arXiv subjects

Walid Saad

Publications and source records attributed to Walid Saad.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Data Correlation-Aware Resource Management in Wireless Virtual Reality (VR): An Echo State Transfer Learning Approach

In this paper, the problem of wireless virtual reality (VR) resource management is investigated for a wireless VR network in which VR contents are sent by a cloud to cellular small base stations (SBSs). The SBSs will collect tracking data from the VR users, over the uplink, in order to generate the VR content and transmit it to the end-users using downlink cellular links. For this model, the data requested or transmitted by the users can exhibit correlation, since the VR users may engage in the same immersive virtual environment with different locations and orientations. As such, the proposed resource management framework can factor in such spatial data correlation, to better manage uplink and downlink traffic. This potential spatial data correlation can be factored into the resource allocation problem to reduce the traffic load in both uplink and downlink. In the downlink, the cloud can transmit 360 contents or specific visible contents that are extracted from the original 360 contents to the users according to the users' data correlation to reduce the backhaul traffic load. For uplink, each SBS can associate with the users that have similar tracking information so as to reduce the tracking data size. This data correlation-aware resource management problem is formulated as an optimization problem whose goal is to maximize the users' successful transmission probability, defined as the probability that the content transmission delay of each user satisfies an instantaneous VR delay target. To solve this problem, an echo state networks (ESNs) based transfer learning is introduced. By smartly transferring information on the SBS's utility, the proposed transfer-based ESN algorithm can quickly cope with changes in the wireless networking environment.

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arXiv2018

Proactive Resource Management for LTE in Unlicensed Spectrum: A Deep Learning Perspective

LTE in unlicensed spectrum using licensed assisted access LTE (LTE-LAA) is a promising approach to overcome the wireless spectrum scarcity. However, to reap the benefits of LTE-LAA, a fair coexistence mechanism with other incumbent WiFi deployments is required. In this paper, a novel deep learning approach is proposed for modeling the resource allocation problem of LTE-LAA small base stations (SBSs). The proposed approach enables multiple SBSs to proactively perform dynamic channel selection, carrier aggregation, and fractional spectrum access while guaranteeing fairness with existing WiFi networks and other LTE-LAA operators. Adopting a proactive coexistence mechanism enables future delay-tolerant LTE-LAA data demands to be served within a given prediction window ahead of their actual arrival time thus avoiding the underutilization of the unlicensed spectrum during off-peak hours while maximizing the total served LTE-LAA traffic load. To this end, a noncooperative game model is formulated in which SBSs are modeled as Homo Egualis agents that aim at predicting a sequence of future actions and thus achieving long-term equal weighted fairness with WLAN and other LTE-LAA operators over a given time horizon. The proposed deep learning algorithm is then shown to reach a mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium (NE), when it converges. Simulation results using real data traces show that the proposed scheme can yield up to 28% and 11% gains over a conventional reactive approach and a proportional fair coexistence mechanism, respectively. The results also show that the proposed framework prevents WiFi performance degradation for a densely deployed LTE-LAA network.

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arXiv2018

Cyber-Physical Security and Safety of Autonomous Connected Vehicles: Optimal Control Meets Multi-Armed Bandit Learning

Autonomous connected vehicles (ACVs) rely on intra-vehicle sensors such as camera and radar as well as inter-vehicle communication to operate effectively. This reliance on cyber components exposes ACVs to cyber and physical attacks in which an adversary can manipulate sensor readings and physically take control of an ACV. In this paper, a comprehensive framework is proposed to thwart cyber and physical attacks on ACV networks. First, an optimal safe controller for ACVs is derived to maximize the street traffic flow while minimizing the risk of accidents by optimizing ACV speed and inter-ACV spacing. It is proven that the proposed controller is robust to physical attacks which aim at making ACV systems instable. To improve the cyber-physical security of ACV systems, next, data injection attack (DIA) detection approaches are proposed to address cyber attacks on sensors and their physical impact on the ACV system. To comprehensively design the DIA detection approaches, ACV sensors are characterized in two subsets based on the availability of a-priori information about their data. For sensors having a prior information, a DIA detection approach is proposed and an optimal threshold level is derived for the difference between the actual and estimated values of sensors data which enables ACV to stay robust against cyber attacks. For sensors having no prior information, a novel multi-armed bandit (MAB) algorithm is proposed to enable ACV to securely control its motion. Simulation results show that the proposed optimal safe controller outperforms current state of the art controllers by maximizing the robustness of ACVs to physical attacks. The results also show that the proposed DIA detection approaches, compared to Kalman filtering, can improve the security of ACV sensors against cyber attacks and ultimately improve the physical robustness of an ACV system.

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arXiv2018

Ruin Theory for Dynamic Spectrum Allocation in LTE-U Networks

LTE in the unlicensed band (LTE-U) is a promising solution to overcome the scarcity of the wireless spectrum. However, to reap the benefits of LTE-U, it is essential to maintain its effective coexistence with WiFi systems. Such a coexistence, hence, constitutes a major challenge for LTE-U deployment. In this paper, the problem of unlicensed spectrum sharing among WiFi and LTE-U system is studied. In particular, a fair time sharing model based on \emph{ruin theory} is proposed to share redundant spectral resources from the unlicensed band with LTE-U without jeopardizing the performance of the WiFi system. Fairness among both WiFi and LTE-U is maintained by applying the concept of the probability of ruin. In particular, the probability of ruin is used to perform efficient duty-cycle allocation in LTE-U, so as to provide fairness to the WiFi system and maintain certain WiFi performance. Simulation results show that the proposed ruin-based algorithm provides better fairness to the WiFi system as compared to equal duty-cycle sharing among WiFi and LTE-U.

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arXiv2018

Wireless Communications and Control for Swarms of Cellular-Connected UAVs

By using wireless connectivity through cellular base stations (BSs), swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide a plethora of services ranging from delivery of goods to surveillance. In particular, UAVs in a swarm can utilize wireless communications to collect information, like velocity and heading angle, from surrounding UAVs for coordinating their operations and maintaining target speed and intra-UAV distance. However, due to the uncertainty of the wireless channel, wireless communications among UAVs will experience a transmission delay which can impair the swarm's ability to stabilize system operation. In this paper, the problem of joint communication and control is studied for a swarm of three cellular-connected UAVs positioned in a triangle formation. In particular, a novel approach is proposed for optimizing the swarm's operation while jointly considering the delay of the wireless network and the stability of the control system. Based on this approach, the maximum allowable delay required to prevent the instability of the swarm is determined. Moreover, by using stochastic geometry, the reliability of the wireless network is derived as the probability of meeting the stability requirement of the control system. The simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed joint strategy, and help obtain insightful design guidelines on how to form a stable swarm of UAVs.

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arXiv2018

Machine Learning for Wireless Connectivity and Security of Cellular-Connected UAVs

Cellular-connected unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will inevitably be integrated into future cellular networks as new aerial mobile users. Providing cellular connectivity to UAVs will enable a myriad of applications ranging from online video streaming to medical delivery. However, to enable a reliable wireless connectivity for the UAVs as well as a secure operation, various challenges need to be addressed such as interference management, mobility management and handover, cyber-physical attacks, and authentication. In this paper, the goal is to expose the wireless and security challenges that arise in the context of UAV-based delivery systems, UAV-based real-time multimedia streaming, and UAV-enabled intelligent transportation systems. To address such challenges, artificial neural network (ANN) based solution schemes are introduced. The introduced approaches enable the UAVs to adaptively exploit the wireless system resources while guaranteeing a secure operation, in real-time. Preliminary simulation results show the benefits of the introduced solutions for each of the aforementioned cellular-connected UAV application use case.

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arXiv2018

Caching to the Sky: Performance Analysis of Cache-Assisted CoMP for Cellular-Connected UAVs

Providing connectivity to aerial users, such as cellular-connected unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or flying taxis, is a key challenge for tomorrow's cellular systems. In this paper, the use of coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission along with caching for providing seamless connectivity to aerial users is investigated. In particular, a network of clustered cache-enabled small base stations (SBSs) serving aerial users is considered in which a requested content by an aerial user is cooperatively transmitted from collaborative ground SBSs. For this network, a novel upper bound expression on the coverage probability is derived as a function of the system parameters. The effects of various system parameters such as collaboration distance and content availability on the achievable performance are then investigated. Results reveal that, when the antennas of the SBSs are tilted downwards, the coverage probability of a high-altitude aerial user is upper bounded by that of a ground user regardless of the transmission scheme. Moreover, it is shown that for a low signal-to-interference-ratio (SIR) threshold, CoMP transmission improves the coverage probability for aerial users from 10% to 70% under a collaboration distance of 200 m.

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arXiv2018

Dynamic Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) and Orthogonal Multiple Access (OMA) in 5G Wireless Networks

In this paper, facilitated via the flexible software defined structure of the radio access units in 5G, we propose a novel dynamic multiple access technology selection among orthogonal multiple access (OMA) and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) techniques for each subcarrier. For this setup, we formulate a joint resource allocation problem where a new set of access technology selection parameters along with power and subcarrier are allocated for each user based on each user's channel state information. Here, we define a novel utility function taking into account the rate and costs of access technologies. This cost reflects both the complexity of performing successive interference cancellation and the complexity incurred to guarantee a desired bit error rate. This utility function can inherently demonstrate the trade-off between OMA and NOMA. Due to non-convexity of our proposed resource allocation problem, we resort to successive convex approximation where a two-step iterative algorithm is applied in which a problem of the first step, called access technology selection, is transformed into a linear integer programming problem, and the nonconvex problem of the second step, referred to power allocation problem, is solved via the difference-of-convex-functions (DC) programming. Moreover, the closed-form solution for power allocation in the second step is derived. For diverse network performance criteria such as rate, simulation results show that the proposed new dynamic access technology selection outperforms single-technology OMA or NOMA multiple access solutions.

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arXiv2018

Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Vehicular Networks: Taming the Age of Information Tail

While the notion of age of information (AoI) has recently emerged as an important concept for analyzing ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), the majority of the existing works have focused on the average AoI measure. However, an average AoI based design falls short in properly characterizing the performance of URLLC systems as it cannot account for extreme events that occur with very low probabilities. In contrast, in this paper, the main objective is to go beyond the traditional notion of average AoI by characterizing and optimizing a URLLC system while capturing the AoI tail distribution. In particular, the problem of vehicles' power minimization while ensuring stringent latency and reliability constraints in terms of probabilistic AoI is studied. To this end, a novel and efficient mapping between both AoI and queue length distributions is proposed. Subsequently, extreme value theory (EVT) and Lyapunov optimization techniques are adopted to formulate and solve the problem. Simulation results shows a nearly two-fold improvement in terms of shortening the tail of the AoI distribution compared to a baseline whose design is based on the maximum queue length among vehicles, when the number of vehicular user equipment (VUE) pairs is 80. The results also show that this performance gain increases significantly as the number of VUE pairs increases.

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arXiv2018

Beyond 5G with UAVs: Foundations of a 3D Wireless Cellular Network

In this paper, a novel concept of three-dimensional (3D) cellular networks, that integrate drone base stations (drone-BS) and cellular-connected drone users (drone-UEs), is introduced. For this new 3D cellular architecture, a novel framework for network planning for drone-BSs as well as latency-minimal cell association for drone-UEs is proposed. For network planning, a tractable method for drone-BSs' deployment based on the notion of truncated octahedron shapes is proposed that ensures full coverage for a given space with minimum number of drone-BSs. In addition, to characterize frequency planning in such 3D wireless networks, an analytical expression for the feasible integer frequency reuse factors is derived. Subsequently, an optimal 3D cell association scheme is developed for which the drone-UEs' latency, considering transmission, computation, and backhaul delays, is minimized. To this end, first, the spatial distribution of the drone-UEs is estimated using a kernel density estimation method, and the parameters of the estimator are obtained using a cross-validation method. Then, according to the spatial distribution of drone-UEs and the locations of drone-BSs, the latency-minimal 3D cell association for drone-UEs is derived by exploiting tools from optimal transport theory. Simulation results show that the proposed approach reduces the latency of drone-UEs compared to the classical cell association approach that uses a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) criterion. In particular, the proposed approach yields a reduction of up to 46% in the average latency compared to the SINR-based association. The results also show that the proposed latency-optimal cell association improves the spectral efficiency of a 3D wireless cellular network of drones.

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arXiv2018

Integrated Millimeter Wave and Sub-6 GHz Wireless Networks: A Roadmap for Joint Mobile Broadband and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications

Next-generation wireless networks must enable emerging technologies such as augmented reality and connected autonomous vehicles via wide range of wireless services that span enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), as well as ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). Existing wireless systems that solely rely on the scarce sub-6 GHz, microwave ($μ$W) frequency bands will be unable to meet such stringent and mixed service requirements for future wireless services due to spectrum scarcity. Meanwhile, operating at high-frequency millimeter wave (mmWave) bands is seen as an attractive solution, primarily due to the bandwidth availability and possibility of large-scale multi-antenna communication. However, mmWave communication is inherently unreliable due to its susceptibility to blockage, high path loss, and channel uncertainty. Hence, to provide URLLC and high-speed wireless access, it is desirable to seamlessly integrate the reliability of $μ$W networks with the high capacity of mmWave networks. To this end, in this paper, the first comprehensive tutorial for \emph{integrated mmWave-$μ$W} communications is introduced. This envisioned integrated design will enable wireless networks to achieve URLLC along with eMBB by leveraging the best of two worlds: reliable, long-range communications at the $μ$W bands and directional high-speed communications at the mmWave frequencies. To achieve this goal, key solution concepts are discussed that include new architectures for the radio interface, URLLC-aware frame structure and resource allocation methods along with mobility management, to realize the potential of integrated mmWave-$μ$W communications. The opportunities and challenges of each proposed scheme are discussed and key results are presented to show the merits of the developed integrated mmWave-$μ$W framework.

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arXiv2018

Sleeping Multi-Armed Bandit Learning for Fast Uplink Grant Allocation in Machine Type Communications

Scheduling fast uplink grant transmissions for machine type communications (MTCs) is one of the main challenges of future wireless systems. In this paper, a novel fast uplink grant scheduling method based on the theory of multi-armed bandits (MABs) is proposed. First, a single quality-of-service metric is defined as a combination of the value of data packets, maximum tolerable access delay, and data rate. Since full knowledge of these metrics for all machine type devices (MTDs) cannot be known in advance at the base station (BS) and the set of active MTDs changes over time, the problem is modeled as a sleeping MAB with stochastic availability and a stochastic reward function. In particular, given that, at each time step, the knowledge on the set of active MTDs is probabilistic, a novel probabilistic sleeping MAB algorithm is proposed to maximize the defined metric. Analysis of the regret is presented and the effect of the prediction error of the source traffic prediction algorithm on the performance of the proposed sleeping MAB algorithm is investigated. Moreover, to enable fast uplink allocation for multiple MTDs at each time, a novel method is proposed based on the concept of best arms ordering in the MAB setting. Simulation results show that the proposed framework yields a three-fold reduction in latency compared to a random scheduling policy since it prioritises the scheduling of MTDs that have stricter latency requirements. Moreover, by properly balancing the exploration versus exploitation tradeoff, the proposed algorithm can provide system fairness by allowing the most important MTDs to be scheduled more often while also allowing the less important MTDs to be selected enough times to ensure the accuracy of estimation of their importance.

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arXiv2018

Communications and Control for Wireless Drone-Based Antenna Array

In this paper, the effective use of multiple quadrotor drones as an aerial antenna array that provides wireless service to ground users is investigated. In particular, under the goal of minimizing the airborne service time needed for communicating with ground users, a novel framework for deploying and operating a drone-based antenna array system whose elements are single-antenna drones is proposed. In the considered model, the service time is minimized by minimizing the wireless transmission time as well as the control time that is needed for movement and stabilization of the drones. To minimize the transmission time, first, the antenna array gain is maximized by optimizing the drone spacing within the array. In this case, using perturbation techniques, the drone spacing optimization problem is addressed by solving successive, perturbed convex optimization problems. Then, the optimal locations of the drones around the array's center are derived such that the transmission time for the user is minimized. Given the determined optimal locations of drones, the drones must spend a control time to adjust their positions dynamically so as to serve multiple users. To minimize this control time of the quadrotor drones, the speed of rotors is optimally adjusted based on both the destinations of the drones and external forces (e.g., wind and gravity). In particular, using bang-bang control theory, the optimal rotors' speeds as well as the minimum control time are derived in closed-form. Simulation results show that the proposed approach can significantly reduce the service time to ground users compared to a fixed-array case in which the same number of drones form a fixed uniform antenna array. The results also show that, in comparison with the fixed-array case, the network's spectral efficiency can be improved by 32% while leveraging the drone antenna array system.

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arXiv2018

A Graphical Bayesian Game for Secure Sensor Activation in Internet of Battlefield Things

In this paper, the problem of secure sensor activation is studied for an Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) system in which an attacker compromises a set of the IoBT sensors for the purpose of eavesdropping and acquiring information about the battlefield. In the considered model, each IoBT sensor seeks to decide whether to transmit or not based on its utility. The utility of each sensor is expressed in terms of the redundancy of the data transmitted, the secrecy capacity and the energy consumed. Due to the limited communication range of the IoBT sensors and their uncertainty about the location of the eavesdroppers, the problem is formulated as a graphical Bayesian game in which the IoBT sensors are the players. Then, the utilities of the IoBT sensors are modified to take into account the effect of activating each sensor on the utilities of its neighbors, in order to achieve better system performance. The modified game is shown to be a Bayesian potential game, and a best response algorithm that is guaranteed to find a Nash equilibrium of the game is proposed. Simulation results show the tradeoff between the information transmitted by the IoBT sensors and the desired secrecy level. Simulation results also demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in reducing the energy consumed compared to the baseline in which all the IoBT sensors are activated. The reduction in energy consumption reaches up to 98% compared to the baseline, when the number of sensors is 5000.

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arXiv2018

Collaborative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for User-Cell association in Ultra-Dense Cellular Systems

In this paper, the problem of cell association between small base stations (SBSs) and users in dense wireless networks is studied using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. The problem is formulated as a mean-field game in which the users' goal is to maximize their data rate by exploiting local data and the data available at neighboring users via an imitation process. Such a collaborative learning process prevents the users from exchanging their data directly via the cellular network's limited backhaul links and, thus, allows them to improve their cell association policy collaboratively with minimum computing. To solve this problem, a neural Q-learning learning algorithm is proposed that enables the users to predict their reward function using a neural network whose input is the SBSs selected by neighboring users and the local data of the considered user. Simulation results show that the proposed imitation-based mechanism for cell association converges faster to the optimal solution, compared with conventional cell association mechanisms without imitation.

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arXiv2018

Dynamic Psychological Game Theory for Secure Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) Systems

In this paper, a novel anti-jamming mechanism is proposed to analyze and enhance the security of adversarial Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) systems. In particular, the problem is formulated as a dynamic psychological game between a soldier and an attacker. In this game, the soldier seeks to accomplish a time-critical mission by traversing a battlefield within a certain amount of time, while maintaining its connectivity with an IoBT network. The attacker, on the other hand, seeks to find the optimal opportunity to compromise the IoBT network and maximize the delay of the soldier's IoBT transmission link. The soldier and the attacker's psychological behavior are captured using tools from psychological game theory, with which the soldier's and attacker's intentions to harm one another are considered in their utilities. To solve this game, a novel learning algorithm based on Bayesian updating is proposed to find a $ε$-like psychological self-confirming equilibrium of the game. Simulation results show that, based on the error-free beliefs on the attacker's psychological strategies and beliefs, the soldier's material payoff can be improved by up to 15.11\% compared to a conventional dynamic game without psychological considerations.

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arXiv2018

A Directed Information Learning Framework for Event-Driven M2M Traffic Prediction

Burst of transmissions stemming from event-driven traffic in machine type communication (MTC) can lead to congestion of random access resources, packet collisions, and long delays. In this paper, a directed information (DI) learning framework is proposed to predict the source traffic in event-driven MTC. By capturing the history of transmissions during past events by a sequence of binary random variables, the DI between different machine type devices (MTDs) is calculated and used for predicting the set of possible MTDs that are likely to report an event. Analytical and simulation results show that the proposed DI learning method can reveal the correlation between transmission from different MTDs that report the same event, and the order in which they transmit their data. The proposed algorithm and the presented results show that the DI can be used to implement effective predictive resource allocation for event-driven MTC.

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arXiv2018

Contract-based Incentive Mechanism for LTE over Unlicensed Channels

In this paper, a novel economic approach, based on the framework of contract theory, is proposed for providing incentives for LTE over unlicensed channels (LTE-U) in cellular-networks. In this model, a mobile network operator (MNO) designs and offers a set of contracts to the users to motivate them to accept being served over the unlicensed bands. A practical model in which the information about the quality-of-service (QoS) required by every user is not known to the MNO and other users, is considered. For this contractual model, the closed-form expression of the price charged by the MNO for every user is derived and the problem of spectrum allocation is formulated as a matching game with incomplete information. For the matching problem, a distributed algorithm is proposed to assign the users to the licensed and unlicensed spectra. Simulation results show that the proposed pricing mechanism can increase the fraction of users that achieve their QoS requirements by up to 45\% compared to classical algorithms that do not account for users requirements. Moreover, the performance of the proposed algorithm in the case of incomplete information is shown to approach the performance of the same mechanism with complete information.

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