arXiv subjects

Boya Di

Publications and source records attributed to Boya Di.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Intelligent Omni-Surfaces Aided Wireless Communications: Does the Reciprocity Hold?

Intelligent omni-surfaces (IOS) have attracted great attention recently due to its potential to achieve full-dimensional communications by simultaneously reflecting and refracting signals toward both sides of the surface. However, it still remains an open question whether the reciprocity holds between the uplink and downlink channels in the IOS-aided wireless communications. In this work, we first present a physics-compliant IOS related channel model, based on which the channel reciprocity is investigated. We then demonstrate the angle-dependent electromagnetic response of the IOS element in terms of both incident and departure angles. This serves as the key feature of IOS that drives our analytical results on beam non-reciprocity. Finally, simulation and experimental results are provided to verify our theoretical analyses.

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arXiv2022

Intelligent Omni-Surfaces: Simultaneous Refraction and Reflection for Full-dimensional Wireless Communications

The development of metasurfaces has unlocked various use cases in wireless communication networks to improve performance by manipulating the propagation environment. Intelligent omni-surface (IOS), an innovative technique in this category, is proposed for coverage extension. In contrast to the widely studied reflective metasurfaces, i.e., intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs), which can only serve receivers located on the same side of the transmitter, the IOS can achieve full-dimensional wireless communications by enabling the simultaneous reflection and refraction of the surface, and thus users on both sides can be served. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in IOS from the perspective of wireless communications, with the emphasis on their design principles, channel modeling, beamforming design, experimental implementation and measurements, as well as possible applications in future cellular networks. We first describe the basic concepts of metasurfaces, and introduce the corresponding design principles for different types of metasurfaces. Moreover, we elaborate on the reflective-refractive model for each IOS element and the channel model for IOS-aided wireless communication systems. Furthermore, we show how to achieve full-dimensional wireless communications with the IOS for three different scenarios. In particular, we present the implementation of an IOS-aided wireless communication prototype and report its experimental measurement results. Finally, we outline some potential future directions and challenges in this area.

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arXiv2022

Intelligent Omni-Surfaces: Reflection-Refraction Circuit Model, Full-Dimensional Beamforming, and System Implementation

The intelligent omni-surface (IOS) is a dynamic metasurface that has recently been proposed to achieve full-dimensional communications by realizing the dual function of anomalous reflection and anomalous refraction. Existing research works provide only simplified models for the reflection and refraction responses of the IOS, which do not explicitly depend on the physical structure of the IOS and the angle of incidence of the electromagnetic (EM) wave. Therefore, the available reflection-refraction models are insufficient to characterize the performance of full-dimensional communications. In this paper, we propose a complete and detailed circuit-based reflection-refraction model for the IOS, which is formulated in terms of the physical structure and equivalent circuits of the IOS elements, as well as we validate it against full-wave EM simulations. Based on the proposed circuit-based model for the IOS, we analyze the asymmetry between the reflection and transmission coefficients. Moreover, the proposed circuit-based model is utilized for optimizing the hybrid beamforming of IOS-assisted networks and hence improving the system performance. To verify the circuit-based model, the theoretical findings, and to evaluate the performance of full-dimensional beamforming, we implement a prototype of IOS and deploy an IOS-assisted wireless communication testbed to experimentally measure the beam patterns and to quantify the achievable rate. The obtained experimental results validate the theoretical findings and the accuracy of the proposed circuit-based reflection-refraction model for IOSs.

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arXiv2022

Reconfigurable Refractive Surfaces: An Energy-Efficient Way to Holographic MIMO

Holographic Multiple Input Multiple Output (HMIMO), which integrates massive antenna elements into a compact space to achieve a spatially continuous aperture, plays an important role in future wireless networks. With numerous antenna elements, it is hard to implement the HMIMO via phased arrays due to unacceptable power consumption. To address this issue, reconfigurable refractive surface (RRS) is an energy efficient enabler of HMIMO since the surface is free of expensive phase shifters. Unlike traditional metasurfaces working as passive relays, the RRS is used as transmit antennas, where the far-field approximation does not hold anymore, urging a new performance analysis framework. In this letter, we first derive the data rate of an RRS-based single-user downlink system, and then compare its power consumption with the phased array. Simulation results verify our analysis and show that the RRS is an energy-efficient way to HMIMO.

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arXiv2022

Meta-material Sensor Based Internet of Things: Design, Optimization, and Implementation

For many applications envisioned for the Internet of Things (IoT), it is expected that the sensors will have very low costs and zero power, which can be satisfied by meta-material sensor based IoT, i.e., meta-IoT. As their constituent meta-materials can reflect wireless signals with environment-sensitive reflection coefficients, meta-IoT sensors can achieve simultaneous sensing and transmission without any active modulation. However, to maximize the sensing accuracy, the structures of meta-IoT sensors need to be optimized considering their joint influence on sensing and transmission, which is challenging due to the high computational complexity in evaluating the influence, especially given a large number of sensors. In this paper, we propose a joint sensing and transmission design method for meta-IoT systems with a large number of meta-IoT sensors, which can efficiently optimize the sensing accuracy of the system. Specifically, a computationally efficient received signal model is established to evaluate the joint influence of meta-material structure on sensing and transmission. Then, a sensing algorithm based on deep unsupervised learning is designed to obtain accurate sensing results in a robust manner. Experiments with a prototype verify that the system has a higher sensitivity and a longer transmission range compared to existing designs, and can sense environmental anomalies correctly within 2 meters.

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arXiv2022

Towards Ubiquitous Sensing and Localization With Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces

In future cellular systems, wireless localization and sensing functions will be built-in for specific applications, e.g., navigation, transportation, and healthcare, and to support flexible and seamless connectivity. Driven by this trend, the need rises for fine-resolution sensing solutions and cm-level localization accuracy, while the accuracy of current wireless systems is limited by the quality of the propagation environment. Recently, with the development of new materials, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) provide an opportunity to reshape and control the electromagnetic characteristics of the environment, which can be utilized to improve the performance of wireless sensing and localization. In this tutorial, we will first review the background and motivation to utilize wireless signals for sensing and localization. Next, we introduce how to incorporate RIS into applications of sensing and localization, including key challenges and enabling techniques, and then some case studies will be presented. Finally, future research directions will also be discussed.

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arXiv2021

Reconfigurable Holographic Surfaces for Future Wireless Communications

Future wireless communications look forward to constructing a ubiquitous intelligent information network with high data rates through cost-efficient devices. Benefiting from the tunability and programmability of metamaterials, the reconfigurable holographic surface (RHS) composed of numerous metamaterial radiation elements is developed as a promising solution to fulfill such challenging visions. The RHS is more likely to serve as an ultra-thin and lightweight surface antenna integrated with the transceiver to generate beams with desirable directions by leveraging the holographic principle. This is different from reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) widely used as passive relays due to the reflection characteristic. In this article, we investigate RHS-aided wireless communications. Starting with a basic introduction of the RHS including its hardware structure, holographic principle, and fabrication methodologies, we propose a hybrid beamforming scheme for RHS-aided multi-user communication systems. A joint sum-rate maximization algorithm is then developed where the digital beamforming performed at the base station and the holographic beamforming performed at the RHS are optimized iteratively. Furthermore, key challenges in RHS-aided wireless communications are also discussed.

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arXiv2021

Meta-material Sensors based Internet of Things for 6G Communications

In the coming 6G communications, the internet of things (IoT) serves as a key enabler to collect environmental information and is expected to achieve ubiquitous deployment. However, it is challenging for traditional IoT sensors to meet this expectation because of their requirements of power supplies and frequent maintenance, which are due to their power-demanding sense and transmit modules. To address this challenge, we propose a meta-IoT sensing system, where the IoT sensors are based on specially designed meta-materials. The meta-IoT sensors achieve simultaneous sensing and transmission by physical reflection and require no power supplies. In order to design a meta-IoT sensing system with optimal sensing accuracy, we jointly consider the sensing and transmission of meta-IoT sensors and propose efficient algorithms to optimize the meta-IoT structure and the sensing function at the receiver. As an example, we apply the meta-IoT system to sensing environmental temperature and humidity levels. Simulation results show that by using the proposed algorithm, the sensing accuracy can be largely increased.

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arXiv2021

Intelligent Omni-Surfaces for Full-Dimensional Wireless Communications: Principle, Technology, and Implementation

The recent development of metasurfaces has motivated their potential use for improving the performance of wireless communication networks by manipulating the propagation environment through nearly-passive sub-wavelength scattering elements arranged on a surface. However, most studies of this technology focus on reflective metasurfaces, i.e., the surface reflects the incident signals towards receivers located on the same side of the transmitter, which restricts the coverage to one side of the surface. In this article, we introduce the concept of intelligent omni-surface (IOS), which is able to serve mobile users on both sides of the surface to achieve full-dimensional communications by jointly engineering its reflective and refractive properties. The working principle of the IOS is introduced and a novel hybrid beamforming scheme is proposed for IOS-based wireless communications. Moreover, we present a prototype of IOS-based wireless communications and report experimental results. Furthermore, potential applications of the IOS to wireless communications together with relevant research challenges are discussed.

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arXiv2021

Integrated Satellite-HAP-Terrestrial Networks for Dual-Band Connectivity

The recent development of high-altitude platforms (HAPs) has attracted increasing attention since they can serve as a promising communication method to assist satellite-terrestrial networks. In this paper, we consider an integrated three-layer satellite-HAP-terrestrial network where the HAP support dual-band connectivity. Specifically, the HAP can not only communicate with terrestrial users over C-band directly, but also provide backhaul services to terrestrial user terminals over Ka-band. We formulate a sum-rate maximization problem and then propose a fractional programming based algorithm to solve the problem by optimizing the bandwidth and power allocation iteratively. The closed-form optimal solutions for bandwidth allocation and power allocation in each iteration are also derived. Simulation results show the capacity enhancement brought by the dual-band connectivity of the HAP. The influence of the power of the HAP and the power of the satellite is also discussed.

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arXiv2021

Wireless Indoor Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Using Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface

Indoor wireless simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is considered as a promising technique to provide positioning services in future 6G systems. However, the accuracy of traditional wireless SLAM system heavily relies on the quality of propagation paths, which is limited by the uncontrollable wireless environment. In this paper, we propose a novel SLAM system assisted by a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) to address this issue. By configuring the phase shifts of the RIS, the strength of received signals can be enhanced to resist the disturbance of noise. However, the selection of phase shifts heavily influences the localization and mapping phase, which makes the design very challenging. To tackle this challenge, we formulate the RIS-assisted indoor SLAM optimization problem and design an error minimization algorithm for it. Simulations show that the RIS assisted SLAM system can decrease the positioning error by at least 31% compared with benchmark schemes.

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arXiv2021

Deployment Optimization for Meta-material Based Internet of Things

In this paper, we propose a Meta-IoT system to achieve ubiquitous deployment and pervasive sensing for future Internet of Things (IoT). In such a system, sensors are composed of dedicated meta-materials whose frequency response of wireless signal is sensitive to environmental conditions. Therefore, we can obtain sensing results from reflected signals through Meta-IoT devices and the energy supplies for IoT devices can be removed. Nevertheless, in the Meta-IoT system, because the positions of the Meta-IoT devices decide the interference among the reflected signals, which may make the sensing results of different positions hard to be distinguished and the estimation function should integrate the results to reconstruct 3D distribution. It is a challenge to optimize the positions of the Meta-IoT devices to ensure sensing accuracy of 3D environmental conditions. To handle this challenge, we establish a mathematical model of Meta-IoT devices' sensing and transmission to calculate the interference between Meta-IoT devices. Then, an algorithm is proposed to jointly minimize the interference and reconstruction error by optimizing the Meta-IoT devices' position and the estimation function. The simulation results verify that the proposed system can obtain a 3D environmental conditions' distribution with high accuracy.

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arXiv2021

Intelligent Omni-Surface: Ubiquitous Wireless Transmission by Reflective-Transmissive Metasurface

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS), which is capable to adjust propagation conditions by controlling phase shifts of the reflected waves that impinge on the surface, has been widely analyzed for enhancing the performance of wireless systems. However, the reflective properties of widely studied IRSs restrict the service coverage to only one side of the surface. In this paper, to extend the wireless coverage of communication systems, we introduce the concept of intelligent omni-surface (IOS)-assisted communication. More precisely, IOS is an important instance of reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) that is capable to provide service coverage to the mobile users (MUs) in a reflective and a transmissive manner. We consider a downlink IOS-assisted communication system, where a multi-antenna small base station (SBS) and an IOS perform beamforming jointly, to improve the received power of multiple MUs on both sides of the IOS, through different reflective/transmissive channels. To maximize the sum-rate, we formulate a joint IOS phase shift design and SBS beamforming optimization problem, and propose an iterative algorithm to solve the resulting non-convex program efficiently. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results show that an IOS significantly extends the service coverage of the SBS when compared to an IRS.

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arXiv2021

Trajectory Optimization and Resource Allocation for OFDMA UAV Relay Networks

In this paper, we consider a single-cell multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network with one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which works as an amplify-and-forward relay to improve the quality-of-service (QoS) of the user equipments (UEs) in the cell edge. Aiming to improve the throughput while guaranteeing the user fairness, we jointly optimize the communication mode, subchannel allocation, power allocation, and UAV trajectory, which is an NP-hard problem. To design the UAV trajectory and resource allocation efficiently, we first decompose the problem into three subproblems, i.e., mode selection and subchannel allocation, trajectory optimization, and power allocation, and then solve these subproblems iteratively. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the random algorithm and the cellular scheme.

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arXiv2021

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces in 6G: Reflective, Transmissive, or Both?

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have attracted wide interest from industry and academia since they can shape the wireless environment into a desirable form with a low cost. In practice, RISs have three types of implementations: 1) reflective, where signals can be reflected to the users on the same side of the base station (BS), 2) transmissive, where signals can penetrate the RIS to serve the users on the opposite side of the BS, and 3) hybrid, where the RISs have a dual function of reflection and transmission. However, existing works focus on the reflective type RISs, and the other two types of RISs are not well investigated. In this letter, a downlink multi-user RIS-assisted communication network is considered, where the RIS can be one of these types. We derive the system sum-rate, and discuss which type can yield the best performance under a specific user distribution. Numerical results verify our analysis.

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arXiv2020

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface assisted Multi-user Communications: How Many Reflective Elements Do We Need?

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) consisting of multiple reflective elements are a promising technique to enhance communication quality as they can create favorable propagation conditions. In this letter, we characterize the fundamental relations between the number of reflective elements and the system sum-rate in RIS-assisted multi-user communications. It is known from previous works that the received signal-to-noise ratio~(SNR) can linearly increase with the squared number of RIS reflective elements, but how many elements are sufficient to provide an acceptable system sum-rate still remains an open problem. To this end, we derive the asymptotic capacity with zero-forcing (ZF) precoding, and then discuss how many reflective elements are required so that the ratio of the system sum-rate to the capacity can exceed a predefined threshold. Numerical results verify our analysis.

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arXiv2020

Beyond Cell-free MIMO: Energy Efficient Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Aided Cell-free MIMO Communications

Cell-free systems can effectively eliminate the inter-cell interference by enabling multiple base stations (BSs) to cooperatively serve users without cell boundaries at the expense of high costs of hardware and power sources due to the large-scale deployment of BSs. To tackle this issue, the low-cost reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) can serve as a promising technique to improve the energy efficiency of cell-free systems. In this paper, we consider an RIS aided cell-free MIMO system where multiple RISs are deployed around BSs and users to create favorable propagation conditions via reconfigurable reflections in a low-cost way, thereby enhancing cell-free MIMO communications. To maximize the energy efficiency, a hybrid beamforming (HBF) scheme consisting of the digital beamforming at BSs and the RIS-based analog beamforming is proposed. The energy efficiency maximization problem is formulated and an iterative algorithm is designed to solve this problem. The impact of the transmit power, the number of RIS, and the RIS size on energy efficiency are investigated. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results reveal that the optimal energy efficiency depends on the numbers of RISs and the RIS size. Numerical evaluations also show that the proposed system can achieve a higher energy efficiency than conventional ones.

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arXiv2020

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) Assisted Wireless Coverage Extension: RIS Orientation and Location Optimization

Recently, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) have attracted a lot of attention due to their capability of extending cell coverage by reflecting signals toward the receiver. In this letter, we analyze the coverage of a downlink RIS-assisted network with one base station (BS) and one user equipment (UE). Since the RIS orientation and the horizontal distance between the RIS and the BS have a significant influence on the cell coverage, we formulate an RIS placement optimization problem to maximize the cell coverage by optimizing the RIS orientation and horizontal distance. To solve the formulated problem, a coverage maximization algorithm (CMA) is proposed, where a closed-form optimal RIS orientation is obtained. Numerical results verify our analysis.

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