Non-Intrusive Cognitive Measurement for the Amplitude Response of Wideband Transponders

in International Conference on Communications (2019, May)

In this paper we propose a new measurement procedure for the amplitude response of a wideband transponder in an in-orbit testing (IOT) context. The proposed procedure resorts to a direct sequence spread ... [more ▼]

In this paper we propose a new measurement procedure for the amplitude response of a wideband transponder in an in-orbit testing (IOT) context. The proposed procedure resorts to a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) technique in order to limit the interference caused by the measurement signals to the traffic. Further, an adaptive approach exploiting the knowledge of the inband traffic power has been introduced. Such knowledge, acquired either a priori or by sensing the channel, allows to easily design measurement signals satisfying multiple performance requirements (i.e., accuracy, resolution, interference, duration, and complexity). The proposed procedure can be used as a design tool to optimize the dimensioning of the IOT system parameters, and to flexibly trade off a performance indicator against another. [less ▲]

Closed-Form Solution for Computationally Efficient Symbol-Level Precoding

Scientific Conference (2018, December)

We present a convex optimization based Symbol-Level Precoding (SLP) for sum power minimization and propose the low-latency closed-form algorithm to find a heuristic solution to the optimization problem ... [more ▼]

We present a convex optimization based Symbol-Level Precoding (SLP) for sum power minimization and propose the low-latency closed-form algorithm to find a heuristic solution to the optimization problem. The technique exploits constructive interference at the multi-user MIMO systems and minimizes the sum power of the transmitted precoded signal per each symbol slot. As a result, the received signals gain extra Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), which leads to the improved data rate and energy efficiency. We benchmark the low-complexity algorithm for solving the optimization technique against the conventional Fast Non-Negative Least Squares algorithm (NNLS). The demonstrated design of the SLP technique combined with the proposed closed-form algorithm has low computational complexity and fast processing time, which is applicable in low-latency high-throughput satellite communication systems. [less ▲]

Hardware Demonstration of Precoded Communications in Multi-Beam UHTS Systems

Scientific Conference (2018, October)

In this paper, we present a hardware test-bed to demonstrate closed-loop precoded communications for interference mitigation in the forward link of the multi-beam ultra-high throughput satellite systems ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we present a hardware test-bed to demonstrate closed-loop precoded communications for interference mitigation in the forward link of the multi-beam ultra-high throughput satellite systems. The hardware demonstrator is a full-chain closed-loop communication system with a multi-beam DVB-S2X compliant gateway, a satellite payload and MIMO channel emulator and a set of DVB-S2X user terminals with real-time CSI estimation and feedback. We experimentally show the feasibility of Precoding implementation in satellite communications based on the superframe structure DVB-S2X standard. Using the test-bed we have a possibility to run real-time precoded DVB-S2X communication and benchmark its performance under realistic environment. The hardware demonstrator is suitable to perform realistic benchmarks of Block- and Symbol-level Precoding techniques for multicast and unicast user scheduling scenarios. [less ▲]

Per-antenna Power Minimization in Symbol-level Precoding for the Multi-beam Satellite Downlink

in International Journal of Satellite Communications and Networking (2018)

This paper addresses the problem of multi-user interference in the forward downlink channel of a multi-beam satellite system. A symbol-level precoding scheme is considered, in order to exploit the multi ... [more ▼]

This paper addresses the problem of multi-user interference in the forward downlink channel of a multi-beam satellite system. A symbol-level precoding scheme is considered, in order to exploit the multi-user interference and transform it into useful power at the receiver side, through a joint utilization of the data information and the channel state information. In this context, a per-antenna power minimization scheme is proposed, under Quality-of-Service constraints, for multi-level modulation schemes. The consideration of the power limitations individually for each transmitting RF chain is a central aspect of this work, and it allows to deal with systems using separate per-antenna amplifiers. Moreover, this feature is also particularly relevant for systems suffering non-linear effects of the channel. This is the case of satellite systems, where the non-linear amplifiers should be properly driven in order to reduce the detrimental saturation effect. In the proposed scheme, the transmitted signals are designed in order to reduce the power peaks, while guaranteeing some specific target signal-to-noise ratios at the receivers. Numerical results are presented in order to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, which is compared both to the state of the art in symbol-level precoding and to the conventional MMSE precoding approach. [less ▲]

Link Adaptation and CSI Detection Errors in Multibeam Satellite Systems with Linear Precoding

in 2018 9th Advanced Satellite Multimedia Systems Conference and the 15th Signal Processing for Space Communications Workshop (ASMS/SPSC) (2018)

The application of linear precoding at the gateway side enables broadband multibeam satellite systems to use more aggressive frequency reuse patterns increasing the overall capacity of future High ... [more ▼]

The application of linear precoding at the gateway side enables broadband multibeam satellite systems to use more aggressive frequency reuse patterns increasing the overall capacity of future High Throughput Satellites (HTS). However, although some previous works about precoding consider imperfect CSIT (Chanel State Information at the Transmitter) adding some CSI estimation errors, that is not the main cause of CSI degradation. In practice, receivers can only detect and estimate a few coefficients of the CSI vector being the other nullified, replaced by zeros. This introduces errors in the SINR calculation by the gateway that lead to the assignment of Modulation and Coding Schemes (MCS) over the decoding possibilities of the users, increasing the rate of erroneous frames. In this work, the errors in the SINR calculation caused by the nullification of the CSI are analyzing statistically and geographically using a radiation diagram of 245 beams over Europe. Furthermore, a solution based on a link adaptation algorithm with a per user adaptive margin is proposed, helping to achieve the QEF (Quasi-error Free) target of DVB-S2X systems. [less ▲]

Architectures and Key Technical Challenges for 5G Systems Incorporating Satellites

in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology (2018)

Satellite Communication systems are a promising solution to extend and complement terrestrial networks in unserved or under-served areas. This aspect is reflected by recent commercial and standardisation ... [more ▼]

Satellite Communication systems are a promising solution to extend and complement terrestrial networks in unserved or under-served areas. This aspect is reflected by recent commercial and standardisation endeavours. In particular, 3GPP recently initiated a Study Item for New Radio-based, i.e., 5G, Non-Terrestrial Networks aimed at deploying satellite systems either as a stand-alone solution or as an integration to terrestrial networks in mobile broadband and machine-type communication scenarios. However, typical satellite channel impairments, as large path losses, delays, and Doppler shifts, pose severe challenges to the realisation of a satellite-based NR network. In this paper, based on the architecture options currently being discussed in the standardisation fora, we discuss and assess the impact of the satellite channel characteristics on the physical and Medium Access Control layers, both in terms of transmitted waveforms and procedures for enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB) and NarrowBand-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) applications. The proposed analysis shows that the main technical challenges are related to the PHY/MAC procedures, in particular Random Access (RA), Timing Advance (TA), and Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) and, depending on the considered service and architecture, different solutions are proposed. [less ▲]

Cross-Layer Forward Packet Scheduling for Emerging Precoded Broadband Multibeam Satellite System

in 9th Advanced Satellite Multimedia Systems Conference (ASMS) and 15th Signal Processing for Space Communications Workshop (SPSC), Berlin, Germany, 10-12 September 2018 (2018)

Exploiting orthogonality in DVB-S2X through time pre-compensation

in Proceedings of 2016 8th Advanced Satellite Multimedia Systems Conference and the 14th Signal Processing for Space Communications Workshop (2016)

The superframing option of the recent DVB-S2X standard specifies, for the so-called SF-Pilot fields, the use of the orthogonal set of Walsh-Hadamard (WH) sequences. In order to exploit this orthogonality ... [more ▼]

The superframing option of the recent DVB-S2X standard specifies, for the so-called SF-Pilot fields, the use of the orthogonal set of Walsh-Hadamard (WH) sequences. In order to exploit this orthogonality, waveforms coming from different beams to the k-th User Terminal (UT) should be quasi perfectly aligned in time. While in the downlink part of a terrestrial system this is quite straightforward, in satellite system, having a satellite as a relay, this is not the case, especially when large baudrates are considered in the transmission. A procedure to compensate for timing misalignment amongst waveforms is here presented and the advantages are quantified through numerical simulations.In particular, Channel State Information (CSI) estimation errors, which are fundamental for precoding techniques, are evaluated. While the focus of the work is on systems which enable precoding techniques, the procedure can be applied in each scenario which uses the superframing structure of DVB-S2X in an interference limited scenario. [less ▲]

Multibeam joint processing satellites: cooperative relays, high above.

in Advanced Relay Technologies in Next Generation Wireless Communication, Telecommunications (2016)