Robust Adaptive Transmission

Greg Pottie, UCLA Electrical Engineering Department

Tel: (310) 825-8150; Fax: (310) 206-8495

Research Focus
Dealing with high channel dynamics: Doppler,
fading; modify techniques proposed in other
contexts for Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing (OFDM)
Objective: robust communication links, at
maximum possible rate for wide range of
scenarios, using systolic radios
Issues:
Jamming: training sequence usually the weak link;
apply spread spectrum methods to training signal
Complexity: must implement in radios; not merely a
study of optimal forms.

Robust and Adaptive Transmission

Prior work on adaptive OFDM has considered both
time and frequency domain estimation
Has not considered rates of channel change present in
air/ground communications, nor jamming

Peak to average power ratio (PAR) reduction

techniques considered in isolation from other
training
Will consider multiple uses of coded training sequences

Prior work on Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO)

largely concerned with slowly changing links
Will investigate how to have same adaptive framework
for single or many antennas, and fast changing channel

Student Researcher Progress

Equalization (S. Kim)
Channel characterization, study of time and frequency
domain adaptive equalization techniques

Spread spectrum acquisition and synchronism

issues (R. Thrasher)
Survey of fast synchronism techniques

Control and sensor traffic modeling (A. Pandya)

Gathering data from formation flight experiments

Peak power reduction techniques (H. Chen)

Reduced complexity method

Channel Conditions

Air to Air : Fast fading

(almost frequency non-selective, very time selective)

Channel Conditions

Ground to Ground : Slow fading

(highly frequency selective, not very time selective)

Channel Conditions

Air to Ground : Worst case

(frequency and time selective)

Channel Estimation
Estimation in Time vs. Frequency
Choice depends on the channel conditions
Fast fading with short delay spread (air to air, air
to ground)
Time domain estimation

Slow fading with long delay spread (ground to

ground)
Frequency domain estimation
Can share training sequence among many transceiver
functions

Channel Estimation
Snap-shot estimation and interpolation

Estimated
channel

Interpolated
channel

Training symbols
for channel
estimation

Conventional RLS equalization

4
RLS ( fs/fd = 1000 )
MMSE ( fs/fd = 1000 )
RLS ( fs/fd = 50 )
MMSE ( fs/fd = 50 )

2
0

MSE (dB)

-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
-12

10

20

30

40

50
# blocks

60

70

80

90

100

BER performance ( Air to Ground )

0

10

-2

Bit Error Rate

10

-4

10

-6

10

-8

10

MMSE
interp with known channel
interp with freq est
interp with ML est

-10

10

10

15
SNR (dB)

20

25

30

Two Algorithmic Levels

Channel identification: fading rate, link loss,
interference levels, packet durationdetermines
OFDM/spread spectrum mix and basic tracking
approach
Channel tracking:
Synchronization: frequency and time domain methods
Equalization: frequency and time domain methods
PAR reduction: in-band techniques making use of
coded training sequence
MIMO: coding and adaptive array techniques

Deliverables
Channel, traffic, and physical link models for
simulator and MAC development
Several generations of algorithms for equalization,
synchronization, PAR reduction, and use of
multiple antennas, taking into account systolic
radio architecture and MAC
Adaptive algorithms running on the systolic radio