Giovanni Rigazzi

Multi-hop D2D networking and resource management scheme for M2M communications over LTE-A systems

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications are gaining momentum due to the rapid deployment of smart devices with self-organizing capabilities, able to interact each other without the human operator support. Ultimately, M2M paradigm allows Machine-Type Communication Devices (MTCD) to exchange data in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) mode, avoiding the need of a core network handling end-to-end communication establishment between two machines. To this end, the recent Device-to-Device (D2D) feature, introduced by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 12, fosters new types of service based on the device proximity concept and helps to offload cellular networks by enabling direct-mode communications among cellular users. Furthermore, D2D is also considered a suitable technology to fully support M2M communications thanks to the reduced power consumption and the hop gain. In this paper we first review crucial aspects of M2M communications and examine major issues involving terminals operating in D2D mode in LTE-A networks. Then, a multi-hop D2D communication scheme is proposed in order to enhance end-to-end connectivity among devices in a proximity area within an LTE-A cell. We also describe a promising resource allocation approach aware of the multi-hop D2D network configuration, able to fulfil bandwidth requests of all the cooperating devices, according to the related role in the network set-up.

A mobility driven joint clustering and relay selection for IEEE 802.11p/WAVE vehicular networks

This paper deals with a clustering approach for VANETs operating in highway scenarios, where a certain degree of correlation among vehicles emerges such that a group mobility pattern is expected. The proposed protocol is inherently mobility driven as the reference metric to select a Cluster Head (CH) takes into account the node connectivity within an estimated coherence time interval. Our clustering protocol handles both cluster set up and maintaining and communications among different clusters. In particular, the inter cluster communications are accomplished by means of relay node selection. The protocol design and validation have been focused on a practical scenario adopting IEEE 802.11p communication standard, highlighting good performance in terms of connection probability, overhead and complexity.

A distributed clustering scheme with self nomination: proposal and application to critical monitoring

AbstractClustering is a well known methodology to optimize the use of the resources, to lower the congestion and to improve the reliability in self-organized networks as the wireless sensor networks. This paper deals with the proposal of a novel clustering approach based on a low complexity distributed cluster head election based on a two-stage process. In particular, a suitable objective function is introduced in order to take into account the number of 1-hop neighbours (i.e., node degree) and the residual node energy. It is shown in the paper that the proposed protocol achieves remarkable performance improvements with respect to different alternatives, especially in the case of unpredictable scenarios. Moreover, the proposed protocol exhibits self-organize capabilities that are of special interest for critical monitoring applications, in particular when the effect of nodes mobility is significant.

Aggregation and trunking of M2M traffic via D2D connections

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications is one of the key enablers of the Internet of Things (IoT). Billions of devices are expected to be deployed in the near future for novel M2M applications demanding ubiquitous access and global connectivity. In order to cope with the massive number of machines, there is a need for new techniques to coordinate the access and allocate the resources. Although the majority of the proposed solutions are focused on the adaptation of the traditional cellular networks to the M2M traffic patterns, novel approaches based on the direct communication among nearby devices may represent an effective way to avoid access congestion and cell overload. In this paper, we propose a new strategy inspired by the classical Trunked Radio Systems (TRS), exploiting the Device-to-Device (D2D) connectivity between cellular users and Machine-Type Devices (MTDs). The aggregation of the locally generated packets is performed by a user device, which aggregates the machine-type data, supplements it with its own data and transmits all of them to the Base Station. We observe a fundamental trade-off between latency and the transmit power needed to deliver the aggregate traffic, in a sense that lower latency requires increase in the transmit power.

Multi-Radio 5G Architecture for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: Application and Design Insights

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) will play a crucial role in next-generation Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITSs). Not only is the information exchange fundamental to improve road safety and efficiency, but it also paves the way to a wide spectrum of advanced ITS applications enhancing efficiency, mobility and accessibility. Highly dynamic network topologies and unpredictable wireless channel conditions entail numerous design challenges and open questions. In this paper, we address the beneficial interactions between CAVs and an ITS and propose a novel architecture design paradigm. Our solution can accommodate multi-layer applications over multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) and provide a smart configuration interface for enhancing the performance of each RAT.

Communications Protocol Design for 5G Vehicular Networks

This chapter provides an overview on existing standards in vehicular networking and highlights new emerging trends towards an integrated infrastructure based on the interworking of heterogeneous technologies. Next-Generation Mobile Vehicular Networks are first characterized by providing an insight on relevant stable standards in wireless communications technologies, with a special focus on Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks. Furthermore, the chapter discusses a general framework supporting opportunistic networking scheme and outlines novel application and use cases based on social- and context-awareness paradigms.

Reliable multicast in LTE-A: An energy efficient cross-layer application of network coding

This paper presents a novel energy-aware communication scheme based on random network coding that is suitable for multicast and broadcast data delivery over Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced networks. The proposed energy-aware transmission scheme minimises the average energy consumption of the macro base station that is required to deliver a message to all users in a multicast group in an LTE-A network. The energy saving gains and improved performance of the proposed scheme are compared to classical error control strategies. The reported analytical results clearly show a performance improvement of almost two-fold compared to the considered alternative.

2015 IEEE International Conference on Communications, ICC 2015

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications is one of the key enablers of the Internet of Things (IoT). Billions of devices are expected to be deployed in the near future for novel M2M applications demanding ubiquitous access and global connectivity. In order to cope with the massive number of machines, there is a need for new techniques to coordinate the access and allocate the resources. Although the majority of the proposed solutions are focused on the adaptation of the traditional cellular networks to the M2M traffic patterns, novel approaches based on the direct communication among nearby devices may represent an effective way to avoid access congestion and cell overload. In this paper, we propose a new strategy inspired by the classical Trunked Radio Systems (TRS), exploiting the Device-to-Device (D2D) connectivity between cellular users and Machine-Type Devices (MTDs). The aggregation of the locally generated packets is performed by a user device, which aggregates the machine-type data, supplements it with its own data and transmits all of them to the Base Station. We observe a fundamental trade-off between latency and the transmit power needed to deliver the aggregate traffic, in a sense that lower latency requires increase in the transmit power.

IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), 2015

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications is one of the key enablers of the Internet of Things (IoT). Billions of devices are expected to be deployed in the near future for novel M2M applications demanding ubiquitous access and global connectivity. In order to cope with the massive number of machines, there is a need for new techniques to coordinate the access and allocate the resources. Although the majority of the proposed solutions are focused on the adaptation of the traditional cellular networks to the M2M traffic patterns, novel approaches based on the direct communication among nearby devices may represent an effective way to avoid access congestion and cell overload. In this paper, we propose a new strategy inspired by the classical Trunked Radio Systems (TRS), exploiting the Device-to-Device (D2D) connectivity between cellular users and Machine-Type Devices (MTDs). The aggregation of the locally generated packets is performed by a user device, which aggregates the machine-type data, supplements it with its own data and transmits all of them to the Base Station. We observe a fundamental trade-off between latency and the transmit power needed to deliver the aggregate traffic, in a sense that lower latency requires increase in the transmit power.

Application driven SON

Recently, the self organization approach has been incorporated into the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards in order to implement mechanisms such as auto configuration, auto healing, and self optimization of the deployed network architecture. However, the Self Organization Networks (SONs) functionalities in Long Term Evolution (LTE) do not include Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) scenarios that involve trusted non-3GPP access points (e.g., trusted Wi-Fi networks). Moreover, fulfill Quality of Experience (QoE) for users on a perapplication base, it is not the goal of SON. In this paper, we will focus on the requirements for the next-generation SON, which should aim at assisting the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) in order to maintain the QoE by using per-flow optimization, taking into account the latest proposals about data offloading and the simultaneous use of multiple interfaces.