprecedented communication capacity and cost-effective interconnection capability to support a variety of bandwidth-hungry wireline and wireless applications. In this issue, we have selected three contributions that address optical underlay network slicing, resource allocation in optically connected data centers, and joint radio-frequency (RF) and lightwave wireless communication and power transfer protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapidly growing bandwidth demand for wireless applications, new system technologies related to post-5G are emerging. In this article, an all-spectra fully adaptive and coordinated radio access network (RAN) is reported and discussed. By employing a fiber-wireless integration and networking architecture, all data-carrying channels could be aggregated in the same fiber access infrastructure. This enables a coordinated RAN with function decoupling, in which lower RF, 5G New Radio (NR), sub-THz, and even lightwave are employed; also, different types of services are delivered depending on their physical layer properties. Promising scenarios are discussed, such as integrated access of wireless NR-free space optical (FSO) backhauling and indoor systems via visible light communication (VLC) and efficient NR beamforming aided by VLC positioning system. The former use case can enhance the network throughput and reliability. This is because both FSO and NR can support high channel capacity due to their abundant bandwidth. Meanwhile, with the advancement of novel DSP techniques, the stability of the NR-FSO link under diverse weather turbulences or suffering from burst mode interference can be enhanced. The latter scenario provides an alternative solution for high-speed data link and a simplified beam management via the VLC-aided positioning system. VLC can concurrently provide ubiquitous indoor illumination, data transmission, and positioning. With the help of artificial intelligence algorithms, a VLC-based precision positioning system can provide a location accuracy of less than 1 cm, and it is able to meet the narrow beam size of the NR beamformer in a 3D model. Therefore, it is foreseeable that an all-spectra function decoupled RAN can serve as a unified network platform to support all wireless applications while optimizing system throughput, channel condition, network coverage, and software/ hardware complexity for post-5G mobile data networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifth generation wireless systems (5G) must achieve high user Quality of Experience (QoE) in order to compete for market share. Each candidate 5G wireless radio frequency (RF) band offers advantages such as longer range or higher data rate than 2G, 3G, and 4G, but no single band or air interface standard by itself fully achieves ubiquitous levels of QoE for the complete range of wireless access devices. Spectrum clearing cannot keep pace with user demand, so public-private spectrum sharing is emerging as an affordable, near-term method of increasing radio access network (RAN) capacities for content delivery. This paper presents a fresh look at QoE; spectrum scarcity; public uses that underutilize candidate 5G radio frequency (RF) spectrum; and emerging public-private radio interference management frameworks that enable near-term spectrum sharing, with positive consequences for 5G price, performance, and total user QoE. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Current trends in microprocessor architecture design are leading towards a dramatic increase of core-level parallelization, wherein a given number of independent processors or cores are interconnected. Since the main bottleneck is foreseen to migrate from computation to communication, efficient and scalable means of inter-core communication are crucial for guaranteeing steady performance improvements in many-core processors. As the number of cores grows, it remains unclear whether initial proposals, such as the Network-on-Chip (NoC) paradigm, will meet the stringent requirements of this scenario. This position paper presents a new research area where massive multicore architectures have wireless communication capabilities at the core level. This goal is feasible by using graphene-based planar antennas, which can radiate signals at the Terahertz band while utilizing lower chip area than its metallic counterparts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that discusses the utilization of graphene-enabled wireless communication for massive multicore processors. Such wireless systems enable broadcasting, multicasting, all-to-all communication, as well as significantly reduce many of the issues present in massively multicore environments, such as data coherency, consistency, synchronization and communication problems. Several open research challenges are pointed out related to implementation, communications and multicore architectures, which pave the way for future research in this multidisciplinary area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this issue of the Integrated Circuits for Communications Series, we continue the theme of integrated circuit design for multi-standard radios. We have selected two papers covering this area, which is drawing significant attention from industry as well as research communities worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNDM 2012 - the 4th edition of the International Workshop on Reliable Networks Design and Modeling - was held on October 3-5, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The consecutive meetings in the series of RNDM workshops were held in St. Petersburg (2009), Moscow (2010), and Budapest (2011). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The manufacturing industry is at the edge of the fourth industrial revolution, a paradigm of integrated architectures in which the entire production chain (composed of machines, workers, and products) is intrinsically connected. Wireless technologies can add further value in this manufacturing revolution. However, we identify some signs which indicate that wireless technology could be left out of the next generation of smart factory equipment. This is particularly relevant considering that the heavy machinery characteristic of this sector can last for decades. We argue that at the core of this issue there is a mismatch between industrial needs and the interests of academic and partly academic sectors (e.g., standardization bodies). We base our claims on surveys from renowned advisory firms and interviews with industrial actors, which we contrast with results from content analysis of scientific articles. Finally, we propose some convergence paths that, while still retaining the degree of novelty required for academic purposes, are more aligned with industrial concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread availability and demand for multimedia capable devices and multimedia content have fueled the need for high-speed wireless connectivity beyond the capabilities of existing commercial standards. While fiber optic data transfer links can provide multigigabit- per-second data rates, cost and deployment are often prohibitive in many applications. Wireless links, on the contrary, can provide a cost-effective fiber alternative to interconnect the outlining areas beyond the reach of the fiber rollout. With this in mind, the ever increasing demand for multi-gigabit wireless applications, fiber segment replacement mobile backhauling and aggregation, and covering the last mile have posed enormous challenges for next generation wireless technologies. In particular, the unbalanced temporal and geographical variations of spectrum usage along with the rapid proliferation of bandwidth- hungry mobile applications, such as video streaming with high definition television (HDTV) and ultra-high definition video (UHDV), have inspired millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications as a promising technology to alleviate the pressure of scarce spectrum resources for fifth generation (5G) mobile broadband. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over the last decade, energy harvesting has emerged as a promising approach to enable self-sufficient and self-sustaining operation for devices in energy-constrained networks by scavenging energy from the ambient environment to power up devices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this issue of Topics in Integrated Circuits for Communications, we have selected three papers that mark recent progress in the communications semiconductor industry which is enabling emerging short-range millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications and power-efficient transmissions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The word "satellite" has historically meant global radio coverage, long-distance inter-continental telephony, global TV broadcast, precise localization available in the sky and across the oceans. This was consequential to the early studies about geo-stationary orbits carried out since the visionary paper of A.C. Clarke published in "Wireless World" in 1945. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this issue of Topics in Integrated Circuits for Communications, we have selected three papers that mark recent progress in the communications semiconductor industry that is enabling future communication systems and services characterized by high throughput and pervasive connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toward ITS, academia and industry aim to utilize all possible radio access technologies in order to support reliable services and applications in VANETs. Thus, the inclusion of already deployed Wi-Fi networks in VANET topology is a crucial step for the next generation vehicular networks. However, the VANET topology also requires preservation of the features already offered by DSRC and the core cellular network. As a result, the coexistence of multiple different access technologies results in high complexity in terms of the control and management of the network infrastructure. To this end, software defined networking provides a promising opportunity to simplify the management and control of clumsy network infrastructures by decoupling the data and control planes in order to provide elasticity for current networks. In this article, we propose an architectural model that exploits this opportunity in order to enhance VANET with Wi-Fi access capability. Moreover, we offer a novel software defined VANET architecture that consists of soft OpenFlow switches with Wi-Fi capabilities as both roadside units and vehicles. In particular, we first investigate existing test tools and environments for software defined wireless networks and also supply a novel testbed architecture in order to provide a feasible test environment for evaluating the proposed architecture. Additionally, we propose a Wireless Access Management (WAM) protocol that provides wireless host management and basic flow admission with respect to the available bandwidth to validate the capability of the offered architecture. The observation results of the deployed testbed prove the conformity of the offered 802.11 architecture to the VANET. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As this is being written, the 2012 edition of the WCET Candidate?s Handbook is going to the printer. By the time you read this column, the new issue should be available in both paper and electronic versions. This column takes a quick look at the main updates for 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Driven by a new generation of wireless user equipment and the proliferation of bandwidth-intensive applications, user data traffic and the corresponding network load are increasing in an exponential manner. Most of this new data traffic is being generated indoors, which requires increased link budget and coverage extension to provide satisfactory user experience. As a result, current cellular networks are reaching their breaking point, and conventional cellular architectures that are devised to cater to large coverage areas and optimized for homogeneous traffic are facing unprecedented challenges to meet these user demands. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Smart grid is a term referring to the next generation power grid in which electricity distribution and management is upgraded by incorporating advanced two-way digital technology and communication capabilities for improved control, efficiency, reliability, and safety. A communication infrastructure is an essential part of the success of the emerging smart grid. A scalable and pervasive communication infrastructure is crucial in both the construction and operation of a smart grid. To ensure the correct functioning of a smart grid, it is essential that communications are secured, devices are protected from physical attack, and privacy is respected. Communications require authentication and confidentiality, devices require protection from physical attacks, and the system as a whole must be robust. Authorization will be vital to support secure remote configuration and multihoming scenarios. The privacy of smart grid customers needs to be protected. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Smart grid is a term referring to the next generation power grid in which the electricity distribution and management is upgraded by incorporating advanced twoway digital technology and communication capabilities for improved control, efficiency, reliability, and safety. A communication infrastructure is an essential part in the success of the emerging smart grid. A scalable and pervasive communication infrastructure is crucial in both construction and operation of a smart grid. To ensure the correct functioning of a smart grid, it is essential that communications are secured, devices are protected from physical attack, and privacy is respected. Communications require authentication and confidentiality, devices require protection from physical attacks, and the system as a whole must be robust. Authorization will be vital to support secure remote configuration and multihoming scenarios. The privacy of smart grid customers must be protected. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research in ad hoc and sensor networks has produced a plethora of papers, and very interesting work is still being published in this area, evolving in parallel with technological innovation, and intersecting with novel areas, particularly the Internet of Things, and more established areas such as wildlife monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The increasing availability of multimodal data holds many promises for developments in millimeter-wave (mmWave) multiple-antenna systems by harnessing the potential for enhanced situational awareness. Specifically, inclusion of non-RF modalities to complement RF-only data in communications-related decisions like beam selection may speed up decision making in situations where an exhaustive search, spanning all candidate options, is required by the standard. However, to accelerate research in this topic, there is a need to collect real-world datasets in a principled manner. This article presents an experimentally obtained dataset, composed of 23 GB of data, which aids in beam selection in vehicle-to-everything mmWave bands, with the goal of facilitating machine learning (ML) in the wireless communication required for autonomous driving. Beyond this specific example, the article describes methodologies of creating such datasets that use time synchronized and heterogeneous types of LiDAR, GPS, and camera images, paired with the RF ground truth data of selected beams in the mmWave band. While we use beam selection as the primary demonstrator, we also discuss how multimodal datasets may be used in other ML-based PHY-layer optimization areas, such as beamforming and localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future development of the railway is highly desired to evolve into a new era where infrastructure, trains, travelers, and goods will be increasingly interconnected to provide high comfort, with optimized door-to-door mobility at higher safety. For this vision, it is required to realize seamless high data rate wireless connectivity for railways. To improve the safety and comfort of future railways, wireless communications for railways are required to evolve from only voice and traditional train control signaling services to various high data rate services including critical high-definition (HD) video and other more bandwidth-intensive passenger services, such as onboard and wayside HD video surveillance, onboard real-time high data rate services, train multimedia dispatching video streaming, railway mobile ticketing, and the Internet of Things for railways. Corresponding mobile communications network architecture under various railway scenarios including inter-car, intra-car, inside station, train-to-infrastructure and infrastructure- to-infrastructure are proposed in this article. Wireless coverage based on massive MIMO for railway stations and train cars is proposed to fulfill the requirement of high-data-rate and high spectrum efficiency. The technical challenges brought by the massive MIMO technique are discussed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The work aims to improve the stability of wireless energy transfer (WET) in the Internet of Things (IoT), prolong the service life of wireless devices, and promote green communication. Based on a digital twins (DTs) IoT environment, we depict how to optimize the energy efficiency of large-scale multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems under WET technology. The large-scale distributed antenna array is applied to the wireless sensor network. MIMO can produce extremely narrow beams so that the system reduces interference to other users. Our MIMO system's energy efficiency optimization uses fractional planning and the block coordinate descent algorithm. The simulation results show that the algorithm has the best throughput performance when the maximum transmission power reaches 19 dBm. The total energy consumption of the proposed resource allocation algorithm is only about 9 percent higher than that of the power minimization algorithm. In the case of different maximum transfer powers, the number of iterations in which the proposed algorithm is required to converge is within four. Changes in the number of users cannot affect the convergence performance of the proposed algorithm. After the antenna selection mechanism is introduced, the average power of the energy received by the user is improved notably compared to the case of simply using the largescale distributed antenna array. The research results can reference large-scale MIMO systems' energy efficiency optimization problems under WET conditions in the DTs IoT environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federated learning (FL) is a swiftly evolving field within machine learning for collaboratively training models at the network edge in a privacy-preserving fashion, without training data leaving the devices where it was generated. The privacy-preserving nature of FL shows great promise for applications with sensitive data such as healthcare, finance, and social media. However, there are barriers to real-world FL at the wireless network edge, stemming from massive wireless parallelism and the high communication costs of model transmission. The communication cost of FL is heavily impacted by the heterogeneous distribution of data across clients, and some cutting-edge works attempt to address this problem using novel client-side optimization strategies. In this article, we provide a tutorial on model training in FL, and survey the recent developments in client-side optimization and how they relate to the communication properties of FL. We then perform a set of comparison experiments on a representative subset of these strategies, gaining insights into their communication-convergence trade-offs. Finally, we highlight challenges to client-side optimization and provide suggestions for future developments in FL at the wireless edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) has recently emerged as a candidate 6G technology, aiming to unify the two key operations of the future network in a spectrum/energy/cost-efficient way. ISAC systems communicate and sense for targets using a common waveform, a common hardware platform, and ultimately the same network infrastructure. Nevertheless, the inclusion of information signaling in the probing waveform for target sensing raises challenges from the perspective of information security. At the same time, the sensing capability incorporated in ISAC transmission offers unique opportunities to design secure ISAC techniques. This overview article discusses these unique challenges and opportunities for the next generation of ISAC networks. We first briefly discuss the fundamentals of waveform design for sensing and communication. Then we detail the challenges and contradictory objectives involved in securing ISAC transmission, along with state-of-the-art approaches to ensure security. We then identify the new opportunity of using the sensing capability to obtain knowledge target information as an enabling approach against the known weak-nesses of PHY security. Finally, we illustrate some low-cost secure ISAC architectures, followed by a series of open research topics. This family of sensing-aided secure ISAC techniques brings new insight on providing information security, with an eye on robust and hardware-constrained designs tailored for low-cost ISAC devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network coding has been shown to have radical implications for improving current network and storage systems. Because of its disruptive nature, both in terms of techniques and implications, it had naturally led to debate and confusion. This article seeks to dispel some of the misconceptions still associated with network coding, which we term its enduring myths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of a one-day educational program IEEE Emerging Topics on Communication Systems (ETCOMS) held in Kolkata, India on February 2, 2013 by the IEEE Communications Society Kolkata Chapter. Topics addressed include the initiatives being taken by the Chapter to organize educational programs to reach out to its members, the importance of collaborative programs and a framework for trading of wireless networks. Also covered are topics on green wireless communications.

Enabled by the advances in computing, communication, and sensing as well as the miniaturization of devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as balloons, quadcopters, and gliders have been receiving significant attention in the research community. Indeed, UAVs have become an integral component in several critical applications such as border surveillance, disaster response, traffic monitoring, and the transportation of goods, medicine, and first aid. More recently, new possibilities of UAVs for commercial applications and public service have emerged, with the potential to dramatically change the way in which we lead our daily lives. For instance, in 2013, Amazon announced a research and development initiative focused on its next-generation Prime Air delivery service. The goal of this service is to deliver packages into customers' hands in 30 minutes or less using small UAVs. The past couple of years have been pivotal in bringing UAV research to fruition as corroborated by an unprecedented proliferation of personal drones, such as the Phantom and Inspire from DJI, the AR and Bebop from Parrot, and the Solo from 3D Robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent development of metasurfaces has motivated their potential use for improving the performance of wireless communication networks by manipulating the propagation environment through nearly passive sub-wavelength scattering elements arranged on a surface. However, most studies of this technology focus on reflective metasurfaces, that is, the surface reflects the incident signals toward receivers located on the same side of the transmitter, which restricts the coverage to one side of the surface. In this article, we introduce the concept of an intelligent omni-surface (IOS), which is able to serve mobile users on both sides of the surface to achieve full-dimensional communications by jointly engineering its reflective and refractive properties. The working principle of the IOS is introduced, and a novel hybrid beamforming scheme is proposed for IOS-based wireless communications. Moreover, we present a prototype of IOS-based wireless communications and report experimental results. Furthermore, potential applications of IOSs to wireless communications together with relevant research challenges are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future of the manufacturing industry highly depends on digital systems that transform existing production and monitoring systems into autonomous systems fulfilling stringent requirements in terms of availability, reliability, security, low latency, and positioning with high accuracy. In order to meet such requirements, private 5G networks are considered as a key enabling technology. In this article, we introduce the 5G-CLARITY system that integrates 5GNR, WiFi, and LiFi access networks, and develops novel management enablers to operate 5G-Advanced private networks. We describe three core features of 5G-CLARITY, including a multi-connectivity framework, a high-precision positioning server, and a management system to orchestrate private network slices. These features are evaluated by means of packet-level simulations and an experimental testbed demonstrating the ability of 5G-CLARITY to police access network traffic, to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy, and to provision private network slices in less than one minute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet of Everything (IoE) applications such as haptics, human-computer interaction, and extended reality, using the sixth-generation (6G) of wireless systems have diverse requirements in terms of latency, reliability, data rate, and user-defined performance metrics. Therefore, enabling IoE applications over 6G requires a new framework that can be used to manage, operate, and optimize the 6G wireless system and its underlying IoE services. Such a new framework for 6G can be based on digital twins. Digital twins use a virtual representation of the 6G physical system along with the associated algorithms (e.g., machine learning, optimization), communication technologies (e.g., millimeter-wave and terahertz communication), computing systems (e.g., edge computing and cloud computing), as well as privacy and security-related technologists (e.g., blockchain). First, we present the key design requirements for enabling 6G through the use of a digital twin. Next, the architectural components and trends such as edge-based twins, cloud-based-twins, and edge-cloud-based twins are presented. Furthermore, we provide a comparative description of various twins. Finally, we outline and recommend guidelines for several future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces awards given to electrical and electronics engineers at the IEEE GLOBECOM 2011's annual Awards Luncheon held in Houston, Texas including the IEEE Communications Society Industrial Innovation Award to Lawrence Bernstein, the IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award to Moe Z. Win, and IEEE Fellow Recognition Honors to Tolga Duman.

It has been two decades since the publication of the seminal tutorial "The Software Radio Architecture" in IEEE Communications Magazine. The evolution of Software Defined Radio (SDR) systems had profound impact both in military and multi-standard commercial space. The intent of the feature topic is to capture key elements of the evolution of the enabling technologies as well as SDR solutions for flexible and reconfigurable wireless platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over the last decade, energy harvesting has emerged as a promising approach to enable self-sufficient and self-sustaining operation for low-cost devices in energy-constrained networks by scavenging energy from the ambient environment to power up devices. In wireless sensor networks, small, wireless, autonomous sensors usually operate at ultra-low power. If these wireless sensors, which spread throughout homes or factories, in buildings or even outdoors to monitor all kinds of environmental conditions, are powered by energy harvesting, there are no batteries to replace and no laborious cost associated with replacing them. As such, wireless sensor networks can be deployed in hard-to-reach areas to provide ubiquitous coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This Feature Topic issue is a continuation in sequence of the previous November 2010 issue on ?Energy Efficiency in Communications.? Dedicated to the latest advances in various energy-efficient fixed and wireless communications and networking technologies, this second part (June 2011) of the Feature Topic further highlights the increasingly global interest in the technical potentials and approaches to mitigating energy consumption and the consequential environmental influences, and includes eight articles selected from a pool of high-quality paper submissions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Driven by the rapidly increasing demand for high data rate services and usage in a spectrum of application areas, wireless systems are compelled to evolve in order to meet the extraordinary performance requirements, especially in terms of spectral efficiency, coverage, latency, and energy efficiency. Regarding wireless local area networks, the first few widely accepted amendments to IEEE 802.11 wireless networking specifications, IEEE 802.11b/a/g, featured low spectral efficiencies, which are becoming insufficient to satisfy explosive traffic growth and the ever increasing consumer connectivity demand. With the soaring cost of the limited bandwidth at the 2.4 GHz frequency band, sustained improvement in spectral efficiency and quality of service has been achieved in IEEE 802.11n, which is mainly driven by advances in communication theory and the use of the 5 GHz frequency band. Specifically, the successive introduction of novel techniques such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna techniques and space-time coding, and the massive improvement in hardware and processing power, have enabled progressive system improvement. The introduction of advanced transmission techniques in recent years, notably multiuser MIMO and transmit beamforming, has provided additional powerful means for boosting the performance of Wi-Fi to gigabit per second speed and leading to the emerging IEEE 802.11ac. This is followed by the future introduction of IEEE 802.11ad products utilizing the 60 GHz frequency band, which are expected to take Wi-Fi speeds to multiple gigabits per second, and IEEE 802.1lax products, which are expected to improve the spectrum efficiency of Wi-Fi, thus enhancing system throughput per area in high-density scenarios of access points and client stations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With ever growing popularity and widespread adoption of mobile social applications, the traffic handled by mobile networks and the Internet has grown significantly. While researchers have been making advances in the study of social networks and independently in the area of next generation wireless networks, very little attention has been given to the interplay between the two, and their impact on each other and society. The challenge of the interplay between social networks and mobile networks is compounded by the fact that advances in smart handheld devices and those in wireless technologies have paved the way for increasing bandwidth catering to very high data rates. Sophisticated social applications such as Second Life, and those involving 3D and real-time data can take advantage of such advances. It is entirely likely that such advances in turn could lead to novel social applications not yet thought of. For example, new social applications could emerge in the area of social health or social games with new forms of massively multi-player, multimedia, 3D, and role playing games. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Broadband access is key to ensuring robust economic development and improving quality of life. Unfortunately, the communication infrastructure deployed in rural areas throughout the world lags behind its urban counterparts due to low population density and economics. This article examines the motivations and challenges of providing broadband access over vast rural regions, with an emphasis on the wireless aspect in view of its irreplaceable role in closing the digital gap. Applications and opportunities for future rural wireless communications are discussed for a variety of areas, including residential welfare, digital agriculture, and transportation. This article also comprehensively investigates current and emerging wireless technologies that could facilitate rural deployment. Although there is no simple solution, there is an urgent need for researchers to work on coverage, cost, and reliability of rural wireless access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms are purely data-driven and do not leverage any domain knowledge about the nature of the available actions, the system's state transition dynamics, and its cost/reward function. This severely penalizes their ability to meet critical requirements of emerging wireless applications, due to the inefficiency with which these algorithms learn from their interactions with the environment. In this article, we describe how data-driven RL algorithms can be improved by systematically integrating basic system models into the learning process. Our proposed approach uses real-time data in conjunction with knowledge about the underlying communication system to achieve orders of magnitude improvement in key performance metrics, such as convergence speed and compute/memory complexity, relative to well-established RL benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]