UAV-Based Cell-Free Massive MIMO: Joint Placement and Power Optimization under Fronthaul Capacity Limitations

We consider a cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) network, where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with multiple antennas serve as distributed UAV-access points (UAV-APs). These UAV-APs provide seamless coverage by jointly serving user equipments (UEs) with out predefined cell boundaries. However, high-capacity wireless networks face significant challenges due to fronthaul limitations in UAV-assisted architectures. This letter proposes a novel UAV-based cell-free mMIMO framework that leverages distributed UAV-APs to serve UEs while addressing the capacity constraints of wireless fronthaul links. We evaluate functional split Options 7.2 and 8 for the fronthaul links, aiming to maximize the minimum signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) among the UEs and minimize the power consumption by optimizing the transmit powers of UAV-APs and selectively activating them. Our analysis compares sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave (mmWave) bands for the fronthaul, showing that mmWave achieves superior SINR with lower power consumption, particularly under Option 8. Additionally, we determine the minimum fronthaul bandwidth required to activate a single UAV-AP under different split options.

Impact of Device Caching and Handovers on the Performance of 3D UAV Networks with Blockages

We investigate an urban network characterized by blockages, where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer ad-hoc coverage to mobile users with distinct service rate requirements. The UAV-BSs are modeled using a two-dimensional (2-D) marked-poisson point process (MPPP), where the marks represent the altitude of each UAV-base station (UAV-BS). Initially, we model the network blockages and analyze the association probabilities of line-of-sight (LoS) and non-line-of-sight (NLoS) UAV-BSs using stochastic geometry. Subsequently, we derive the bth moment of the conditional success probability (CSP) and employ a meta distribution (MD)-based analytical framework of signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) taking into account the blockage distribution in the network. Furthermore, we proposea cache-based handover management strategy that dynamically selects the cell search time and delays the received signal strength (RSS)-based base station (BS) associations. This strategy aims to minimize unnecessary handovers (HOs) experienced by users by leveraging caching capabilities at user equipment (UE). We evaluate the HO rate and average throughput experienced by users ensuring their service rate requirements are met. We demonstrate that LoS associations decrease as the network density increases due to the substantial increase of NLoS UAV-BSs in the network. Additionally, we show that the presence of blockages does not necessarily have a negative impact on network reliability

Towards 6G-V2X: Hybrid RF-VLC for Vehicular Networks

With the advent of connected autonomous vehicles, we are expecting to witness a new era of unprecedented user experiences, improved road safety, a wide range of compelling transportation applications, etc. A large number of disruptive communication technologies are emerging for the sixth generation (6G) wireless network aiming to support advanced use cases for intelligent transportation systems (ITS). An example of such a disruptive technology is constituted by hybrid Visible Light Communication (VLC) and Radio Frequency (RF) systems, which can play a major role in advanced ITS. Hence we outline the potential benefits of hybrid vehicular-VLC (V-VLC) and vehicular-RF (V-RF) communication systems over standalone V-VLC and standalone V-RF systems. In particular, we show that the link-aggregated hybrid V-VLC/V-RF system is capable of meeting stringent ultra high reliability (~99.999%) and ultra-low latency (<3 ms) specifications, making it a promising candidate for 6G ITS. To stimulate future research in the hybrid RF-VLC V2X area, we also highlight the potential challenges and research directions.

Cache Enabled UAV HetNets Access xHaul Coverage Analysis and Optimal Resource Partitioning

We study an urban wireless network in which cache-enabled UAV-Access points (UAV-APs) and UAV-Base stations (UAV-BSs) are deployed to provide higher throughput and ad-hoc coverage to users on the ground. The cache-enabled UAV-APs route the user data to the core network via either terrestrial base stations (TBSs) or backhaul-enabled UAV-BSs through an xHaul link. First, we derive the association probabilities in the access and xHaul links. Interestingly, we show that to maximize the line-of-sight (LoS) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) association, densifying the UAV deployment may not be beneficial after a threshold. Then, we obtain the signal to interference noise ratio (SINR) coverage probability of the typical user in the access link and the tagged UAV-AP in the xHaul link, respectively. The SINR coverage analysis is employed to characterize the successful content delivery probability by jointly considering the probability of successful access and xHaul transmissions and successful cache-hit probability. We numerically optimize the distribution of frequency resources between the access and the xHaul links to maximize the successful content delivery to the users. For a given storage capacity at the UAVs, our study prescribes the network operator optimal bandwidth partitioning factors and dimensioning rules concerning the deployment of the UAV-APs.

A Tutorial on Decoding Techniques of Sparse Code Multiple Access

Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA) is a disruptive code-domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme to enable \color{black}future massive machine-type communication networks. As an evolved variant of code division multiple access (CDMA), multiple users in SCMA are separated by assigning distinctive sparse codebooks (CBs). Efficient multiuser detection is carried out at the receiver by employing the message passing algorithm (MPA) that exploits the sparsity of CBs to achieve error performance approaching to that of the maximum likelihood receiver. In spite of numerous research efforts in recent years, a comprehensive one-stop tutorial of SCMA covering the background, the basic principles, and new advances, is still missing, to the best of our knowledge. To fill this gap and to stimulate more forthcoming research, we provide a holistic introduction to the principles of SCMA encoding, CB design, and MPA based decoding in a self-contained manner. As an ambitious paper aiming to push the limits of SCMA, we present a survey of advanced decoding techniques with brief algorithmic descriptions as well as several promising directions.

Low-Complexity Codebook Design for SCMA based Visible Light Communication

Sparse code multiple access (SCMA), as a code-domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme, has received considerable research attention for enabling massive connectivity in future wireless communication systems. In this paper, we present a novel codebook (CB) design for SCMA based visible light communication (VLC) system, which suffers from shot noise. In particular, we introduce an iterative algorithm for designing and optimizing CB by considering the impact of shot noise at the VLC receiver. Based on the proposed CB, we derive and analyze the theoretical bit error rate (BER) expression for the resultant SCMA-VLC system. The simulation results show that our proposed CBs outperform CBs in the existing literature for different loading factors with much less complexity. Further, the derived analytical BER expression well aligns with simulated results, especially in high signal power regions.

A Tutorial to Sparse Code Multiple Access

Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA) is an enabling code-domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)scheme for massive connectivity and ultra low-latency in future machine-type communication networks. As an evolved variant of code division multiple access (CDMA), multiple users in SCMA are separated by assigning distinctive codebooks which display certain sparsity. At an SCMA receiver, efficient multiuser detection is carried out by employing the message passing algorithm (MPA) which exploits the sparsity of codebooks to achieve error rate performance approaching to that of the maximum likelihood receiver. Despite numerous research efforts on SCMA in recent years, a comprehensive and in-depth tutorial to SCMA is missing, to the best of our knowledge. To fill this gap and to stimulate more forthcoming research, we introduce the principles of SCMA encoding, codebook design, and MPA based decoding in a self-contained manner for layman researchers and engineers.