Optimizing Air-borne Network-in-a-box Deployment for Efficient Remote Coverage

Among many envisaged drivers for the sixth generation, one is from the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals 2030 to eliminate digital inequality. Remote coverage in sparsely populated areas, difficult terrains, or emergency scenarios requires on-demand access and flexible deployment with minimal capex and opex. In this context, network-in-a-box (NIB) is an exciting solution that packs the whole wireless network into a single portable and re-configurable box to support multiple access technologies such as WiFi/2G/3G/4G/5G etc. In this paper, we propose low-altitude platform stations (LAPS) based NIBs with stratospheric high-altitude platform station (HAPS) as backhaul. Specifically, backhaul employs non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) with superposition coding at the transmitting HAPS and successive interference cancellation (SIC) at the receiving NIBs, whereas the access link (AL) employs superposition coding along with the regularized zero-forcing (RZF) precoding at the NIB in order to elevate the computational overhead from the ground users. The required number of airborne NIBs to serve a desired coverage area, their optimal placement, user association, beam optimization, and resource allocation are optimized by maximizing the sum rate of the AL while maintaining the quality of service. Our findings reveal the significance of thorough system planning and communication parameters optimization for enhanced system performance and best coverage under limited resources.

NMBEnet: Efficient Near-field mmWave Beam Training for Multiuser OFDM Systems Using Sub-6 GHz Pilots

Combining millimetre-wave (mmWave) communications with an extremely large-scale antenna array (ELAA) presents a promising avenue for meeting the spectral efficiency demands of the future sixth generation (6G) mobile communications. However, beam training for mmWave ELAA systems is challenged by excessive pilot overheads as well as insufficient accuracy, as the huge near-field codebook has to be accounted for. In this paper, inspired by the similarity between far-field sub-6 GHz channels and near-field mmWave channels, we propose to leverage sub-6 GHz uplink pilot signals to directly estimate the optimal near-field mmWave codeword, which aims to reduce pilot overhead and bypass the channel estimation. Moreover, we adopt deep learning to perform this dual mapping function, i.e., sub-6 GHz to mmWave, far-field to near-field, and a novel neural network structure called NMBEnet is designed to enhance the precision of beam training. Specifically, when considering the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication scenarios with high user density, correlations arise both between signals from different users and between signals from different subcarriers. Accordingly, the convolutional neural network (CNN) module and graph neural network (GNN) module included in the proposed NMBEnet can leverage these two correlations to further enhance the precision of beam training.

Exploit High-Dimensional RIS Information to Localization: What Is the Impact of Faulty Element?

This paper proposes a novel localization algorithm using the reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) received signal, i.e., RIS information. Compared with BS received signal, i.e., BS information, RIS information offers higher dimension and richer feature set, thereby providing an enhanced capacity to distinguish positions of the mobile users (MUs). Additionally, we address a practical scenario where RIS contains some unknown (number and places) faulty elements that cannot receive signals. Initially, we employ transfer learning to design a two-phase transfer learning (TPTL) algorithm, designed for accurate detection of faulty elements. Then our objective is to regain the information lost from the faulty elements and reconstruct the complete high-dimensional RIS information for localization. To this end, we propose a transfer-enhanced dual-stage (TEDS) algorithm. In \emph{Stage I}, we integrate the CNN and variational autoencoder (VAE) to obtain the RIS information, which in \emph{Stage II}, is input to the transferred DenseNet 121 to estimate the location of the MU. To gain more insight, we propose an alternative algorithm named transfer-enhanced direct fingerprint (TEDF) algorithm which only requires the BS information. The comparison between TEDS and TEDF reveals the effectiveness of faulty element detection and the benefits of utilizing the high-dimensional RIS information for localization. Besides, our empirical results demonstrate that the performance of the localization algorithm is dominated by the high-dimensional RIS information and is robust to unoptimized phase shifts and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Performance Analysis on RIS-Aided Wideband Massive MIMO OFDM Systems with Low-Resolution ADCs

This paper investigates a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-aided wideband massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system with low-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). Frequency-selective Rician fading channels are considered, and the OFDM data transmission process is presented in time domain. This paper derives the closed-form approximate expression of the uplink achievable rate, based on which the asymptotic system performance is analyzed when the number of the antennas at the base station and the number of reflecting elements at the RIS grow to infinity. Besides, the power scaling laws of the considered system are revealed to provide energy-saving insights. Furthermore, this paper proposes a gradient ascent-based algorithm to design the phase shifts of the RIS for maximizing the minimum user rate. Finally, numerical results are presented to verify the correctness of analytical conclusions and draw insights.

Electromagnetic Information Theory: Fundamentals and Applications for 6G Wireless Communication Systems

In wireless communications, electromagnetic theory and information theory constitute a pair of fundamental theories, bridged by antenna theory and wireless propagation channel modeling theory. Up to the fifth generation (5G) wireless communication networks, these four theories have been developing relatively independently. However, in sixth generation (6G) space-air-ground-sea wireless communication networks, seamless coverage is expected in the three-dimensional (3D) space, potentially necessitating the acquisition of channel state information (CSI) and channel capacity calculation at anywhere and any time. Additionally, the key 6G technologies such as ultra-massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and holographic MIMO achieves intricate interaction of the antennas and wireless propagation environments, which necessitates the joint modeling of antennas and wireless propagation channels. To address the challenges in 6G, the integration of the above four theories becomes inevitable, leading to the concept of the so-called electromagnetic information theory (EIT). In this article, a suite of 6G key technologies is highlighted. Then, the concepts and relationships of the four theories are unveiled. Finally, the necessity and benefits of integrating them into the EIT are revealed.

Novel 3D Geometry-Based Stochastic Models for Non-Isotropic MIMO Vehicle-to-Vehicle Channels

This paper proposes a novel three-dimensional (3D) theoretical regular-shaped geometry-based stochastic model (RS-GBSM) and the corresponding sum-of-sinusoids (SoS) simulation model for non-isotropic multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) Ricean fading channels. The proposed RS-GBSM, combining line-of-sight (LoS) components, a two-sphere model, and an elliptic-cylinder model, has the ability to study the impact of the vehicular traffic density (VTD) on channel statistics, and jointly considers the azimuth and elevation angles by using the von Mises Fisher distribution. Moreover, a novel parameter computation method is proposed for jointly calculating the azimuth and elevation angles in the SoS channel simulator. Based on the proposed 3D theoretical RS-GBSM and its SoS simulation model, statistical properties are derived and thoroughly investigated. The impact of the elevation angle in the 3D model on key statistical properties is investigated by comparing with those of the corresponding two-dimensional (2D) model. It is demonstrated that the 3D model is more accurate to characterize real V2V channels, in particular for pico cell scenarios. Finally, close agreement is achieved between the theoretical model, SoS simulation model, and simulation results, demonstrating the utility of the proposed models.

A WINNER+ Based 3-D Non-Stationary Wideband MIMO Channel Model

In this paper, a three-dimensional (3-D) non-stationary wideband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel model based on the WINNER+ channel model is proposed. The angular distributions of clusters in both the horizontal and vertical planes are jointly considered. The receiver and clusters can be moving, which makes the model more general. Parameters including number of clusters, powers, delays, azimuth angles of departure (AAoDs), azimuth angles of arrival (AAoAs), elevation angles of departure (EAoDs), and elevation angles of arrival (EAoAs) are time-variant. The cluster time evolution is modeled using a birth-death process. Statistical properties, including spatial cross-correlation function (CCF), temporal autocorrelation function (ACF), Doppler power spectrum density (PSD), level-crossing rate (LCR), average fading duration (AFD), and stationary interval are investigated and analyzed. The LCR, AFD, and stationary interval of the proposed channel model are validated against the measurement data. Numerical and simulation results show that the proposed channel model has the ability to reproduce the main properties of real non-stationary channels. Furthermore, the proposed channel model can be adapted to various communication scenarios by adjusting different parameter values.

A Novel 3D Non-stationary Localization-assisted ISAC Channel Model

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) has attracted wide attention as an emerging application scenario for the sixth generation (6G) wireless communication system. In this paper, a novel three-dimensional (3D) non-stationary localization-assisted ISAC geometry-based stochastic model (GBSM) is proposed. The locations of the first-bounce scatterer and last-bounce scatterer in the communication channel can be estimated by the particle filter with the assistance of backscattering sensing. The important channel statistical properties of the proposed channel model are simulated and compared with the ray tracing (RT) results, including the delay spread, azimuth angle of departure/arrival (AAoD/AAoA) spread, and elevation angle of departure/arrival (EAoD/EAoA) spread. The simulation results of the proposed channel model show a good agreement with the RT results, which proves the correctness of the proposed channel model. Utilizing the localization parameters of scatterers, the proposed ISAC channel model can better map the real environment.

A General 3D Non-Stationary 5G Wireless Channel Model

A novel unified framework of geometry-based stochastic models (GBSMs) for the fifth generation (5G) wireless communication systems is proposed in this paper. The proposed general 5G channel model aims at capturing small-scale fading channel characteristics of key 5G communication scenarios, such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), high-speed train (HST), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), and millimeter wave (mmWave) communication scenarios. It is a three-dimensional (3D) non-stationary channel model based on the WINNER II and Saleh-Valenzuela (SV) channel models considering array-time cluster evolution. Moreover, it can easily be reduced to various simplified channel models by properly adjusting model parameters. Statistical properties of the proposed general 5G small-scale fading channel model are investigated to demonstrate its capability of capturing channel characteristics of various scenarios, with excellent fitting to some corresponding channel measurements.

Beam Training and Tracking for Extremely Large-Scale MIMO Communications

In this paper, beam training and beam tracking are investigated for extremely large-scale multiple-input-multiple-output communication systems with partially-connected hybrid combining structures. Firstly, we propose a two-stage hybrid-field beam training scheme for both the near field and the far field. In the first stage, each subarray independently uses multiple far-field channel steering vectors to approximate near-field ones for analog combining. To find the codeword best fitting for the channel, digital combiners in the second stage are designed to combine the outputs of the analog combiners from the first stage. Then, based on the principle of stationary phase and the time-frequency duality, the expressions of subarray signals after analog combining are analytically derived and a beam refinement based on phase shifts of subarrays~(BRPSS) scheme with closed-form solutions is proposed for high-resolution channel parameter estimation. Moreover, a low-complexity near-field beam tracking scheme is developed, where the kinematic model is adopted to characterize the channel variations and the extended Kalman filter is exploited for beam tracking. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed schemes.