Millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication opens up tens of giga-hertz (GHz) spectrum in the mmWave band for use by next-generation wireless systems, thereby solving the problem of spectrum scarcity. Maintaining connectivity stands out to be a key design challenge for mmWave networks deployed in urban regions due to the blockage effect characterizing mmWave propagation. Specifically, mmWave signals can be blocked by buildings and other large urban objects. In this paper, we set out to investigate the blockage effect on the connectivity of mmWave networks in a Manhattan-type urban region modeled using a random regular lattice while base stations (BSs) are Poisson distributed in the plane. In particular, we analyze the connectivity probability that a typical user is within the transmission range of a BS and connected by a line-of-sight. Using random lattice and stochastic geometry theories, different lower bounds on the connectivity probability are derived as functions of the buildings' size and probability of a lattice cell being occupied by a building as well as BS density and transmission range. The asymptotic connectivity probability is also derived for cases of dense buildings. Last, the results are extended to heterogeneous networks. Our study yields closed-form relations between the parameters of the building process and the BS process, providing useful guidelines for practical mmWave network deployment.
Comparisons of outdoor Urban Microcell (UMi) large-scale path loss models, root mean square (RMS) delay spreads (DS), angular spreads (AS), and the number of spatial beams for extensive measurements performed at 28, 38, 73, and 142 GHz are presented in this letter. Measurement campaigns were conducted from 2011-2020 in downtown Austin, Texas, Manhattan (New York City), and Brooklyn, New York with communication ranges up to 930 m. Key similarities and differences in outdoor wireless channels are observed when comparing the channel statistics across a wide range of frequencies from millimeter-wa…
This paper shows the remarkable distances that can be achieved using millimeter wave communications, and presents a new rural macrocell (RMa) path loss model for millimeter wave frequencies, based on measurements at 73 GHz in rural Virginia. Path loss models are needed to estimate signal coverage and interference for wireless network design, yet little is known about rural propagation at millimeter waves. This work identifies problems with the RMa model used by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TR 38.900 Release 14, and offers a close-in (CI) reference distance model that has impro…
Millimeter-wave (mmWave) offers high data rate and bandwidth for air-to-everything (A2X) communications including air-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-tower. MmWave communication in the A2X network is sensitive to buildings blockage effects. In this paper, we propose an analytical framework to define and characterise the connectivity for an aerial access point (AAP) by jointly using stochastic geometry and random shape theory. The buildings are modelled as a Boolean line-segment process with fixed height. The blocking area for an arbitrary building is derived and minimized by optimizing the a…
An urban tactical wireless network is considered wherein the base stations are situated on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that provide connectivity to ground assets such as vehicles located on city streets. The UAVs are assumed to be randomly deployed at a fixed height according to a two-dimensional point process. Millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies are used to avail of large available bandwidths and spatial isolation due to beamforming. In urban environments, mmWave signals are prone to blocking of the line-of-sight (LoS) by buildings. While reflections are possible, the desire for consiste…
This paper presents a novel stochastic geometry approach to the connectivity of milimeter wave (mmWave) networks with multi-hop relaying. The random positions and shapes of obstacles in the radio environment are modeled as a Boolean model, whose germs are distributed according to a Poisson point process and grains are random rectangles. The derived analytical results shed light on how the connectivity of mmWave networks depends on key system parameters such as the density and size of obstacles as well as relaying route window -- the range of distances in which routing relays are selected. We f…
This paper presents outdoor wideband small-scale spatial fading and autocorrelation measurements and results in the 73 GHz millimeter-wave (mmWave) band conducted in downtown Brooklyn, New York. Both directional and omnidirectional receiver (RX) antennas are studied. Two pairs of transmitter (TX) and RX locations were tested with one line-of-sight (LOS) and one non-line-of-sight (NLOS) environment, where a linear track was employed at each RX to move the antenna in half-wavelength increments. Measured data reveal that the small-scale spatial fading of the received signal voltage amplitude are …
In this technical report (TR), we describe the mathematical model we developed to carry out a preliminary coverage and connectivity analysis in an automotive communication scenario based on mmWave links. The purpose is to exemplify some of the complex and interesting tradeoffs that have to be considered when designing solutions for mmWave automotive scenarios.
This paper presents an omnidirectional spatial and temporal 3-dimensional statistical channel model for 28 GHz dense urban non-line of sight environments. The channel model is developed from 28 GHz ultrawideband propagation measurements obtained with a 400 megachips per second broadband sliding correlator channel sounder and highly directional, steerable horn antennas in New York City. A 3GPP-like statistical channel model that is easy to implement in software or hardware is developed from measured power delay profiles and a synthesized method for providing absolute propagation delays recovere…
This paper presents details and applications of a novel channel simulation software named NYUSIM, which can be used to generate realistic temporal and spatial channel responses to support realistic physical- and link-layer simulations and design for fifth-generation (5G) cellular communications. NYUSIM is built upon the statistical spatial channel model for broadband millimeter-wave (mmWave) wireless communication systems developed by researchers at New York University (NYU). The simulator is applicable for a wide range of carrier frequencies (500 MHz to 100 GHz), radio frequency (RF) bandwidt…
Modeling and Analysis of Sensing Assisted UAV Networks for Urban Vehicular Communications
Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar（科克拉贾哈尔中央理工学院）；National Institute of Technology Calicut（卡利卡特国家技术学院）；Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur（坎普尔印度理工学院）
Characterization of the millimeter wave wireless channel is needed to facilitate fully connected vehicular communication in the future. To study the multipath-rich, rapidly varying nature of the vehicular propagation environment, fast millimeter wave channel sounders are required. We present a channel sounder design capable of covering 360 degrees in azimuth and 60 degrees in elevation with 200 individual beam directions in 6.25 ms by using four phased arrays simultaneously. The channel measurements are accompanied by high resolution positioning and video data, allowing channel sounding to be …
Commonly considered user association frameworks in millimeter-wave communications are based on the sum rate maximization, and they essentially neglect user specific rate and service requirements. Furthermore, new features of millimeter-wave communications including spatial multiplexing, connectivity to multiple coordinated base stations and dense base station deployment are not considered. In this work, we propose a two-step optimization framework for single-shot user association in dense millimeter-wave networks which takes into account users' rate requirements, multi-connectivity, and hybrid…
We propose a hybrid architecture that integrates RF (i.e., sub-6 GHz) and millimeter wave (mmWave) technologies for 5G cellular systems. In particular, communications in the mmWave band faces significant challenges due to variable channels, intermittent connectivity, and high energy usage. On the other hand, speeds for electronic processing of data is of the same order as typical rates for mmWave interfaces which makes the use of complex algorithms for tracking channel variations and adjusting resources accordingly impractical. Our proposed architecture integrates the RF and mmWave interfaces …
Millimeter wave (mmWave) technologies have the potential to achieve very high data rates, but suffer from intermittent connectivity. In this paper, we provision an architecture to integrate sub-6 GHz and mmWave technologies, where we incorporate the sub-6 GHz interface as a fallback data transfer mechanism to combat blockage and intermittent connectivity of the mmWave communications. To this end, we investigate the problem of scheduling data packets across the mmWave and sub-6 GHz interfaces such that the average delay of system is minimized. This problem can be formulated as Markov Decision P…
Millimeter-wave (mmWave) cellular systems are power-limited and susceptible to blockages. As a result, mmWave connectivity will be likely to be intermittent. One promising approach to increasing mmWave connectivity and range is to use relays. Device-to-device (D2D) communications open the door to the vast opportunities of D2D and device-to-network relaying for mmWave cellular systems. In this correspondence, we study how to select a good relay for a given source-destination pair in a two-hop mmWave cellular system, where the mmWave links are subject to random Bernoulli blockages. In such a sys…
Commonly used drop-based channel models cannot satisfy the requirements of spatial consistency for millimeter-wave (mmWave) channel modeling where transient motion or closely-spaced users need to be considered. A channel model having \textit{spatial consistency} can capture the smooth variations of channels, when a user moves, or when multiple users are close to each other in a local area within, say, 10 m in an outdoor scenario. Spatial consistency is needed to support the testing of beamforming and beam tracking for massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) and multi-user MIMO in fif…
For future networks (i.e., the fifth generation (5G) wireless networks and beyond), millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication with large available unlicensed spectrum is a promising technology that enables gigabit multimedia applications. Thanks to the short wavelength of mmWave radio, massive antenna arrays can be packed into the limited dimensions of mmWave transceivers. Therefore, with directional beamforming (BF), both mmWave transmitters (MTXs) and mmWave receivers (MRXs) are capable of supporting multiple beams in 5G networks. However, for the transmission between an MTX and an MRX, most wo…
Recent researches show that millimeter wave (mmWave) communications can offer orders of magnitude increases in the cellular capacity. However, the secrecy performance of a mmWave cellular network has not been investigated so far. Leveraging the new path-loss and blockage models for mmWave channels, which are significantly different from the conventional microwave channel, this paper comprehensively studies the network-wide physical layer security performance of the downlink transmission in a mmWave cellular network under a stochastic geometry framework. We first study the secure connectivity p…
Large-scale blockages like buildings affect the performance of urban cellular networks, especially at higher frequencies. Unfortunately, such blockage effects are either neglected or characterized by oversimplified models in the analysis of cellular networks. Leveraging concepts from random shape theory, this paper proposes a mathematical framework to model random blockages and analyze their impact on cellular network performance. Random buildings are modeled as a process of rectangles with random sizes and orientations whose centers form a Poisson point process on the plane. The distribution …
Millimeter wave (mmWave) communications have recently attracted large research interest, since the huge available bandwidth can potentially lead to rates of multiple Gbps (gigabit per second) per user. Though mmWave can be readily used in stationary scenarios such as indoor hotspots or backhaul, it is challenging to use mmWave in mobile networks, where the transmitting/receiving nodes may be moving, channels may have a complicated structure, and the coordination among multiple nodes is difficult. To fully exploit the high potential rates of mmWave in mobile networks, lots of technical problems…
This paper considers the following question for viable wide-area millimeter wave cellular networks. What is the maximum extended coverage area of a single fiber site using multi-hop relaying, while achieving a minimum target per user data rate? We formulate an optimization problem to maximize the minimum end-to-end per user data rate, and exploit unique features of millimeter wave deployments to yield a tractable solution. The mesh network is modeled as a $k-$ring urban-canyon type deployment, where $k$ is the number of hops back to the fiber site. The total number of relays per fiber site gro…
University of Bologna（博洛尼亚大学）；VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd（芬兰国家技术研究中心）
A measurement setup made of millimeter-wave and ultra wideband transceivers mounted on both a customized UAV and a ground station for full 3D wireless propagation analysis is described in this work. The developed system represents a flexible solution for the characterization of wireless channels and especially of urban propagation, as the drone might be easily located almost anywhere from ground level to the buildings rooftop and beyond. The double directional properties of the channel can be achieved by rotating directive antennas at the link ends. Other possible applications in urban context…
Millimeter wave (mmWave) communications which essentially employ directional antennas find applications spanning from indoor short range wireless personal area networks to outdoor cellular networks. A thorough understanding of mmWave signal propagation through the wireless channel provides valuable insights for the design of such networks which in turn dictates the achievable performance limits. High path loss, penetration loss, and negligible signal scattering are certain distinctive features of the mmWave channel which necessitates the development of new mathematical models. Importantly, the…
This paper presents millimeter-wave propagation measurements for urban micro-cellular and indoor office scenarios at 28 GHz and 73 GHz, and investigates the corresponding path loss using five types of path loss models, the singlefrequency floating-intercept (FI) model, single-frequency closein (CI) free space reference distance model, multi-frequency alpha-beta-gamma (ABG) model, multi-frequency CI model, and multi-frequency CI model with a frequency-weighted path loss exponent (CIF), in both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight environments. Results show that the CI and CIF models provide good…
The premise of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is based around coherent transmission and detection. Majority of the vast literature on massive MIMO presents performance evaluations over simplified statistical propagation models. All such models are drop-based and do not ensure continuity of channel parameters. In this paper, we quantify the impact of spatially consistent (SC) models on beamforming for massive MIMO systems. We focus on the downlink of a 28GHz multiuser urban microcellular scenario. Using the recently standardized Third Generation Partnership Project 38.901 SC-I pr…
Statistical channel models are instrumental to design and evaluate wireless communication systems. In the millimeter wave bands, such models become acutely challenging; they must capture the delay, directions, and path gains, for each link and with high resolution. This paper presents a general modeling methodology based on training generative neural networks from data. The proposed generative model consists of a two-stage structure that first predicts the state of each link (line-of-sight, non-line-of-sight, or outage), and subsequently feeds this state into a conditional variational autoenco…
This paper presents key parameters including the line-of-sight (LOS) probability, large-scale path loss, and shadow fading models for the design of future fifth generation (5G) wireless communication systems in urban macro-cellular (UMa) scenarios, using the data obtained from propagation measurements at 38 GHz in Austin, US, and at 2, 10, 18, and 28 GHz in Aalborg, Denmark. A comparison of different LOS probability models is performed for the Aalborg environment. Alpha-betagamma and close-in reference distance path loss models are studied in depth to show their value in channel modeling. Addi…
In this paper, a novel proactive computing and mmWave communication for ultra-reliable and low latency wireless virtual reality (VR is proposed. By leveraging information about users' poses, proactive computing and caching are used to pre-compute and store users' HD video frames to minimize the computing latency. Furthermore, multi-connectivity is exploited to ensure reliable mmWave links to deliver users' requested HD frames. The performance of the proposed approach is validated on a VR network serving an interactive gaming arcade, where dynamic and real-time rendering of HD video frames is n…
Millimeter wave (mmW) cellular systems will require high gain directional antennas and dense base station (BS) deployments to overcome high near field path loss and poor diffraction. As a desirable side effect, high gain antennas provide interference isolation, providing an opportunity to incorporate self-backhauling--BSs backhauling among themselves in a mesh architecture without significant loss in throughput--to enable the requisite large BS densities. The use of directional antennas and resource sharing between access and backhaul links leads to coverage and rate trends that differ signifi…
Future 5G cellular networks are expected to exploit the abundant spectrum resources of the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) bands to satisfy demand for multi-Gbps mobile links anticipated by exponential data traffic growth. However, given the directional nature of mm-wave links, the feasibility of mm-wave mobile networks is critically dependent on efficient antenna beamsteering and a rich inventory of strong LOS (line-of-sight) and NLOS (non line-of-sight) paths from effective reflectors in the urban environment. In this paper we report results from detailed angular measurements of 60 GHz links at an…
The millimeter wave (mmWave) bands offer the possibility of orders of magnitude greater throughput for fifth generation (5G) cellular systems. However, since mmWave signals are highly susceptible to blockage, channel quality on any one mmWave link can be extremely intermittent. This paper implements a novel dual connectivity protocol that enables mobile user equipment (UE) devices to maintain physical layer connections to 4G and 5G cells simultaneously. A novel uplink control signaling system combined with a local coordinator enables rapid path switching in the event of failures on any one lin…
This paper proposes a three-dimensional (3D) communication channel model for an indoor environment considering the effect of the Hypersurface. The Hypersurface is a software controlled intelligent metasurface, which can be used to manipulate electromagnetic waves, as for example for non-specular reflection and full absorption. Thus it can control the impinging rays from a transmitter towards a receiver location in both LOS and NLOS paths, e.g. to combat distance and improve wireless connectivity. We focus on the 60 GHz mmWave frequency band due to its increasing significance in 5G/6G networks …
Millimeter wave offers high bandwidth for air-to-air (A2A) communication. In this paper, we evaluate the rate performance of a multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) configuration where several aircraft communicate with a central hub. We consider a hybrid subarray architecture, single path channels, and realistic atmospheric attenuation effects. We propose a mathematical framework for the analysis of millimeter wave (mmWave) MU-MIMO networks. Via Monte Carlo simulation, we demonstrate that mmWave is a promising technology for delivering gigabit connectivity in next-generation aerial networks.
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies offer the potential of orders of magnitude increases in capacity for next-generation cellular systems. However, links in mmWave networks are susceptible to blockage and may suffer from rapid variations in quality. Connectivity to multiple cells - at mmWave and/or traditional frequencies - is considered essential for robust communication. One of the challenges in supporting multi-connectivity in mmWaves is the requirement for the network to track the direction of each link in addition to its power and timing. To address this challenge, we implement a nov…
