Accessibility statement

Cognitive Radio based Gigabit Communication Links from High Altitude Platforms

The purpose of this project is to understand how wireless communications links delivering data rates in excess of 1Gbps can be delivered, taking into account the system level implications of the antenna and wireless technology, propagation, and station-keeping characteristics of the HAP.

High Altitude Platforms (HAP) have the advantage of being able to deliver capacity over a wide service area, at data rates commonly found with terrestrial wireless systems. Recent developments have shown that HAPs are likely to be used to deliver spot beam islands of coverage within a service area to fill in gaps not served by other means of communications, or for specialised isolated users.

The purpose of this project is to understand how wireless communications links delivering data rates in excess of 1Gbps can be delivered, taking into account the system level implications of the antenna and wireless technology, propagation, and station-keeping characteristics of the HAP. The project will also identify key users for the technology, for example telemedicine and video distribution. The second part of the project will then address how cognitive radio principles can be used to deliver the required amount of spectrum on an opportunistic basis in order to deliver these high capacity links. Given the scarcity of dedicated HAP spectrum this is likely to be shared with a range of other wireless communications systems, so it will be important to ensure that these new HAP systems do not cause excessive interference, and maintain fair access. The project will also aim to identify situations where it would be sensible to adopt an alternative means of delivery (e.g. terrestrial) to serve the users.

A mixture of simulation and analysis will be used. It is expected that game theory and Markov analysis will be particularly important analytical tools. This work will integrate closely with other activities within the Group.

Key objectives

  • To understand how gigabit communication links can be delivered from HAPs, and the likely maximum service area
  • To identify key applications that will benefit from these data rates
  • To understand how cognitive radio can be used to assign capacity on an opportunistic basis
  • To ascertain whether mixed HAP - terrestrial systems can provide seemless coverage

Members

  • Shufeng Li
  • David Grace

Dates

  • October 2008 to
    September 2009

Research