A High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) is a network node that operates in the stratosphere at an of altitude around 20 km and is instrumental for providing communication services. Precipitated by technological innovations in the areas of autonomous avionics, array antennas, solar panel efficiency levels, and battery energy densities, and fueled by flourishing industry ecosystems, the HAPS has emerged as an indispensable component of next-generations of wireless networks. In this article, we provide a vision and framework for the HAPS networks of the future supported by a comprehensive and state-of-the-art literature review. We highlight the unrealized potential of HAPS systems and elaborate on their unique ability to serve metropolitan areas. The latest advancements and promising technologies in the HAPS energy and payload systems are discussed. The integration of the emerging Reconfigurable Smart Surface (RSS) technology in the communications payload of HAPS systems for providing a cost-effective deployment is proposed. A detailed overview of the radio resource management in HAPS systems is presented along with synergistic physical layer techniques, including Faster-Than-Nyquist (FTN) signaling. Numerous aspects of handoff management in HAPS systems are described. The notable contributions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in HAPS, including machine learning in the design, topology management, handoff, and resource allocation aspects are emphasized. The extensive overview of the literature we provide is crucial for substantiating our vision that depicts the expected deployment opportunities and challenges in the next 10 years (next-generation networks), as well as in the subsequent 10 years (next-next-generation networks).
Integrating OTFS in Airplane-Aided Next-Generation Networking
Indian Institute of Technology Madras(印度马德拉斯理工学院);PSG iTech;Indian Institute of Science(印度科学学院);Indian Institute of Technology (BHU)(印度理工大学(贝拿勒斯印度教大学))
Deep Reinforcement Learning for Interference Suppression in RIS-Aided Space-Air-Ground Integrated Networks
Department of Artificial Intelligence, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Telangana, India(印度海得拉巴印度理工学院人工智能系);School of Informatics, Kami, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi, Japan(日本科技大学信息学院);Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan(东北大学信息科学研究生院)