MSGID: 1:317/3 6402c977   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    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."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
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                   # Telecommunications # Technology # Transportation_Science   
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                   # Mobile_Computing # Communications #   
                   Computers_and_Internet # Computer_Programming   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
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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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