This paper looks at the history of research in the Technical Committee on Information Networks from the time of its inception to the present and provides an overview of the latest research in this area based on the topics discussed in recent meetings of the committee. It also presents possible future developments in the field of information networks.

Research efforts initiated by the EXAT Initiative are described to realize Exabit/s optical communications, utilizing the 3M technologies, i.e. multi-core fiber, multi-mode control and multi-level modulation.

In this paper, the recent advances in cooperative distributed antenna transmission (CDAT) are introduced for spatial diversity and multi-user spatial multiplexing in 5G mobile communications network. CDAT is an advanced version of the coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission. Space-time block coded transmit diversity (STBC-TD) for spatial diversity and minimum mean square error filtering combined with singular value decomposition (MMSE-SVD) for multi-user spatial multiplexing are described under the presence of co-channel interference from adjacent macro-cells. Blind selected mapping (blind SLM) which requires no side information transmission is introduced in order to suppress the increased peak-to-average signal power ratio (PAPR) of the transmit signals when CDAT is applied. Some computer simulation results are presented to confirm the effectiveness of CDAT techniques.

In the future, 5G radio access and support for the internet of things (IoT) is becoming more important, which is called machine type communications. Different from current mobile communication systems, machine type communications generates relatively small packets. In order to support such small packets with high reliability, channel coding techniques are inevitable. One of the most effective channel codes in such conditions is the tail-biting convolutional code, since it is used in LTE systems due to its good performance for small packet sizes. By employing a list Viterbi algorithm for the tail-biting convolutional code, the block error rate (BLER) performances is further improved. Therefore, this paper evaluates the BLER performances of several list Viterbi algorithms, i.e., circular parallel list Viterbi algorithm (CPLVA), per stage CPLVA (PSCPLVA), and successive state and sequence estimation (SSSE). In the evaluation, computational complexity is also taken into account. It is shown that the performance of the CPLVA is better in the wide range of computational complexity defined in this paper.

An enormous number of malware samples pose a major threat to our networked society. Antivirus software and intrusion detection systems are widely implemented on the hosts and networks as fundamental countermeasures. However, they may fail to detect evasive malware. Thus, setting a high priority for new varieties of malware is necessary to conduct in-depth analyses and take preventive measures. In this paper, we present a traffic model for malware that can classify network behaviors of malware and identify new varieties of malware. Our model comprises malware-specific features and general traffic features that are extracted from packet traces obtained from a dynamic analysis of the malware. We apply a clustering analysis to generate a classifier and evaluate our proposed model using large-scale live malware samples. The results of our experiment demonstrate the effectiveness of our model in finding new varieties of malware.

Many-core architecture is becoming an attractive design choice in high-end embedded systems design. There are, however, many important design issues, and load balancing is one of them. In this work, we take the approach of diffusive load balancing which enables autonomic load distribution in many-core systems. We improve the existing schemes by adding the concept of simulated annealing for more effective load distribution. The modified scheme is also capable of managing a situation of non-uniform granularity of task loading, which the existing ones cannot. In addition, the suggested scheme is extended to be able to handle dependencies existing in task graphs where tasks have communications between each other. As experiments, we tried various existing schemes as well as the proposed one to map synthetic applications and real world applications on a many-core architecture with 21 cores and 4 memory tiles. For the applications without communications, the experiments show that the proposed scheme gives the best results in terms of peak load and standard deviation. For real applications such as mp3 decoder and h.263 encoder which have communications between tasks, we show the effectiveness of our communication-aware scheme for load balancing in terms of throughput.

This letter considers a backscatter assisted wireless powered communication network (BAWPCN) with non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). This model consists of a hybrid access point (HAP) and multiple users which can work in either backscatter or harvest-then-transmit (HTT) protocol. To fully exploit time for information transmission, the users working in the backscatter protocol are scheduled to reflect modulated signals during the first phase of the HTT protocol which is dedicated for energy transfer. During the second phase, all users working in the HTT protocol transmit information to the HAP simultaneously since NOMA is adopted. Considering both short-term and long-term optimization problems to maximize the system throughput, the optimal resource allocation policies are obtained. Simulation results show that the proposed model can significantly improve the system performance.

An transfer learning method, called Kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis plus (KCCA+), is proposed for heterogeneous Cross-company defect prediction. Combining the kernel method and transfer learning techniques, this method improves the performance of the predictor with more adaptive ability in nonlinearly separable scenarios. Experiments validate its effectiveness.

We present the first demonstration of an electro-optic modulator based on a photolithographically fabricated photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavity with a p-i-n junction with SiO2 cladding. We show that the device exhibits an ultrahigh quality factor (Q∼105) and allow us to demonstrate electro-optic modulation through the integrated p-i-n diode structure. We demonstrate an electro-optic modulation based on the carrier injection.

Hybrid vehicles (HVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) have become widespread. These vehicles incorporate a large number of electronic devices, which requires the use of a high-voltage (200 V) battery. Power electronics devices driven by the 200 V battery is expected to increase in the future. As such, we herein propose a power line communication (PLC) method that uses a high-voltage power line. In the present paper, we first clarify the transmission channel through modeling of an equivalent circuit and channel measurement. We then conduct noise measurements and determine the noise characteristics of the proposed PLC. Finally, we evaluate the bit error rate performance through computer simulations based on the measured transmission channel and noise.

Hybrid analog/digital precoding has attracted growing attention for millimeter wave (mmWave) communications, since it can support multi-stream data transmission with limited hardware cost. A main challenge in implementing hybrid precoding is that the channels will exhibit frequency-selective fading due to the large bandwidth. To this end, we propose a practical hybrid precoding scheme with finite-resolution phase shifters by leveraging the correlation among the subchannels. Furthermore, we utilize the sparse feature of the mmWave channels to design a low-complexity algorithm to realize the proposed hybrid precoding, which can avoid the complication of the high-dimensionality eigenvalue decomposition. Simulation results show that the proposed hybrid precoding can approach the performance of unconstrained fully-digital precoding but with low hardware cost and computational complexity.

This paper presents study results regarding the analytical method for performance characteristics and application scheme, which cover a feature detection scheme using a Cyclic Prefix (CP) that is attached to an OFDM signal. The detection scheme is especially important when used as a sensing technology in advanced systems such as Device-to-Device (D-to-D) or Internet of Things (IoT). Herein, we present several basic performance characteristics of the signal processing involved in feature detection, namely, the Output S/N (Signal-to-Noise power ratio) and probability density functions of the OFDM signal and the noise measured at the output of the feature detector. The Output S/Nis described by an analytical expression and is also examined by conducting a software simulation. An analytical approach is investigated by modeling the spectral density of the OFDM signal and input noise and by executing the mathematical operations such as convolutional integration on the combination of OFDM signal and noise. The analytical results coincide closely with the simulation results. As for the applications to mobile communication system, some methods of the feature detection schemes are addressed. These are an estimation method for the Input C/N (Carrier-to-Noise power ratio) and a system discrimination scheme, especially under the assumption that two OFDM systems using different CP lengths are simultaneously operated in the same frequency. Furthermore, under the condition that two OFDM signals are transmitted in an asynchronous manner, a scheme to estimate their timing offset and signal power ratio is also described.

This paper summarizes Wi-SUN communication systems and their physical (PHY) layer and media access control (MAC) specifications. Firstly, the Wi-SUN communication systems are categorized into three. The key PHY and MAC standards, IEEE 802.15.4g and .4e, that configure the systems are explained, and fundamental transmission performances of the systems in the PHY layer and MAC layer are evaluated by computer simulations. Then, the Wi-SUN alliance and the Wi-SUN profiles that include IEEE 802.15.4g and .4e are explained. Finally, to understand the transmission performance of actual IEEE 802.15.4g Wi-SUN radio devices, PER performances under AWGN and multipath fading environments are measured by using IEEE 802.15.4g compliant and Wi-SUN alliance certified radio modules. This paper is an instruction paper for the beginners of the Wi-SUN based communications systems.

In the field of adaptive notch filtering, Monotonically Increasing Gradient (MIG) algorithm has recently been proposed by Sugiura and Shimamura [1], where it is claimed that the MIG algorithm shows monotonically increasing gradient characteristics. However, our analysis has found that the underlying theory in [1] includes crucial errors. This letter shows that the formulation of the gradient characteristics in [1] is incorrect, and reveals that the MIG algorithm fails to realize monotonically increasing gradient characteristics when the input signal includes white noise.

A new class of visible light communication (VLC) systems, namely image sensor (IS) based VLC systems, has emerged. An IS consists of a two-dimensional (2D) array of photodetectors (PDs), and then VLC systems with an IS receiver are capable of exploiting the spatial dimensions invoked for transmitting information. This paper aims for providing a brief survey of topics related to the IS-based VLC, and then provides a matrix representation of how to map a series of one dimensional (1D) symbols onto a set of 2D symbols for efficiently exploit the associate grade of freedom offered by 2D VLC systems. As an example, the matrix representation is applied to the symbol mapping of layered space-time coding (L-STC), which is presented to enlarge the coverage of IS-based VLC that is limited by pixel resolution of ISs.

The purpose of this study was to examine an efficient interval encoding method with a slow-frame-rate image sensor, and show that the encoding can work to capture heart rates from multiple persons. Visible light communication (VLC) with an image sensor is a powerful method for obtaining data from sensors distributed in the field with their positional information. However, the capturing speed of the camera is usually not fast enough to transfer interval information like the heart rate. To overcome this problem, we have developed an event timing (ET) encoding method. In ET encoding, sensor units detect the occurrence of heart beat event and send their timing through a sequence of flashing lights. The first flash signal provides the rough timing and subsequent signals give the precise timing. Our theoretical analysis shows that in most cases the ET encoding method performs better than simple encoding methods. Heart rate transfer from multiple persons was examined as an example of the method's capabilities. In the experimental setup, the developed system successfully monitored heart rates from several participants.

Spatial modulation (SM) is introduced into layered space-time coding (L-STC) used in image sensor (IS)-based visible light communication (VLC) systems. STC was basically investigated for extending the communication range of the IS-based VLC link [10], although it is out of the range when IS receivers are at the long distance from the LED array of the transmitter where the number of pixels capturing the transmitter on the image plane is less than the number of LEDs of the array. Furthermore, L-STC was done in [11] for increasing the reception rate with improving the pixel resolution while the receiver was approaching the transmitter. In this paper, SM is combined into L-STC by mapping additional information bits on the location of the pair of STC bit matrices of each layer. Experimental results show that additional SM bits are extracted with no error, without deteriorating the reception quality of and shrinking the transmission range of the original L-STC.

Image sensor communication (ISC), a type of visible light communication, is an emerging wireless communication technology that uses LEDs to transmit a signal and uses an image sensor in a camera to receive the signal. This paper discusses the present status of and future trends in ISC by describing the essential characteristics and features of ISC. Moreover, we overview the products and expected future applications of ISC.

Particle filter algorithm is an important algorithm in the field of target tracking. however, this algorithm faces the problem of sample impoverishment which is caused by the introduction of re-sampling and easily affected by illumination variation. This problem seriously affects the tracking performance of a particle filter algorithm. To solve this problem, we introduce a particle filter target tracking algorithm based on a dynamic niche genetic algorithm. The application of this dynamic niche genetic algorithm to re-sampling ensures particle diversity and dynamically fuses the color and profile features of the target in order to increase the algorithm accuracy under the illumination variation. According to the test results, the proposed algorithm accurately tracks the target, significantly increases the number of particles, enhances the particle diversity, and exhibits better robustness and better accuracy.

This letter introduces a new model for backscatter assisted wireless powered communication networks (BAWPCNs) that include a hybrid access point (HAP) and multiple backscatter communication (BackCom) and traditional wireless powered communication network (WPCN) users. To make full use of time to transmit information, both backscatter and harvest-then-transmit (HTT) modes are employed. In the proposed model, during the first time slot dedicated for energy transfer in traditional WPCNs, the traditional WPCN users harvest energy radiated by the HAP, and simultaneously the BackCom users reflect modulated signals to the HAP. The traditional WPCN users are scheduled during the remaining time slots via time division multiple access (TMDA). The optimal time allocation policies for the half-duplex (HD) and full-duplex (FD) BAWPCNs are obtained to maximize the system throughput. The tradeoff between backscatter and HTT modes is analyzed. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed model.