Cooperative Communications (389.121)
Past course at Vienna University of Technology, summer term 2011
Lecturer: Thomas Zemen and Nicolai Czink
Aim of course
In this course, we cover the fundamentals of cooperative communications over wireless channels. We will discuss information-theoretic and signal processing aspects, as well as channel models for cooperative communications. Finally, we exemplify the theory by discussing the designs of practical cooperative communication schemes and applications.
Subject of course
Second and third generation cellular communication systems (GSM, UMTS, LTE) require direct communication links between the base stations and the mobile terminals. Hence, sufficient link quality indoor, in street canyons and for highly mobile users is still difficult to provide at all times. Relaying of a weak signal by means of another node can improve link quality and the overall network capacity. Furthermore a group of nodes can cooperatively form a virtual multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, which allows directing the radio beam spatially in the best direction. Cooperative communication techniques could become a promising foundation for future communication systems. This course provides a basic introduction into this new and highly interesting field.
Topics
- Introduction
- Communication theory (physical layer, link layer, network layer)
- Network models
- Physical layer channel models for mobile-users
- Cooperative strategies (Amplify-and-forward, compress-and-forward, decode-and-forward)
- Cooperative diversity
- Coded cooperation
- Virtual MIMO systems
- Interference alignment
- Vehicle-to-vehicle communications
Lecture Notes
- Lecture 1: Cooperative communication introduction, capacity
- Lecture 2: Wireless channel properties, MIMO systems
- Lecture 3: MIMO transmission schemes, space time coding (Alamouti), OFDM basics
- Lecture 4: Vehicular channel characterization, Network models, wireline and wireless cooperation theory
- Lecture 5: Towards practical implementation of decode-and-forward
- Lecture 6: Coded cooperation
- Lecture 7: Multi-link channel measurements and modelling
- Lecture 8: Distributed synchronization
- Lecture 9: Partner selection algorithms
- Lecture 10: Interference modeling
- Lecture 11: Interference alignment
Books:
- G. Kramer, I. Maric, and R.D. Yates
Cooperative Communications, Foundations and Trends in Networking,
vol. 1, no. 3-4, pp 271-425, 2006, now Publishers Inc, Hanover, MA, USA. - A. Paulraj, R. Nabar and D. Gore,
Introduction to Space-Time Wireless Communications,
Cambridge University Press.