Physical Layer Network Coding In Multi Way Relay Channels

Wireless networks have received considerable attention recently due to the high user demand for wireless services and the emergence of new applications. This thesis focuses on the problem of information dissemination in a class of wireless networks known as the multi-way relay channel. Physical layer network coding is considered to increase the throughput in these networks. First, an algorithm is proposed that increases the full data exchange throughput by 33% compared to traditional routing. This gain arises from providing common knowledge to users and exploiting this knowledge to restrain some users from transmitting. Second, for complex field network coding, a transmission scheme is designed that ensures the receipt of a QAM constellation at the relay. This requires precoding the user symbols to make all possible combinations distinguishable at the relay. Using this approach, the throughput of data exchange is 1/2 symbol per user per channel use. The error performance of both schemes is derived analytically for AWGN channels.

"Physical-layer network coding (PNC) is an attractive approach to increasing the network throughput by exploiting the broadcast nature of wireless channels. This thesis focuses on the application of PNC in a class of wireless networks known as multi-way relay channels (MRWC), where multiple users share information through a single relay. The primary objective of the thesis is to develop new uplink and downlink schemes for PNC in MWRC, with the main focus on signal detection and power allocation. First, we propose a novel signal detection scheme for PNC in MWRC from the perspective of sequential multi-user detection. The extraction of the network codes from the superimposed user signals at the relay node is formulated as an under-determined linear system. To solve this problem with low decoding complexity, the proposed method combines successive interference cancellation (SIC) with Babai estimation for regularized integer least squares (ILS). We develop a power allocation scheme to enhance the performance of both SIC and ILS steps, and discuss an optimal user pairing strategy based on the average decoding error probability. The performance of the proposed method improves the relay's capability of extracting network codes from multiple superimposed user signals, as demonstrated by the numerical results. Next, we address the design of power allocation schemes for PNC in downlink MWRC. The power allocation is formulated as a constrained optimization problem, where the aim is to maximize the probability of successfully decoding a chain of network codes, so-called success probability, under a total power constraint when using Babai estimation for signal detection. Three aggregate measures of success probability are considered over the participating user terminals, i.e., arithmetic mean, geometric mean, and maximin, and the solutions are obtained based on the concavity of the related problems. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed schemes in improving the success probability in the reception of a chain of network codes. Finally, we propose a new power allocation scheme based on the success probability of SIC detection for PNC in uplink MWRC. We develop a generalized expression for the closed-form success probability of the SIC detection at the relay in the case of pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM). A constraint optimization is formulated over this probability subject to the transmit power constraints at the user terminals. We develop an evolutionary particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to solve the problem, whose cost function is relatively complex and not necessarily concave. Results show that the proposed method can improve the quality of network code extraction at the relay"--

The concept of physical-layer network coding (PNC) was proposed in 2006 for application in wireless networks. Since then it has developed into a subfield of communications and networking with a wide following. This book is a primer on PNC. It is the outcome of a set of lecture notes for a course for beginning graduate students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The target audience is expected to have some prior background knowledge in communication theory and wireless communications, but not working knowledge at the research level. Indeed, a goal of this book/course is to allow the reader to gain a deeper appreciation of the various nuances of wireless communications and networking by focusing on problems arising from the study of PNC. Specifically, we introduce the tools and techniques needed to solve problems in PNC, and many of these tools and techniques are drawn from the more general disciplines of signal processing, communications, and networking: PNC is used as a pivot to learn about the fundamentals of signal processing techniques and wireless communications in general. We feel that such a problem-centric approach will give the reader a more in-depth understanding of these disciplines and allow him/her to see first-hand how the techniques of these disciplines can be applied to solve real research problems. As a primer, this book does not cover many advanced materials related to PNC. PNC is an active research field and many new results will no doubt be forthcoming in the near future. We believe that this book will provide a good contextual framework for the interpretation of these advanced results should the reader decide to probe further into the field of PNC.

We consider a two-way relay channel in which two transmitters want to exchange information through a central relay. The relay observes a superposition of the trans- mitted signals from which a function of the transmitted messages is computed for broadcast. We consider the design of codebooks which permit the recovery of a function at the relay and derive information-theoretic bounds on the rates for reliable decoding at the relay. In the spirit of compute-and-forward, we present a multilevel coding scheme that permits reliable computation (or, decoding) of a class of functions at the relay. The function to be decoded is chosen at the relay depending on the channel realization. We define such a class of reliably computable functions for the proposed coding scheme and derive rates that are universally achievable over a set of channel gains when this class of functions is used at the relay. We develop our framework with general modulation formats in mind, but numerical results are presented for the case where each node transmits using 4-ary and 8-ary modulation schemes. Numerical results demonstrate that the flexibility afforded by our proposed scheme permits substantially higher rates than those achievable by always using a fixed function or considering only linear functions over higher order fields. Our numerical results indicate that it is favorable to allow the relay to attempt both compute-and-forward and decode-and-forward decoding. Indeed, either method considered separately is suboptimal for computation over general channels. However, we obtain a converse result when the transmitters are restricted to using identical binary linear codebooks generated uniformly at random. We show that it is impossible for this code ensemble to achieve any rate higher than the maximum of the rates achieved using compute-and-forward and decode-and-forward decoding. Finally, we turn our attention to the design of low density parity check (LDPC) ensembles which can practically achieve these information rates with joint-compute- and-forward message passing decoding. To this end, we construct a class of two-way erasure multiple access channels for which we can exactly characterize the performance of joint-compute-and-forward message passing decoding. We derive the processing rules and a density evolution like analysis for several classes of LDPC ensembles. Utilizing the universally optimal performance of spatially coupled LDPC ensembles with message passing decoding, we show that a single encoder and de- coder with puncturing can achieve the optimal rate region for a range of channel parameters. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/151149

This SpringerBrief presents channel estimation strategies for the physical later network coding (PLNC) systems. Along with a review of PLNC architectures, this brief examines new challenges brought by the special structure of bi-directional two-hop transmissions that are different from the traditional point-to-point systems and unidirectional relay systems. The authors discuss the channel estimation strategies over typical fading scenarios, including frequency flat fading, frequency selective fading and time selective fading, as well as future research directions. Chapters explore the performance of the channel estimation strategy and optimal structure of training sequences for each scenario. Besides the analysis of channel estimation strategies, the book also points out the necessity of revisiting other signal processing issues for the PLNC system. Channel Estimation of Physical Layer Network Coding Systems is a valuable resource for researchers and professionals working in wireless communications and networks. Advanced-level students studying computer science and electrical engineering will also find the content helpful.

Physical layer network coding (PNC) was proposed under the two-way relay hannel (TWRC) scenario, where two sources exchange information aided by a relay. PNC allows the two sources to transmit to the relay simultaneously, where superimposed signals at the relay can be mapped to network-coded symbols and then be broadcast to both sources instead of being treated as interference. Concurrent transmissions using PNC achieve a higher spectrum efficiency compared to time division and network coding solutions. Existing research mainly focused on the symmetric PNC designs, where the same channel coding and modulation configurations are applied by both sources. When the channel conditions of the two source-relay links are asymmetric or unequal amount of data are exchanged, heterogeneous modulation PNC designs are necessary. In additional, the design and optimization of multi-hop PNC, where multiple relays forming a multi-hop path between the two sources, remains an open issue. The above issues motivate the study of this dissertation.This dissertation investigates the design of heterogeneous modulation physicallayer network coding (HePNC), the integration of channel error control coding into HePNC, the combination of HePNC with hierarchical modulation, and the design and generalization of multi-hop PNC. The contributions of this dissertation are four-fold.First, under the asymmetric TWRC scenario, where the channel conditions ofthe two source-relay links are asymmetric, we designed a HePNC protocol, including the optimization of the adaptive mapping functions and the bit-symbol labeling, to minimize the end-to-end BER. In addition, we developed an analytical framework to derive the BER of HePNC. HePNC can substantially enhance the throughput compared to the existing symmetric PNC under the asymmetric TWRC scenario.Second, we investigated channel coded HePNC and integrated the channel errorcontrol coding into HePNC in a link-to-link coding, where the relay tries to decode the superimposed codewords in the multi-access stage. A full-state sum-product decoding algorithm is proposed at the relay based on the repeat-accumulate codes to guarantee reliable end-to-end communication.Third, we proposed hierarchical modulation PNC (H-PNC) under asymmetric TWRC, where additional data exchange between the relay and the source with the relatively better channel condition is achieved in addition to that between the two end sources, benefiting from superimposing the additional data flow on the PNC transmission. When the relay also has the data exchange requirement with the source with a better source-relay channel, H-PNC outperforms HePNC and PNC in terms of the system sum throughput.Fourth, we designed and generalized multi-hop PNC, where multiple relays located in a linear topology are scheduled to support the data exchange between two end sources. The impact of error propagation and mutual interference among the nodes are addressed and optimized. The proposed designs outperform the existing ones in terms of end-to-end BER and end-to-end throughout.

Discover a fresh approach for designing more efficient and cooperative wireless communications networks with this systematic guide. Covering everything from fundamental theory to current research topics, leading researchers describe a new, network-aware coding strategy that exploits the signal interactions that occur in dense wireless networks directly at the waveform level. Using an easy-to-follow, layered structure, this unique text begins with a gentle introduction for those new to the subject, before moving on to explain key information-theoretic principles and establish a consistent framework for wireless physical layer network coding (WPNC) strategies. It provides a detailed treatment of Network Coded Modulation, covers a range of WPNC techniques such as Noisy Network Coding, Compute and Forward, and Hierarchical Decode and Forward, and explains how WPNC can be applied to parametric fading channels, frequency selective channels, and complex stochastic networks. This is essential reading whether you are a researcher, graduate student, or professional engineer.

The concept of physical-layer network coding (PNC) was proposed in 2006 for application in wireless networks. Since then it has developed into a subfield of communications and networking with a wide following. This book is a primer on PNC. It is the outcome of a set of lecture notes for a course for beginning graduate students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The target audience is expected to have some prior background knowledge in communication theory and wireless communications, but not working knowledge at the research level. Indeed, a goal of this book/course is to allow the reader to gain a deeper appreciation of the various nuances of wireless communications and networking by focusing on problems arising from the study of PNC. Specifically, we introduce the tools and techniques needed to solve problems in PNC, and many of these tools and techniques are drawn from the more general disciplines of signal processing, communications, and networking: PNC is used as a pivot to learn about the fundamentals of signal processing techniques and wireless communications in general. We feel that such a problem-centric approach will give the reader a more in-depth understanding of these disciplines and allow him/her to see first-hand how the techniques of these disciplines can be applied to solve real research problems. As a primer, this book does not cover many advanced materials related to PNC. PNC is an active research field and many new results will no doubt be forthcoming in the near future. We believe that this book will provide a good contextual framework for the interpretation of these advanced results should the reader decide to probe further into the field of PNC.