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A Novel Method for Joint Distribution of the Pilot Symbol Power Between the Relay and the Base Station in Relay Networks

Project ID: 1753-AP
Available for licensing

Background

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation is a powerful tool against today's rich scattering urban environments. Relay-based network are being widely studied for extending the coverage and/or throughput of the next generation wireless communications standards. Therefore, relay-based networks incorporating OFDM modulation are the building blocks of the future wireless links. One of the well-studied relay networks is the amplify-and-forward (AF) based networks, where the relay stations amplifies the received signal from the base station and forwards it to the mobile subscriber.

Invention Description

It is desirable to improve the performance of such networks through simple algorithms easily implemented in the corresponding nodes. The realistic assumption that the qualities of the base-to-mobile and relay-to-mobile links are different is the foundation of this invention. We exploit this difference in optimizing the transmitted symbol powers such that a certain quality (such as error rate) of the relay networks improves. All the computations can be done offline, and our invention does not burden any significant increase in the complexity of the system.

Benefits

Improves the communications quality of the relay-based networks
Low complexity implementation

Features

Adaptive to the sensed wireless environment
Backward compatible to the current systems
Scalable
Candidate for future relay-based cellular networks

Market Potential/Applications

Amplify-and-forward based relay networks utilizing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing as the modulation technique.

UT Researcher

Robert W. Heath, Jr., Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Ali Y. Panah, Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

OTC Contact Information

Jitendra Jain, Licensing Specialist
jjain@otc.utexas.edu
512-471-9055