This paper provides an overview on the recent research on networked control with an emphasis on the tight relation between the two fields of control and communication. In particular, we present several results focusing on data rate constraints in networked control systems, which can be modeled as quantization of control-related signals. The motivation is to reduce the amount of data rate as much as possible in obtaining control objectives such as stabilization and control performance under certain measures. We also discuss some approaches towards control problems based on techniques from signal processing and information theory.

In an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system, carrier frequency offset (CFO) causes intercarrier interference (ICI) which significantly degrades the system error performance. In this paper we provide a closed-form expression to evaluate the exact error probabilities of arbitrary 2-D modulation OFDM systems with CFO, and analyze the effect of CFO on error performance.

This letter is concerned with cellular controlled short-range communication (CCSRC) systems, which can provide a significant performance gain over the traditional cellular systems as shown in the literature. However, to obtain such a gain, CCSRC systems need perfect channel state information (CSI) of all users and the complexity of setting up the optimal cooperative clusters is factorial with respect to the number of potentially cooperative users, which is very unrealistic in practical systems. To solve this problem, we propose a novel cooperative strategy, where CCSRC systems only need the distances between all user pairs and the complexity of setting up the cooperative clusters is relatively low. Simulation results show that the performance of the proposed strategy is close to optimal.

An important and widely considered signal identification technique for cognitive radios is cyclostationarity-based feature detection because this method does not require time and frequency synchronization and prior information except for information concerning cyclic autocorrelation features of target signals. This paper presents the development and experimental evaluation of cyclostationarity-based signal identification equipment. A spatial channel emulator is used in conjunction with the equipment that provides an environment to evaluate realistic spectrum sharing scenarios. The results reveal the effectiveness of the cyclostationarity-based signal identification methodology in realistic spectrum sharing scenarios, especially in terms of the capability to identify weak signals.

This paper describes a method for estimating Direction Of Arrival (DOA) of multiple sound sources in full azimuth with three microphones. Estimating DOA with paired microphone arrays creates imaginary sound sources because of time delay of arrival (TDOA) being identical between real and imaginary sources. Imaginary sound sources can create chronic problems in multiple Sound Source Localization (SSL), because they can be localized as real sound sources. Our proposed approach is based on the observation that each microphone array creates imaginary sound sources, but the DOA of imaginary sources may be different depending on the orientation of the paired microphone array. With the fact that a real source would always be localized in the same direction regardless of the array orientation, we can suppress the imaginary sound sources by minimum filtering based on Steered Response Power – Phase Transform (SRP-PHAT) method. A set of experiments conducted in a real noisy environment showed that the proposed method was accurate in localizing multiple sound sources.

Allowing WLANs to exploit opportunistic spectrum access (OSA) is a promising approach to alleviate spectrum congestion problems in overcrowded unlicensed ISM bands, especially in highly dense WLAN deployments. In this context, novel channel assignment mechanisms jointly considering available channels in both unlicensed ISM and OSA-enabled licensed bands are needed. Unlike classical schemes proposed for legacy WLANs, channel assignment mechanisms for OSA-enabled WLAN should face two distinguishing issues: channel prioritization and spectrum heterogeneity. The first refers to the fact that additional prioritization criteria other than interference conditions should be considered when choosing between ISM or licensed band channels. The second refers to the fact that channel availability might not be the same for all WLAN Access Points because of primary users' activity in the OSA-enabled bands. This paper firstly formulates the channel assignment problem for OSA-enabled WLANs as a Binary Linear Programming (BLP) problem. The resulting BLP problem is optimally solved by means of branch and bound algorithms and used as a benchmark to develop more computationally efficient heuristics. Upon such a basis, a novel channel assignment algorithm based on weighted graph coloring heuristics and able to exploit both channel prioritization and spectrum heterogeneity is proposed. The algorithm is evaluated under different conditions of AP density and primary band availability.

In cognitive radio networks, secondary users exchange control information to utilize the available channels efficiently, to maintain connectivity, to negotiate for data communication such as sender-receiver handshakes, for neighbor discovery etc. This task is not trivial in cognitive radio networks due to the dynamic nature of network environment. Generally, this problem is tackled by using two famous approaches. The first one is the use of common control channel (CCC) and the second one is using channel hopping (a.k.a sequence-based protocols). The use of CCC simplifies the processes of MAC protocols. However, it may not be feasible in cognitive radio networks as the available channels, including control channel, are dynamically changing according to primary user activities. Channel hopping approaches can tolerate the failure of network due to primary user activities. But it causes significant amount of channel access delay which is known as time to rendezvous (TTR). In this paper, we propose a hybrid protocol of these two mechanisms. This hybrid protocol can maintain connectivity and it can guarantee the secondary users to be able to exchange necessary control information in dynamic environment. In our hybrid protocol, we use multiple control channels. If some control channels are unavailable in case of primary user appearances, secondary users still can communicate on different control channels, so it can be more tolerable primary user activities than normal CCC approaches. Channel hopping is performed only for control channels, so it provides relatively small amount of channel access delay.

An OFDMA-based (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access-based) channel access scheme for dynamic spectrum access has the drawbacks of large PAPR (Peak to Average Power Ratio) and large ACI (Adjacent Channel Interference). To solve these problems, a flexible channel access scheme using an overlap FFT filter-bank was proposed based on single carrier modulation for dynamic spectrum access. In order to apply the overlap FFT filter-bank for dynamic spectrum access, it is necessary to clarify the performance of the overlap FFT filter-bank according to the design parameters since its frequency characteristics are critical for dynamic spectrum access applications. This paper analyzes the overlap FFT filter-bank and evaluates its performance such as frequency characteristics and ACI performance according to the design parameters.

We use network coding based on coded cooperation for the Two-Way Relay channel, where two nodes communicate with each other assisted by a third, relay node. We consider the time-division two-way relay channel without power control, which means the two users and the relay use the same transmission power. Using the proposed network coding approach, channel codes are used at both users and network coding is used at the relay. It is shown via simulation that the proposed scheme provides substantial coding gain in fading channels.

This letter investigates the problem of distributed channel selection in cognitive radio ad hoc networks (CRAHNs) with heterogeneous spectrum opportunities. Firstly, we formulate this problem as a local congestion game, which is proved to be an exact potential game. Then, we propose a spatial best response dynamic (SBRD) to rapidly achieve Nash equilibrium via local information exchange. Moreover, the potential function of the game reflects the network collision level and can be used to achieve higher throughput.

In this paper, we study the channel estimation in the presence of the receiver in-phase and quadrature-phase (I/Q) imbalance and carrier frequency offset (CFO) for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems using pilot symbols. The concept of channel residual energy (CRE) [9] is used to solve the joint estimation problem. By minimizing the CRE, we can jointly estimate the receiver I/Q, CFO and channel response using the pilot symbols in one OFDM block. Simulation results show that the proposed method can provide good performance and also works well when applied to the terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB-T) systems.

Multi-Channel MAC protocols increase network throughput because multiple data transmissions can take place simultaneously. However, existing Multi-Channel MAC protocols do not take full advantage of the multi-channel environment, because they lack a mechanism allowing wireless stations to acquire vacant channel and time resources. In this paper, we first establish the basic model of existing Multi-Channel MAC protocols to know the capability of the most important existing protocols. Next, under the condition that each station can use only two transceivers, we propose Multi-Channel MAC protocols that effectively utilize idle channels and potentially available time resources of stations by employing bursts and interrupted frame transfers. We assume a transceiver can behave as either a transmitter or a receiver but not both at the same time. Moreover, we show the effectiveness of our proposal by computer simulation. Furthermore, through the evaluation in the case that each station can use more than two transceivers, we confirm two transceivers' case is best solution in terms of both attained throughput and hardware complexity.

In this paper, we present a maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) approach to the problem of blind estimation of single-input, multiple-output (SIMO), finite impulse response (FIR) channels. A number of methods have been developed to date for this blind estimation problem. Some of those utilize prior knowledge on input signal statistics. However, there are very few that utilize channel statistics too. In this paper, the unknown channel to be estimated is assumed as the frequency-selective Rayleigh fading channel, and we incorporate the channel prior distributions (and hyperprior distributions) into our model in two different ways. Then for each case an iterative MAP estimator is derived approximately. Performance comparisons over existing methods are conducted via numerical simulation on randomly generated channel coefficients according to the Rayleigh fading channel model. It is shown that improved estimation performance can be achieved through the MAP approaches, especially for such channel realizations that have resulted in large estimation error with existing methods.

In this letter, functional duality between distributed source coding (DSC) with correlated messages and broadcast channel coding (BCC) with correlated messages is considered. It is shown that under certain conditions, for a given DSC problem with correlated messages, a functional dual BCC problem with correlated messages can be obtained, and vice versa. That is, the optimal encoder-decoder mappings for one problem become the optimal decoder-encoder mappings for the dual problem. Furthermore, the correlation structure of the messages in the two dual problems and the source distortion and channel cost measure for this duality are specified.

Two design parameters, SNR and correlation, are key factors for enhancing channel capacity in MIMO systems. Achieving high SNR and low correlation is desirable in antenna design. This paper discusses the relation between channel capacity and these two parameters, and presents simple formulas of this relation for propagation channels and antenna coupling of mobile terminals. According to these guidelines, indoor base station antennas are designed and examined using propagation measurements. We also present a suitable antenna design for mobile terminal antennas and based on a realistic propagation model, predicted the channel capacity of the antenna.

We propose a mobility enhancement method in which APs periodically change their RF channels in a predetermined order that prevents overlap of neighboring APs' channels. Improvement in the throughput is also achieved by manipulating the DCF uplink mode and the Downlink mode. A performance evaluation shows that the proposed scheme is superior to IEEE 802.11 WLAN in handoff delay and throughput.

A feed-point-selective, asymmetrically fed dipole antenna has been proposed for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) applications. By using PIN diode switches, an asymmetrical antenna feed is realized so as to control antenna directivities. The two basic requirements for MIMO antenna radiation patterns, namely, a decrease in overlap and control in direction, have been achieved. Additionally, to enhance directivities for the antenna with PIN diodes, a reflector has been introduced. The gain toward the reflector decreased by 2 dB, while the gain in the direction of the maximum gain increased by 2 dB. The developed antenna can correspond to a variable power angular spectrum (PAS).

In this letter we perform an evaluation procedure of the Multi-Cluster Gaussian Scatterer Distribution Channel model. We present analytical expressions that allow to calculate the Angle of Arrival and Time of Arrival statistics directly and derive an expression to calculate the Angle Spread. The use of these expressions allows channel evaluation without the need for multiple ray simulation, thus reducing computational burden.

This paper proposes the countermeasures against an improved fault sensitivity analysis. Our countermeasure is proposed based on the WDDL technique due to its built-in resistance against both the power-based attack and differential fault analysis. At CHES 2010, Li et al. proposed the FSA attack on WDDL-AES. The vulnerability of WDDL-AES in their attack mainly comes from the implementation deficiency rather than the WDDL technique itself. This paper first proposes an improved fault sensitive analysis that can threat a well-implemented WDDL-AES based on the input-data dependency for the critical path delay of WDDL S-box. Then we discuss the possibility of efficient countermeasures by modifying the WDDL circuit with a limited overhead. The countermeasures are discussed based on either modifying the dual-rail to single-rail converter or the introduction of the enable signal.

The channel characteristics of IEEE 802.11 WLAN vary with time and this can affect packet transmission performance. For achieving robust and efficient transmission, the transmission rate is controlled by exploiting the multi-rate capability of the IEEE 802.11 physical layer (PHY) to respond to the time-varying channel condition. In this paper, we propose a novel rate adaptation scheme, called RA-MCE, in which the transmitter estimates channel quality in the MAC layer to enhance throughput performance without the need to use the RTS-CTS mechanism nor to modify the IEEE 802.11 standard. RA-MCE adaptively controls the transmission rate according to the estimated channel quality by the MAC layer channel quality estimator (MCE) that uses only local MAC layer measurements. Through extensive simulations, we validate the accuracy of MCE and evaluate the performance of RA-MCE to show that it achieves higher throughput performance than other rate adaptation schemes under various circumstances.