pwc-archive/papers-with-abstracts huggingface dataset:
RIS-Assisted Energy Harvesting Gains for Bistatic Backscatter Networks: Performance Analysis and RIS Phase Optimization
Authors: Diluka Galappaththige, Fatemeh Rezaei, Chintha Tellambura, Sanjeewa Herath
Date: 2023-09-18 00:00:00
Tasks: Quantization, TAG

Inexpensive tags powered by energy harvesting (EH) can realize green (energy-efficient) Internet of Things (IoT) networks. However, tags are vulnerable to energy insecurities, resulting in poor communication ranges, activation distances, and data rates. To overcome these challenges, we explore the use of a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) for EH-based IoT networks. The RIS is deployed to enhance RF power at the tag, improving EH capabilities. We consider linear and non-linear EH models and analyze single-tag and multi-tag scenarios. For single-tag networks, the tag's maximum received power and the reader's signal-to-noise ratio with the optimized RIS phase-shifts are derived. Key metrics, such as received power, harvested power, achievable rate, outage probability, bit error rate, and diversity order, are also evaluated. The impact of RIS phase shift quantization errors is also studied. For the multi-tag case, an algorithm to compute the optimal RIS phase-shifts is developed. Numerical results and simulations demonstrate significant improvements compared to the benchmarks of no-RIS case and random RIS-phase design. For instance, our optimal design with a \num{200}-element RIS increases the activation distance by \qty{270}{\percent} and \qty{55}{\percent} compared to those benchmarks. In summary, RIS deployment improves the energy autonomy of tags while maintaining the basic tag design intact.
A Read Margin Enhancement Circuit with Dynamic Bias Optimization for MRAM
Authors: Renhe Chen, Albert Lee, ZiRui Wang, Di wu, Xufeng Kou
Date: 2023-09-18 00:00:00

This brief introduces a read bias circuit to improve readout yield of magnetic random access memories (MRAMs). A dynamic bias optimization (DBO) circuit is proposed to enable the real-time tracking of the optimal read voltage across processvoltage-temperature (PVT) variations within an MRAM array. It optimizes read performance by adjusting the read bias voltage dynamically for maximum sensing margin. Simulation results on a 28-nm 1Mb MRAM macro show that the tracking accuracy of the proposed DBO circuit remains above 90% even when the optimal sensing voltage varies up to 50%. Such dynamic tracking strategy further results in up to two orders of magnitude reduction in the bit error rate with respect to different variations, highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing MRAM performance and reliability.
Adaptive Unscented Kalman Filter under Minimum Error Entropy with Fiducial Points for Non-Gaussian Systems
Authors: Boyu Tian, Haiquan Zhao
Date: 2023-09-18 00:00:00

The minimum error entropy (MEE) has been extensively used in unscented Kalman filter (UKF) to handle impulsive noises or abnormal measurement data in non-Gaussian systems. However, the MEE-UKF has poor numerical stability due to the inverse operation of singular matrix. In this paper, a novel UKF based on minimum error entropy with fiducial points (MEEF) is proposed \textcolor{black}{to improve the problem of non-positive definite key matrix. By adding the correntropy to the error entropy, the proposed algorithm further enhances the ability of suppressing impulse noise and outliers. At the same time, considering the uncertainty of noise distribution, the modified Sage-Husa estimator of noise statistics is introduced to adaptively update the noise covariance matrix. In addition, the convergence analysis of the proposed algorithm provides a guidance for the selection of kernel width. The robustness and estimation accuracy of the proposed algorithm are manifested by the state tracking examples under complex non-Gaussian noises.
A Covariance Adaptive Student's t Based Kalman Filter
Authors: Benyang Gong, Jiacheng He, Gang Wang, Bei Peng
Date: 2023-09-18 00:00:00

In the classical Kalman filter(KF), the estimated state is a linear combination of the one-step predicted state and measurement state, their confidence level change when the prediction mean square error matrix and covariance matrix of measurement noise vary. The existing student's t based Kalman filter(TKF) works similarly to the way KF works, they both work well with impulse noise, but when it comes to Gaussian noise, TKF encounters an adjustment limit of the confidence level, this can lead to inaccuracies in such situations. This brief optimizes TKF by using the Gaussian mixture model(GMM), which generates a reasonable covariance matrix from the measurement noise to replace the one used in the existing algorithm and breaks the adjustment limit of the confidence level. At the end of the brief, the performance of the covariance adaptive student's t based Kalman filter(TGKF) is verified.
Multi-user passive beamforming in RIS-aided communications and experimental validations
Authors: Zhibo Zhou, Haifan Yin, Li Tan, Ruikun Zhang, Kai Wang, Yingzhuang Liu
Date: 2023-09-18 00:00:00

Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is a promising technology for future wireless communications due to its capability of optimizing the propagation environments. Nevertheless, in literature, there are few prototypes serving multiple users. In this paper, we propose a whole flow of channel estimation and beamforming design for RIS, and set up an RIS-aided multi-user system for experimental validations. Specifically, we combine a channel sparsification step with generalized approximate message passing (GAMP) algorithm, and propose to generate the measurement matrix as Rademacher distribution to obtain the channel state information (CSI). To generate the reflection coefficients with the aim of maximizing the spectral efficiency, we propose a quadratic transform-based low-rank multi-user beamforming (QTLM) algorithm. Our proposed algorithms exploit the sparsity and low-rank properties of the channel, which has the advantages of light calculation and fast convergence. Based on the universal software radio peripheral devices, we built a complete testbed working at 5.8GHz and implemented all the proposed algorithms to verify the possibility of RIS assisting multi-user systems. Experimental results show that the system has obtained an average spectral efficiency increase of 13.48bps/Hz, with respective received power gains of 26.6dB and 17.5dB for two users, compared with the case when RIS is powered-off.
Energy-efficient Integrated Sensing and Communication System and DNLFM Waveform
Authors: Yihua Ma, Zhifeng Yuan, Shuqiang Xia, Chen Bai, Zhongbin Wang, Yuxin Wang
Date: 2023-09-18 00:00:00
Tasks: Integrated sensing and communication, ISAC

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is a key enabler of 6G. Unlike communication radio links, the sensing signal requires to experience round trips from many scatters. Therefore, sensing is more power-sensitive and faces a severer multi-target interference. In this paper, the ISAC system employs dedicated sensing signals, which can be reused as the communication reference signal. This paper proposes to add time-frequency matched windows at both the transmitting and receiving sides, which avoids mismatch loss and increases energy efficiency. Discrete non-linear frequency modulation (DNLFM) is further proposed to achieve both time-domain constant modulus and frequency-domain arbitrary windowing weights. DNLFM uses very few Newton iterations and a simple geometrically-equivalent method to generate, which greatly reduces the complex numerical integral in the conventional method. Moreover, the spatial-domain matched window is proposed to achieve low sidelobes. The simulation results show that the proposed methods gain a higher energy efficiency than conventional methods.
Improving Axial Resolution of Optical Resolution Photoacoustic Microscopy with Advanced Frequency Domain Eigenspace Based Minimum Variance Beamforming Method
Authors: Yu-Hsiang Yu, Meng-Lin Li
Date: 2023-09-18 00:00:00

Optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) leverages optical focusing and acoustic detection for microscopic optical absorption imaging. Intrinsically it owns high optical lateral resolution and poor acoustic axial resolution. Such anisometric resolution hinders good 3-D visualization; thus 2-D maximum amplitude projection images are commonly presented in the literature. Since its axial resolution is limited by the bandwidth of acoustic detectors, ultrahigh frequency, and wideband detectors with Wiener deconvolution have been proposed to address this issue. Nonetheless, they also introduce other issues such as severe high-frequency attenuation and limited imaging depth. In this work, we view axial resolution improvement as an axial signal reconstruction problem, and the axial resolution degradation is caused by axial sidelobe interference. We propose an advanced frequency-domain eigenspace-based minimum variance (F-EIBMV) beamforming technique to suppress axial sidelobe interference and noises. This method can simultaneously enhance the axial resolution and contrast of OR-PAM. For a 25-MHz OR-PAM system, the full-width at half-maximum of an axial point spread function decreased significantly from 69.3 $\mu$m to 16.89 $\mu$m, indicating a significant improvement in axial resolution.
Climate-Resilient UAVs: Enhancing Energy-Efficient B5G Communication in Harsh Environments
Authors: Abdu Saif, Saeed Hamood Alsamhi, Edward Curry
Date: 2023-09-17 00:00:00

This paper explores the crucial role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in advancing Beyond Fifth Generation (B5G) communication networks, especially in adverse weather conditions like rain, fog, and snow. The study investigates the synergy between climate-resilient UAVs and energy-efficient B5G communication. Key findings include the impact of weather elements on UAV coverage and communication dynamics. The research demonstrates significant enhancements in energy efficiency, reduced interference, increased data transmission rates, and optimal channel gain under various weather conditions. Overall, this paper emphasizes the potential of climate-resilient UAVs to improve energy-efficient B5G communication and highlights technology's role in mitigating climate change's impact on communication systems, promoting sustainability and resilience.
Frequency Estimation Using Complex-Valued Shifted Window Transformer
Authors: Josiah W. Smith, Murat Torlak
Date: 2023-09-17 00:00:00
Tasks: Image Super-Resolution, Spectral Super-Resolution, Super-Resolution

Estimating closely spaced frequency components of a signal is a fundamental problem in statistical signal processing. In this letter, we introduce 1-D real-valued and complex-valued shifted window (Swin) transformers, referred to as SwinFreq and CVSwinFreq, respectively, for line-spectra frequency estimation on 1-D complex-valued signals. Whereas 2-D Swin transformer-based models have gained traction for optical image super-resolution, we introduce for the first time a complex-valued Swin module designed to leverage the complex-valued nature of signals for a wide array of applications. The proposed approach overcomes the limitations of the classical algorithms such as the periodogram, MUSIC, and OMP in addition to state-of-the-art deep learning approach cResFreq. SwinFreq and CVSwinFreq boast superior performance at low signal-to-noise ratio SNR and improved resolution capability while requiring fewer model parameters than cResFreq, thus deeming it more suitable for edge and mobile applications. We find that the real-valued Swin-Freq outperforms its complex-valued counterpart CVSwinFreq for several tasks while touting a smaller model size. Finally, we apply the proposed techniques for radar range profile super-resolution using real data. The results from both synthetic and real experimentation validate the numerical and empirical superiority of SwinFreq and CVSwinFreq to the state-of-the-art deep learning-based techniques and traditional frequency estimation algorithms. The code and models are publicly available at https://github.com/josiahwsmith10/spectral-super-resolution-swin.
Cramer-Rao Bound Optimization for Active RIS-Empowered ISAC Systems
Authors: Qi Zhu, Ming Li, Rang Liu, Qian Liu
Date: 2023-09-17 00:00:00
Tasks: Integrated sensing and communication, ISAC, parameter estimation

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), which simultaneously performs sensing and communication functions within a shared frequency band and hardware platform, has emerged as a promising technology for future wireless systems. Nevertheless, the weak echo signal received by the low-sensitivity ISAC receiver significantly constrains sensing performance in scenarios involving obstructed targets. Active reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) has become a prospective solution by situationally manipulating the wireless propagations and amplifying the signals. In this paper, we investigate active RIS-empowered ISAC systems to enhance radar echo signal quality as well as communication performance. In particular, we focus on the joint design of the base station (BS) transmit precoding and the active RIS reflection beamforming to optimize the parameter estimation performance in terms of Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) subject to the communication users' signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) requirements. An efficient algorithm based on alternating optimization, semidefinite relaxation (SDR), and majorization-minimization (MM) is proposed to solve the formulated challenging non-convex problem. Finally, simulation results validate the effectiveness of the developed algorithm and the potential of employing active RIS in ISAC systems to enhance direct-of-arrival (DoA) estimation performance.
Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA) Technique
Authors: Sanjeev Sharma, Kuntal Deka
Date: 2023-09-17 00:00:00

Next-generation wireless networks require higher spectral efficiency and lower latency to meet the demands of various upcoming applications. Recently, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) schemes are introduced in the literature for 5G and beyond. Various forms of NOMA are considered like power domain, code domain, pattern division multiple access, etc. to enhance the spectral efficiency of wireless networks. In this chapter, we introduce the code domain-based sparse code multiple access (SCMA) NOMA scheme to enhance the spectral efficiency of a wireless network. The design and detection of an SCMA system are analyzed in this chapter. Also, the method for codebooks design and its impact on system performance are highlighted. A hybrid multiple access scheme is also introduced using both code-domain and power-domain NOMA. Furthermore, simulation results are included to show the impact of various SCMA system parameters.ext-generation wireless networks require higher spectral efficiency and lower latency to meet the demands of various upcoming applications. Recently, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) schemes are introduced in the literature for 5G and beyond. Various forms of NOMA are considered like power domain, code domain, pattern division multiple access, etc. to enhance the spectral efficiency of wireless networks. In this chapter, we introduce the code domainbased sparse code multiple access (SCMA) NOMA scheme to enhance the spectral efficiency of a wireless network. The design and detection of an SCMA system are analyzed in this chapter. Also, the method for codebooks design and its impact on system performance are highlighted. A hybrid multiple access scheme is also introduced using both code-domain and power-domain NOMA. Furthermore, simulation results are included to show the impact of various SCMA system parameters.
Optimal Photodetector Size for High-Speed Free-Space Optics Receivers
Authors: Muhammad Salman Bashir, Qasim Zeeshan Ahmed, Mohamed-Slim Alouini
Date: 2023-09-16 00:00:00

The selection of an optimal photodetector area is closely linked to the attainment of higher data rates in optical wireless communication receivers. If the photodetector area is too large, the channel capacity degrades due to lower modulation bandwidth of the detector. A smaller photodetector maximizes the bandwidth, but minimizes the captured signal power and the subsequent signal-to-noise ratio. Therein lies an opportunity in this trade-off to maximize the channel rate by choosing the optimal photodetector area. In this study, we have optimized the photodetector area in order to maximize the channel capacity of a free-space optical link for a diverse set of communication scenarios. We believe that the study in this paper in general -- and the closed-form solutions derived in this study in particular -- will be helpful to maximize achievable data rates of a wide gamut of optical wireless communication systems: from long range deep space optical links to short range indoor visible light communication systems.
Blind Deconvolution of Sparse Graph Signals in the Presence of Perturbations
Authors: Victor M. Tenorio, Samuel Rey, Antonio G. Marques
Date: 2023-09-16 00:00:00

Blind deconvolution over graphs involves using (observed) output graph signals to obtain both the inputs (sources) as well as the filter that drives (models) the graph diffusion process. This is an ill-posed problem that requires additional assumptions, such as the sources being sparse, to be solvable. This paper addresses the blind deconvolution problem in the presence of imperfect graph information, where the observed graph is a perturbed version of the (unknown) true graph. While not having perfect knowledge of the graph is arguably more the norm than the exception, the body of literature on this topic is relatively small. This is partly due to the fact that translating the uncertainty about the graph topology to standard graph signal processing tools (e.g. eigenvectors or polynomials of the graph) is a challenging endeavor. To address this limitation, we propose an optimization-based estimator that solves the blind identification in the vertex domain, aims at estimating the inverse of the generating filter, and accounts explicitly for additive graph perturbations. Preliminary numerical experiments showcase the effectiveness and potential of the proposed algorithm.
Localization with Noisy Android Raw GNSS Measurements
Authors: Xu Weng, Keck Voon Ling
Date: 2023-09-16 00:00:00

Android raw Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements are expected to bring smartphones power to take on demanding localization tasks that are traditionally performed by specialized GNSS receivers. The hardware constraints, however, make Android raw GNSS measurements much noisier than geodetic-quality ones. This study elucidates the principles of localization using Android raw GNSS measurements and leverages Moving Horizon Estimation (MHE), Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), and Rauch-Tung-Striebel (RTS) smoother for noise suppression. Experimental results show that the RTS smoother achieves the best positioning performance, with horizontal positioning errors significantly reduced by 76.4% and 46.5% in static and dynamic scenarios compared with the baseline weighted least squares (WLS) method. Our codes are available at https://github.com/ailocar/androidGnss.
Towards Robust and Efficient Communications for Urban Air Mobility
Authors: Dennis Becker, Lukas Schalk
Date: 2023-09-15 00:00:00
Tasks: Collision Avoidance

For the realization of the future urban air mobility, reliable information exchange based on robust and efficient communication between all airspace participants will be one of the key factors to ensure safe operations. Especially in dense urban scenarios, the direct and fast information exchange between drones based on Drone-to-Drone communications is a promising technology for enabling reliable collision avoidance systems. However, to mitigate collisions and to increase overall reliability, unmanned aircraft still lack a redundant, higher-level safety net to coordinate and monitor traffic, as is common in today's civil aviation. In addition, direct and fast information exchange based on ad hoc communication is needed to cope with the very short reaction times required to avoid collisions and to cope with the the high traffic densities. Therefore, we are developing a \ac{d2d} communication and surveillance system, called DroneCAST, which is specifically tailored to the requirements of a future urban airspace and will be part of a multi-link approach. In this work we discuss challenges and expected safety-critical applications that will have to rely on communications for \ac{uam} and present our communication concept and necessary steps towards DroneCAST. As a first step towards an implementation, we equipped two drones with hardware prototypes of the experimental communication system and performed several flights around the model city to evaluate the performance of the hardware and to demonstrate different applications that will rely on robust and efficient communications.
Stein Variational Gradient Descent-based Detection For Random Access With Preambles In MTC
Authors: Xin Zhu, Hongyi Pan, Salih Atici, Ahmet Enis Cetin
Date: 2023-09-15 00:00:00

Traditional preamble detection algorithms have low accuracy in the grant-based random access scheme in massive machine-type communication (mMTC). We present a novel preamble detection algorithm based on Stein variational gradient descent (SVGD) at the second step of the random access procedure. It efficiently leverages deterministic updates of particles for continuous inference. To further enhance the performance of the SVGD detector, especially in a dense user scenario, we propose a normalized SVGD detector with momentum. It utilizes the momentum and a bias correction term to reduce the preamble estimation errors during the gradient descent process. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm performs better than Markov Chain Monte Carlo-based approaches in terms of detection accuracy.
Investigation of mmWave Radar Technology For Non-contact Vital Sign Monitoring
Authors: Steven Marty, Federico Pantanella, Andrea Ronco, Kanika Dheman, Michele Magno
Date: 2023-09-15 00:00:00

Non-contact vital sign monitoring has many advantages over conventional methods in being comfortable, unobtrusive and without any risk of spreading infection. The use of millimeter-wave (mmWave) radars is one of the most promising approaches that enable contact-less monitoring of vital signs. Novel low-power implementations of this technology promise to enable vital sign sensing in embedded, battery-operated devices. The nature of these new low-power sensors exacerbates the challenges of accurate and robust vital sign monitoring and especially the problem of heart-rate tracking. This work focuses on the investigation and characterization of three Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) low-power radars with different carrier frequencies of 24 GHz, 60 GHz and 120 GHz. The evaluation platforms were first tested on phantom models that emulated human bodies to accurately evaluate the baseline noise, error in range estimation, and error in displacement estimation. Additionally, the systems were also used to collect data from three human subjects to gauge the feasibility of identifying heartbeat peaks and breathing peaks with simple and lightweight algorithms that could potentially run in low-power embedded processors. The investigation revealed that the 24 GHz radar has the highest baseline noise level, 0.04mm at 0{\deg} angle of incidence, and an error in range estimation of 3.45 +- 1.88 cm at a distance of 60 cm. At the same distance, the 60 GHz and the 120 GHz radar system shows the least noise level, 0.0lmm at 0{\deg} angle of incidence, and error in range estimation 0.64 +- 0.01 cm and 0.04 +- 0.0 cm respectively. Additionally, tests on humans showed that all three radar systems were able to identify heart and breathing activity but the 120 GHz radar system outperformed the other two.