Energy-Efficient Resource Allocation and Data Transmission of Cell-Free Internet of Things

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a huge network consisting of various information-sensing devices combined with the Internet. The IoT aims to connect all things with the network to facilitate identification and management. The increasing number of things, connections, and volume of data is challenging the reliability and sustainability of the IoT. To push forward the development of the IoT, a cell-free IoT system is proposed based on a cell-free wireless communication network. Under the architecture of cell-free IoT, the cell concept for wireless communication in the IoT system has been diluted, and the reliability and robustness of the IoT system can be improved when compared with the cellular IoT system. Moreover, this article considers resource allocation and data transmission of cell-free IoT. An optimization model is designed for resource allocation to ensure quality data transmission. Furthermore, a novel heuristic algorithm is proposed for solving the optimization model. The heuristic algorithm is memetic of two machine learning methods. Extensive simulations are conducted to study the performance of the presented cell-free IoT. Energy efficiency is improved by the proposed algorithm compared with existing algorithms. The results show that cell-free IoT can achieve better reliability and sustainability.