Abstract:This article addresses the problem of multiple preamble detection in random access systems based on orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) signaling. This challenge is formulated as a structured sparse recovery problem in the complex domain. To tackle it, the authors propose a new approximate message passing (AMP) algorithm that enforces double sparsity: the sparse selection of preambles and the inherent sparsity of OTFS signals in the delay-Doppler domain. From an algorithmic standpoint, the non-separable complex sparsity constraint necessitates a careful derivation and leads to the design of a novel AMP denoiser. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves robust detection performance and delivers significant gains over state-of-the-art techniques.
Abstract:This paper proposes a grant-free coded random access (CRA) scheme for uplink massive machine-type communications (mMTC), based on Zak-orthogonal time frequency space (Zak-OTFS) modulation in the delay-Doppler domain. The scheme is tailored for doubly selective wireless channels, where conventional orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)-based CRA suffers from unreliable inter-slot channel prediction due to time-frequency variability. By exploiting the predictable nature of Zak-OTFS, the proposed approach enables accurate channel estimation across slots, facilitating reliable successive interference cancellation across user packet replicas. A fair comparison with an OFDM-based CRA baseline shows that the proposed scheme achieves significantly lower packet loss rates under high mobility and user density. Extensive simulations over the standardized Veh-A channel confirm the robustness and scalability of Zak-OTFS-based CRA, supporting its applicability to future mMTC deployments.