Researchers test smart surfaces to improve wireless communication and localization
UBCO engineers aim to improve network sensing abilities and connectivity


Date:
March 3, 2023
Source:
University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
Summary:
It's happened to anyone with a cell phone -- dropped calls or dead
air because suddenly there is no service available. Or worse,
the location pin drops on the navigation app. Researchers are
looking at ways to improve cell phone connectivity and localization
abilities by examining 'smart' surfaces that can bounce signals
from a tower to customers to improve the link. A smart surface
involves installing reflective elements on windows or panels on
buildings in dense urban environments.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
It's happened to anyone with a cell phone -- dropped calls or dead air
because suddenly there is no service available. Or worse, the location
pin drops on the navigation app.


========================================================================== Researchers at UBC Okanagan are looking at ways to improve cell phone connectivity and localization abilities by examining "smart" surfaces that
can bounce signals from a tower to customers to improve the link. A smart surface involves installing reflective elements on windows or panels on buildings in dense urban environments.

The goal, says Dr. Anas Chaaban, is to improve wireless services for
millions of Canadians. Currently, he says, there are more than 12,000
wireless antenna towers. And yet, a lack of cell service is a common
problem.

"The increasing use of mobile technologies across the world is
necessitating research that unlocks potential new approaches within
our existing infrastructure," says Dr. Chaaban, an Assistant Professor
at UBC Okanagan's School of Engineering. "Even though cellphone towers
line the rooftops of major cities, and handle the data and phone traffic
of millions of Canadians each day, there are still gaps in service."
Dr. Chaaban and his team at UBCO's Communication Theory Lab have developed transmission schemes that would incorporate reconfigurable intelligent
surfaces -- smart surfaces -- throughout urban centres to serve as
reflectors within existing wireless networks.

A reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is a panel of many individual reflective elements, each of which can modify an incoming signal and
reflect it. This modification can be controlled with an electrical signal, which enables the RIS to improve the connection or generate signals that
are useful for locating users in the network.

The researchers developed a new localization system where an RIS can
work as a satellite to improve accuracy. By making a surface smart, it
can bounce signals to cell phones which in turn can use these signals to generate an accurate estimate of location, he says. An accurate location estimate is not only useful for location services but also to improve transmission from the tower to the phone using optimized location-aware transmission schemes that also leverage the RIS.

"Users never expect to have a call drop, and they also expect
lightning-fast data speeds," he says. "But to accomplish this, the
networks require constant updating." The researchers tested their
theory using multiple modulated RISs that allow for the simultaneous localization of multiple users with low complexity for each RIS. They
also developed and tested RIS-enabled transmission schemes that outperform existing schemes.

"We simulated the proposed localization protocol and demonstrated
its effectiveness in an urban micro-cell street canyon scenario as
an example," he explains. "And the protocol works for multiple users simultaneously. Even in areas with intermittent service, data can be
shared and users can be located and enjoy a reliable connection."
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========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_British_Columbia_Okanagan_campus. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal References:
1. Connor Gaudreauand, Anas Chaaban. Localization by Modulated
Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces. IEEE Communications Letters,
2022; 26 (12): 2904 DOI: 10.1109/LCOMM.2022.3208803
2. Qurrat-Ul-Ain Nadeem, Alessio Zappone, Anas Chaaban. Achievable Rate
Analysis and Max-Min SINR Optimization in Intelligent
Reflecting Surface Assisted Cell-Free MIMO Uplink. IEEE Open
Journal of the Communications Society, 2022; 3: 1295 DOI:
10.1109/OJCOMS.2022.3195978
3. Mohanad Obeed, Anas Chaaban. Joint Beamforming Design for Multiuser
MISO
Downlink Aided by a Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface and a
Relay. IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, 2022; 21
(10): 8216 DOI: 10.1109/TWC.2022.3164903 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230303105239.htm

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