IEEE C80216m-08_1272r1
Project
IEEE 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access Working Group <http://ieee802.org/16>
Title
Cooperative MIMO with Randomized Distributed Spatial Multiplexing (RDSM)
Date
Submitted
2008-10-31
Source(s)
Chun Nie, Pei Liu, Shu Luo, Thanasis
Korakis, Shivendra Panwar
Polytechnic Institute of New York
University (formerly Polytechnic
University), Brooklyn, NY 11201
Re:
Response to IEEE 802.16m-08/024 Call for Contributions on Project 802.16m System
Description Document (SDD) on the topic of Relay
Abstract
This contribution proposes cooperative MIMO with randomized distributed spatial multiplexing
(RDSM) for the 802.16m system description document (SDD).
Purpose
To incorporate cooperative MIMO with RDSM proposed herein into the IEEE 802.16m system
description document (SDD).
Notice
Release
Patent
Policy
Voice: 718-260-3740
Fax: 718-260-3074
cnie01@students.poly.edu; pliu@poly.edu;
shuo01@students.poly.edu; korakis@poly.edu;
panwar@catt.poly.edu
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<http://standards.ieee.org/board/pat>.
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IEEE C80216m-08_1272r1
Cooperative MIMO with Randomized Distributed Spatial
Multiplexing
Chun Nie, Pei Liu, Shu Luo, Thanasis Korakis, Shivendra Panwar
Polytechnic Institute of New York University (formerly Polytechnic University), Brooklyn, NY
11201
1. Introduction
In the IEEE 802.16m system description document [1], multi-hop relay topology is being considered as a
technique to extend cell coverage and to enhance system throughput. In a multi-hop relay system, a subscriber
station (SS) and a base station (BS) are connected through intermediate relay stations. A transmission between a
source station and a destination station can be partitioned into two hops: 1) hop-1 is between source and relay
stations 2) hop-2 is between relay stations and destination.
The intermediate relay stations can be called helpers and form a cooperative MIMO system in which each
helper emulates an antenna of an antenna array. These intermediate helpers collaboratively deliver the source
signal to the destination and achieve spatial diversity gain or spatial multiplexing gain. In prior IEEE 802.16m
contributions (e.g., [2]), distributed space-time coding (DSTC) is proposed to deliver diversity gain. In order to
address the constraints of DSTC, we proposed R-DSTC [3] to further improve the system performance in terms
of simplicity, flexibility and robustness, without compromising the spatial diversity gain.
Besides, the cooperative MIMO can boost the system capacity in the second hop by enabling spatial
multiplexing (SM). Bell Labs Layered Space-Time (BLAST) [4] is a well-known technique that delivers spatial
multiplexing gain and supports high date rates. In a cooperative MIMO system, BLAST is allowed to be
implemented in a distributed fashion [5]. In a distributed BLAST system, each helper can mimic one antenna of
the cooperative MIMO. Thereby, distributed BLAST allows the helpers to concurrently transmit different
streams to the destination and thus leads to a spatial multiplexing gain in the second hop. Despite this advantage,
distributed BLAST still suffers from some inherent drawbacks as follows.
1) Each helper participating in distributed BLAST needs to be numbered, leading to a considerable signaling
cost.
2) Some helpers may not be able to decode from the first hop transmission due to random errors, and thus
cannot participate in the cooperation. System performance could deteriorate accordingly.
3) Global channel state information is needed to select the helpers. Mobility, channel fading and the large
number of nodes in a typical wireless network make it very costly, if not impossible, to distribute such
information with minimal overhead.
4) The set of helpers must be a deterministic set. Even though some intermediate nodes other than the chosen
helpers may decode the source information in the first hop correctly, they are not allowed to transmit. This
sacrifices the diversity and coding gains.
Therefore, we proposed a novel technique, called randomized distributed spatial multiplexing (RDSM) in [6].
RDSM alleviates these problems by having each helper transmit a random linear combination of antenna
waveforms. This allows the emulation of a multiple antenna system without the need for a deterministic indexed
set of helpers. In this document, we introduce the fundamental concept and advantages of RDSM, and propose
to incorporate RDSM into the next-generation WiMAX system.
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IEEE C80216m-08_1272r1
2. Overview of RDSM
RDSM is proposed and analyzed in [6] to boost the data rates in a multi-hop cooperative network. Similar to a
distributed BLAST technique, RDSM emulates a MIMO system by using a number of helpers in a cooperative
manner.
However, RDSM outperforms distributed BLAST due to its robustness, flexibility, and low overhead
consumption. Here we assume a two-hop topology, since a two-hop connection is sufficient in most network
scenarios. Suppose a typical multi-hop system consists of a source station (S), a destination station (D) and
multiple helpers. In a WiMAX network, S→D refers to the uplink scenario, where S and D are the subscriber
station and base station, respectively. The cooperative scenario is depicted in Fig. 1. By using RDSM, the
transmission of a packet takes two time slots. In the first time slot, the source station S broadcasts the packet to
all its neighbors, while the stations that receive that packet successfully are recruited as helpers and
collaboratively forward the packet to the destination (BS) in the second time slot. The first hop in Fig. 1 is
denoted by broadcast link and the second hop in Fig. 1 is denoted by RDSM link.
Hop-2:
RDSM Link
Hop-1:
Broadcast Link Helper 1
Helper 2
Source
Helper3
Destination
(BS)
Helper 4
Fig 1. Cooperative Scenario
In a typical WiMAX system, the base station is equipped with L antennas, while all other stations (source
station and helpers) are all equipped with one antenna. The signals from all helpers propagate to the base station
concurrently. The RDSM transceiver for each helper is illustrated in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Transceiver architecture for helper
Assume the number of helpers that participate in the cooperative MIMO is M. Each helper first decodes the
packet from the source using a regular Single-Input Single-Output (SISO) circuit, and then verifies the CRC for
correctness of the received packet. If the packet is received correctly, it splits the packet into K streams
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IEEE C80216m-08_1272r1
according to a deterministic manner, such as a serial-to-parallel converter. As long as
, the
system achieves a spatial multiplexing gain of K in the second hop. In our distributed cooperative system, K is
known as a priori at source. In each of the data packet, the parameter K is piggybacked such that all helpers
would know its value. Each stream is then encoded via a channel encoder and passed through a MIMO encoder
Q, which is a standard MIMO signal processing procedure. Q does not necessarily depend on the channel
information. It encodes the input to the MIMO system and defines the covariance matrix of the system. The
output from the encoder is K parallel streams, each corresponding to an antenna in a K-antenna BLAST system.
In other words, the cooperative MIMO system has K virtual antennas. Instead of having each helper select a
unique data stream from the output, the ith helper independently generates a random vector of length K and
transmit a linear combination of the data streams weighted by . For each packet transmitted, a new is
generated by the ith helper. Each element of
is denoted by , where i is the index of the helpers and j is the
index of the virtual antennas. Each
is an independently generated random variable, e.g., a complex Gaussian
variable generator with zero mean and variance of
. Up-to-date channel information is not required at
either the transmitter or the helpers. RDSM does not need to pre-assign an index number to each of the helpers
and each helper independently generates the random coefficients. Therefore, signaling overheads are greatly
reduced and it is expected to be much more robust in a mobile environment.
3. RDSM Advantages
The RDSM technique provides a flexible and powerful physical layer design that fits well with the requirements
of a distributed MAC layer. The benefits of RDSM from the perspective of higher layers are as follows:
1) RDSM does not need to number each participating helper and thus leads to a considerably reduced signaling
cost.
2) Detailed knowledge of the channel conditions between the helpers and the destination or helper locations is
not necessary at the source transmitter. The transmitter only needs to know the distribution of channel
capacity to estimate the outage performance.
3) All stations that correctly decode the first hop transmission can be incorporated into a cooperative second
hop. More helpers in the second hop lead to more robust transmissions.
4) The capacity and outage performance of RDSM can be very close to a BLAST system, assuming the
physical environment is richly scattered.
5) In next-generation WiMAX system, SSs as well as RSs can be recruited as helpers to assist relay stations in
a cooperative fashion, without a substantial increment of hardware complexity at each SS and RS or a major
change of existing WiMAX infrastructure. The functionality of RDSM can be implemented by embedded
software.
4. Performance Evaluation
We evaluate the RDSM performance in this section. Suppose the BS has 4 antennas (
), while the end SS
or each helper only has one antenna. The performance of RDSM in the second hop is measured in terms of biterror-rate (BER) Vs signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as in Fig. 3 (BPSK, QPSK). RDSM is compared to a generic
centralized BLAST (V-BLAST) system, showing that they are very close in BER metric.
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10
BPSK
-2
Randomized Distributed Spatial Multiplexing
Centralized BLAST
-3
BER
10
10
10
-4
-5
30
25
20
15
10
SNR (db)
QPSK
-1
10
Randomized Spatial Multiplexing
Centralized BLAST
-2
BER
10
-3
10
-4
10
10
15
20
25
SNR (db)
30
35
40
Fig. 3 BER Vs SNR
The aggregated throughput of the network is depicted in Fig. 4. We compare the system aggregated throughput
of RDSM with the conventional single-hop and two-hop single-helper methods. It is clearly shown that RDSM
enhances the end-to-end system aggregated throughput by up to 340% (compared to single-hop) and 250%
(compared to two-hop single-helper), respectively. The throughput is greatly improved as the number of SSs in
the cell increases, since more SSs in the system means that each end SS is able to find more helpers on average.
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IEEE C80216m-08_1272r1
When the number of SSs is large (e.g., 100 SSs), the aggregated cell throughput can reach around 75%
maximum capacity of a WiMAX system (According to [8], the peak data rate of a WiMAX cell with 20MHz
bandwidth is 73Mbps).
Network aggregrated throughput
55
50
Throughput (bit/s)
45
Single-hop
Two hop, 1 Helper
RDSM
40
35
30
25
20
15
0
20
40
60
80
100
Number of stations
Fig. 4 Network Aggregate Throughput
5. Proposed Text Changes
In order to support our proposed RDSM, we add the following paragraphs in IEEE 802.16m System Description
Document (SDD). The text is inserted in section 11 (physical layer) and we create a new subsection 11.14 (UL
Cooperative MIMO Transmission Scheme), as shown in the following.
11.14 UL Cooperative MIMO Transmission Scheme
11.14.1 Structure of UL Cooperative MIMO
The UL cooperative MIMO can be supported in the IEEE 802.16 network. In the SU-MIMO mode, an end SS is
able to transmit the signals to the base station via two hops. A number of relay stations are used as helpers to
forward traffic from the end SS to the BS. Specifically, an end SS sends packets to these RSs in the first hop;
while the relay stations that successfully receive the first-hop packets can forward these packets to the BS in the
second hop in a cooperative manner. The end-to-end transmission takes a total of two resource units (RUs). The
first RU is used for the first hop and the second RU is used for the second hop.
In addition to the dedicated RSs, regular SSs that are located between the end SS and the BS are also allowed to
act as helpers as an option. These intermediate SSs may also intercept the signals from the end SS and
participate in the second-hop cooperative transmissions together with the RSs. When SSs are recruited as
helpers, such issues as security and energy consumption can be address by the proposed methods in [7-9].
Accordingly, all helpers form a cooperative MIMO structure. Spatial diversity and spatial multiplexing gains
can be achieved.
11.14.2 Cooperative Spatial Multiplexing
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IEEE C80216m-08_1272r1
Between the helpers and the BS, Bell Labs Layered Space-Time (BLAST) can be deployed at these helpers in a
distributed fashion, called distributed BLAST, to support spatial multiplexing. Although the distributed BLAST
enables spatial multiplexing gain, it still has several drawbacks. For example, distributed BLAST is not robust
because the spatial multiplexing gain degrades considerably whenever a selected helper fails to forward the
packets.
Thereby, Randomized Distributed Spatial Multiplexing (RDSM) can be incorporated in the second-hop
transmissions to address the potential problems of distributed BLAST. The maximum number of concurrent
streams allowed in the second hop is
, where
and
denote the number of
helpers and the number of receive antennas at the BS, respectively. The highest rate supported by RDSM is
based on the antenna configuration of each station. RDSM does not limit the number of helpers. To transmit a
packet, each RDSM helper is informed of the value of K via piggybacking, and independently generates and
transmits a random linear combination of K antenna waveforms. RDSM can achieve a spatial multiplexing gain
comparable to distributed BLAST, while provide greatly enhanced bandwidth efficiency, robustness and
flexibility. There is no limitation to using either open-loop or close-loop mode for RDSM to function. In closelopp mode, the codebook-based precoding technique can be built on the RDSM, assuming the transmitter has
knowledge of channel state information via CQICH, etc.
Reference
[1]. “The Draft IEEE 802.16m System Description Document”, IEEE 802.16m-10/003r3
[2]. “Cooperative Relaying with Spatial Diversity and Multiplexing”, IEEE C802.16m-07/164
[3]. B.S. Mergen and A. Scaglione, “Randomized space-time coding for distributed cooperative
communication,” IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, pp. 5003–5017, October 2007
[4]. G. J. Foschini, “Layered space-time architecture for wireless communication in a fading environment when
using multi-element antennas,” AT&&T Bell Lab. Technical Journal, pp. 41–59, October 1996.
[5]. H.R. Bahrami and Le-Ngoc Tho, “Relay Selection and Distributed BLAST in Multi-Antenna Cooperative
Networks”, Globecom 2007,
[6]. P. Liu and S. Panwar, “Randomized spatial multiplexing for distributed cooperative communications”, in
preparation
[7]. S. Narayanan and S. Panwar, “To Forward or not to Forward – that is the Question”, Wireless Personal
Communications, vol. 43, page: 65–87, 2007
[8]. “IEEE standard for local and metropolitan area networks- Part 16: Air interface for fixed broadband
Wireless access systems, Amendment 2 and Corrigendum 1,” IEEE 802.16e, Feb. 2006.
[9]. Salik Makda, Ankur Choudhary, Naveen Raman, Thanasis Korakis, Zhifeng Tao and Shivendra Panwar,
“Security Implications of Cooperative Communications in Wireless Networks”, IEEE Sarnoff Symposium,
2008
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