High-speed Railway Communication System Research Articles

Research on Joint Beamforming of High-Speed Railway Millimeter-wave MIMO Communication with Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface

The advantage of a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is that it optimizes the wireless signal transmission environment. It can ameliorate the high loss of high-speed railway (HSR) millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications and increase signal strength by coherently superimposing signals at the receiving end through an appropriate beamforming design. In this paper, an mmWave multiple-input multiple-output communication system for HSR is discussed. The channel modeling takes into account the Doppler effect and the properties of mmWave channels. Aiming at the problem of high coupling of optimization variables, the singular value decomposition method is utilized to decouple them and to achieve the optimal active beamforming design. The original optimization problem is then rewritten into a more manageable form through a sequence of transformations. In order to overcome the restrictions imposed by non-convex constraints, the optimal RIS phase shift is directly calculated using the Riemann gradient descent (RGD) method. In this paper, spectral efficiency (SE) is taken as the optimization objective. Considering the fast time-varying environment of HSR, a step size selection scheme with easier convergence is adopted in the RGD method to complete the joint beamforming design. The numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed solution outperforms the semi-definite relaxation scheme and the RIS-free auxiliary scheme in terms of SE performance and computational complexity.

RIS-Aided Hybrid Precoder Design With Anti-Blocking Scheme in High-Speed Railway

Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-aided high-speed railway (HSR) communication system is an efficient and promising way to slove the signal blocking by tuning passive signal reflection or refraction. However, the complexity HSR environment lead unstable communication links and low quality of service. Therefore, this paper studies a RIS-aided hybrid precoding for anti-blocking HSR network to enhance the sum rate of mobile relays when signal blocking. To describe the blocking scenes clearly, the blocking model is established and the closed form of the blocking probability is derived. Based on the blocking model, the non-convex blocking optimal problem is decoupled by the block coordinate descent method with the jointly optimization problem about hybrid precoder and reflect angle matrix of RIS. Then, the successive convex approximation and prox-linear method are utilized to solve the constant modulus constraint of RIS and hybrid precoding constraints. Simulation results show that the proposed RIS-aided anti-blocking hybrid precoding scheme can achieve higher sum rate than the traditional methods in blockage scenarios. Moreover, the proposed algorithm brings better performance of blocking probability and outage probability in high-speed scenarios.

Coverage Analysis for Cell-Free Massive MIMO High-Speed Railway Communication Systems

In traditional cellular framework, the frequent handoff is one of the main factors that affect the performance of high-speed railway (HSR) communication systems. The cell-free massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) is proposed as a promising technique for the antenna point (AP) deployment of HSR communication systems. This paper investigates the coverage performance of the cell-free massive MIMO HSR communication systems with multiple APs and multiple users. Initially, the system and channel models are proposed. Based on the established models, the uplink training, uplink data transmission and downlink data transmission are analyzed, respectively. By using the deterministic equivalent analysis, we derive a deterministic signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio expression for downlink transmission. Then, a tight upper bound on the coverage probability is derived. In the high power regime, the asymptotic coverage performance is also analyzed. Numerical results verify the correctness of the derived theoretical expressions. Moreover, the effects of the downlink transmit power, AP’s antenna number, AP’s density, user number, and channel fading parameter on coverage performance are also discussed.

Neural Network-Based Multi-DOA Tracking for High Speed Railway Communication Systems

Along with the rapid development of high-speed railway (HSR), it is of vital importance to explore new technologies to meet the stringent requirements on wireless transmission latency and reliability in such high mobility scenarios. To address this, fast beamforming schemes with precise direction-of-arrival (DOA) can achieve effective channel gain and improve interference mitigation. In this paper, we propose a novel radial-basis function neural network (RBFNN)-based method for the multi-DOA tracking, in which the RBFNN is trained by the location-based prior information. Consequently, the DOA tracking problem is transformed into an RBFNN with trained input/output pairs. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme in terms of complexity and accuracy is verified by simulation results. Finally, the impact of the shapes of the array on estimation accuracy is also discussed.

Coverage Analysis and Chance-Constrained Optimization for HSR Communications With Carrier Aggregation

This paper investigates coverage analysis and performance optimization for a high-speed railway (HSR) communication system with carrier aggregation (CA). Initially, the system model is established. By using CA technology, the statistical characteristic of the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is obtained. Then, for the systems with or without CA, unified theoretical expressions for the edge coverage probability (ECP) and the percentage of cell coverage area (CCA) are obtained, respectively. After that, a chance-constrained coverage optimization is proposed to improve the coverage performance, which is effectively solved by using a heuristic algorithm. Numerical results show that the derived expressions of the ECP and the percentage of CCA are accurate and can be directly used to evaluate the coverage performance without time-intensive simulations. Moreover, the impacts of CA, transmit power, cell radius, received SNR threshold, HSR scenario on coverage performance have been discussed. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the proposed coverage optimization scheme is also verified.

Scheduling of UAV-Assisted Millimeter Wave Communications for High-Speed Railway

To exploit richer spectrum resources for even better service quality, millimeter wave (mmWave) communication has been considered for high-speed railway (HSR) communication systems. In this paper, we focus on scheduling as many flows as possible while satisfying their QoS requirements. Due to interference, eavesdropping, or other problems, some flows may not be directly transmitted from the track-side BS. In this paper, we propose an UAV-assisted scheduling scheme which utilizes a UAV to serve as relay for such flows. The proposed scheme also utilize two mmWave bands, one for the BS links and the other for the UAV links. The proposed algorithm aims to maximize the number of flows with their QoS requirements satisfied. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed scheme achieves a superior performance on the number of completed flows and the system throughput over two baseline schemes.

Double IRSs Aided Massive MIMO Channel Estimation and Spectrum Efficiency Maximization for High-Speed Railway Communications

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)-enhanced wireless communication is one of the critical technologies of the sixth generation mobile communication, which has recently emerged as an innovative solution to the realization of intelligent transportation. It can meet the increasing demand for high-speed railway (HSR) communications services. In this paper, we consider a train-ground TDD wireless mobile communication paradigm to deploy two IRSs on the roadside and the train roof to assist the wireless transmission for the HSR communication system. To achieve the more significant performance gain, in the uplink transmission phase, we propose the practical channel estimation framework of the MIMO system aided by double IRSs to acquire reliable channel state information (CSI) of each channel. To facilitate the processing of the three-dimension tensor, we leverage the trilinearity of the parallel factor decomposition to decompose the received signal into a two-dimensional matrix. The Doppler frequency offset compensating scheme and channel tracking scheme based on Kalman-Filter are proposed to further decrease the pilot overheads. Then, in the downlink phase, a block coordinate descent (BCD) algorithm is proposed to handle the data rate maximization problem of double IRSs communication system with the estimated CSI. We reformulate the original problem and decouple the double IRSs phase optimization problem into two single IRS phase optimization non-convex problems under the unit-modulus constraint. The Majorization-Minimization (MM) algorithm is proposed to approximate the optimal solution of the two optimization subproblems. Simulation results corroborate the effectiveness of the proposed channel estimation and phase shifts optimization scheme.

Latency-aware secure transmission in MEC-assisted HSR communication systems

Mobile edge computing can provide short-range cloud computing capability for the mobile users, which is considered to be a promising technology in 5G communication. The mobile users offload some computing tasks to the edge server through the wireless backhaul link, which can reduce the energy consumption and the time latency. Meanwhile, due to the open characteristics of the wireless channel, the offloading tasks through the backhaul link may face the risk of eavesdropping. Therefore, the secure transmission based on physical layer security for the offloading tasks to the edge server is considered. The optimization problem of minimizing the energy consumption for the vehicular stations (VSs) in mobile edge computing-assisted high-speed railway communication system is studied in this paper. The energy consumption of the mobile users is generated by executing the local computing task and by transmitting the partial offloading task to the edge server. In this paper, a novel joint iterative optimization algorithm is proposed. By jointly optimizing the task scheduling, the task offloading and the transmission power, the energy consumption of all VSs is minimized under the constraint of the time latency. Numerical simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Joint optimization of BS-VS association and power control in secure HSR communication systems

In this paper, the secure transmission for high-speed railway (HSR) communication system is studied. The considered HSR wireless communication system consists of a macro base station, B roadside base stations, and K vehicle stations (VSs) on the top of the train, and the eavesdropping user is a mobile unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We consider maximizing the sum of the minimum security rate of each time slot as the objective function, and the constraint conditions contain the quality of service (QoS), switch requirements and the total power constraint. The original optimization problem is mixed-integer and non-convex, it is intractable to solve directly. The block coordinate descent (BCD) method is applied, and the original problem can be decoupled into two sub-problems. The one is the joint BS-VS association problem, and the other is the power control problem. The first sub-problem of optimizing BS-VS association can be solved by the successive convex approximation (SCA) algorithm, and the second one of optimizing transmit power can be solved by the lagrangian dual method. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms have good convergence.

Multi-feature fusion for high-speed railway propagation scene recognition based on LSTM networks

In order to fulfill the requirement of service quality of the 5G system, we consider multi-feature fusion methods in this paper to recognize the propagation scene of high-speed railway precisely. After that, the performance of system is improved by using some adaptive technologies. Firstly, we make an explanation on propagation scenes and channel feature parameters, and the dataset is split into two sets: training set and testing set. Then we propose a multilayer long short term memory(LSTM) architecture with a novel weighted score fusion scheme to learn classification from different propagation scenes and compare the results with usage of three regular fusion schemes. The result shows that the recognition accuracy of proposed model on testing dataset reaches 92.2%, the area under curve(AUC) of this model is better than the other three fusion schemes. Therefore, the proposed method provides an accurate recognition application for high-speed railway communication systems.

Research on Handover Algorithm Based on Dynamic Beamforming in HSR Cutting Scene

High-speed train passes through the cutting terrain, signal propagation is significantly affected by the steep sides, resulting in a high probability of handover interruption. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a location-assisted dynamic beamforming handoff algorithm. This solution uses the vehicle-mounted GPS and the arrival angle of the incoming wave to determine the location of the Mobile Relay Node (MRN) and ensure the stability of signal transmission during the operation of the train in the overlapping area. According to the path loss of the High-speed Railway (HSR) cutting scene, calculate the Handover Interruption Probability (HIP), the Handover Trigger Probability (HTP) and the Handover Success Probability (HSP). The simulation results have showed that the proposed algorithm has lower HIP and higher HSP, compared with the traditional handover solution. It ensures the stability of handover in complex scenes, and has better performance in improving the handover efficiency of HSR communication systems.

Secrecy Performance Analysis of the NOMA System on High-Speed Railway

High-speed railway (HSR) wireless communications are required to ensure strict security. In this work, we study the secrecy performance of a nonorthogonal multiple access- (NOMA-) aided HSR wireless communication system in the case of an eavesdropping user. Specifically, applying NOMA technology to the HSR communication system can effectively improve the data rates. Therefore, we study the secrecy performance of the downlink NOMA system under the HSR wireless communication. In particular, the exact analytical results for the secrecy outage probability (SOP) based on no small-scale channel state information (CSI) are derived. We also provide all of the parameterizations for the proposed channel model. Finally, the correctness of theoretical derivation is verified via simulations. Results show the positive effect of utilizing the NOMA for enhancing wireless systems secrecy performance.

A Dynamic 3-D Wideband GBSM for Cooperative Massive MIMO Channels in Intelligent High-Speed Railway Communication Systems

Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) and massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) are two of promising technologies in future intelligent high-speed railway (HSR) communication systems, whose performance is fundamentally determined by the characteristics of cooperative mMIMO channels. This article proposes a dynamic three-dimensional (3-D) wideband geometry-based stochastic model (GBSM) for HSR cooperative mMIMO channels. The proposed GBSM employs a sphere model and two elliptic-cylinder models to describe common and uncommon clusters for different links, and integrates the dynamic cluster evolution in both time and array domains. Statistical properties of the cooperative mMIMO model are investigated, such as multi-link spatial cross-correlation function and sum rate capacity. A corresponding dynamic 3-D wideband simulation model for the HSR cooperative mMIMO channel is also proposed. Finally, numerical results of the statistical properties are analyzed, and the proposed model is validated by realistic HSR channel measurement data, in terms of dual-link spatial cross-correlation and channel capacity. This model is more practical and will be helpful for facilitating the design and performance evaluation of future intelligent HSR communication systems.

Data-Aided Doppler Compensation for High-Speed Railway Communications Over mmWave Bands

Millimeter wave communications show great potentials in many applications, one of which is the high-speed railway(HSR) communication system. However, a major challenge is the Doppler effect caused by the relative-movement between the train and the base station (BS), which leads to fast channel variation. To compensate for the Doppler shift, an accurate channel model is indispensable, and the far-field channel model is generally employed, which assumes that the dimensions of the antenna arrays are negligible compared to the distance between transmitter and receiver. This model is widely used in Cellular systems, but the underlining assumption is not always true for railway communication systems. In this paper, the modeling of the Doppler effect for millimeter wave in HSR communications is conducted, and data-aided Doppler estimation and compensation algorithms are designed based on the new model. We show that the conventional far-field channel model is based on the first-order Taylor expansion of the actually channel, and the second-order component cannot be ignored for HSR communications. Extensive simulations are conducted to verify the validity of the new model and the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Coverage Analysis and Optimization for High-Speed Railway Communication Systems With Narrow-Strip-Shaped Cells

As is known, the cell coverage analysis of the high-speed railway (HSR) communication system is quite different from that of the public land cellular communication system. This paper investigates the cell coverage for the HSR communication system with narrow-strip-shaped cells. By utilizing the hard handoff scheme, a closed-form expression for the edge coverage probability (ECP) is first derived. Then, a theoretical expression for the percentage of the cell coverage area (CCA) is obtained, which is derived as the summation of the ECP, and a positive increment. To improve coverage performance, a coverage optimization problem is formulated to minimize the required number of base stations (BSs) under the coverage constraint, and the total coverage distance constraint, and then an optimal BS deployment scheme is proposed to solve the optimization problem. Numerical results indicate that all theoretical results match well with the simulation results, which verifies the correctness of the theoretical analysis. Moreover, the impacts of the received power threshold, cell radius, handoff hysteresis, transmit power, shadow fading, and path loss exponent on the cell coverage performance are also provided. Furthermore, compared to the existing coverage scheme, the proposed BS deployment scheme can improve the coverage performance significantly.

High-Speed Railway Communication System Using Linear-Cell-Based Radio-Over-Fiber Network and Its Field Trial in 90-GHz Bands

A linear-cell-based radio-over-fiber (LC-RoF) system is proposed and demonstrated for efficient mobile communication in high-speed trains without hard handover processes. The configuration of the LC-RoF network and possible router architectures are discussed for the field trial test of the proposed system and for advanced systems in the future. Via the LC-RoF network, 90-GHz, millimeter-wave radio access between the ground and a train car is operated in a centralized manner. The resulting throughput of 1.5 Gbit/s is achieved in the field trial test, which is comprised of 250-Mbaud four-subcarrier differential quadrature phase-shift keying with a forward-error correction code implemented in field-programmable gate arrays to the Shinkansen train traveling at 240 km/h without any interruptions in the connections at the change of radio access units.

Channel Modeling for Future High-Speed Railway Communication Systems: A Survey

The widespread popularity of high-speed railways (HSRs) urges a critical demand on high-data-rate railway communication services for both train operation and passenger experience. To satisfy the ever-increasing requirements, future HSR communication systems, such as long-term evolution for railway (LTE-R), fifth generation (5G) on HSR, and 5G for railway (5G-R), and corresponding transmission technologies, e.g., mobile relay, coordinated multipoint, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), and millimeter-wave (mmWave), have recently attracted much attention. Radio channel modeling is the foundation of design and evaluation of wireless systems and transmission technologies. This paper focuses on a survey of channel modeling for the future HSR communication systems. The significant requirements of future HSR channel models are highlighted, and recent advances in the HSR channel modeling are reviewed. Finally, potential research directions for future HSR channel modeling are outlined.

Toward Traffic Patterns in High-Speed Railway Communication Systems: Power Allocation and Access Selection

In high-speed railway communication systems, the distributed antenna systems are usually employed to mitigate frequent handover and enhance the signal-to-noise ratio to receivers. In this case, jointly optimizing downlink power allocation with antenna selection (PAWAS) can enhance system energy efficiency, while the channel state and traffic density are taken into account. Besides, two typical kinds of terrains with sparse and rich scatterings and three traffic patterns including delay-sensitive, -insensitive, and hybrid traffics are investigated in this paper. We show that severe small-scale fading decreases the ergodic capacity, which is quantitatively analyzed, and proved to be proportional to the number of selected transmit antennas. In addition, in case of delay-sensitive traffic, we show that the PAWAS can be viewed as generalized channel-inversion associated with transmit antenna selection. In case of delay-insensitive traffic, we show that when multiple antennas are selected, the power allocation can be viewed as channel-inversion, whereas when single antenna is selected, it is traditional waterfilling. In case of hybrid traffic, we prove that the optimal PAWAS method can be given by separately solving the PAWAS of its delay-sensitive and -insensitive parts. Simulation results validate our theoretical results and demonstrate that proposed PAWAS can minimize the average transmit power in cases of arbitrary traffic density and channel states.

Channel Measurement, Simulation, and Analysis for High-Speed Railway Communications in 5G Millimeter-Wave Band

More people prefer to using rail traffic for travel or for commuting due to its convenience and flexibility. As the record of the maximum speed of rail has been continuously broken and new applications are foreseen, the high-speed railway (HSR) communication system requires higher data rate with seamless connectivity, and therefore, the system design faces new challenges to support high mobility. Millimeter-wave (mmWave) technologies are considered as candidates to provide wideband communication. However, mmWave is rarely explored in HSR scenarios. In this paper, channel characteristics are studied in the 5G mmWave band for typical HSR scenarios, including urban, rural, and tunnel, with straight and curved route shapes. Based on the wideband measurements conducted in the tunnel scenario by using the “mobile hotspot network” system, a 3-D ray tracer (RT) is calibrated and validated to explore more channel characteristics in different HSR scenarios. Through extensive RT simulations with 500-MHz bandwidth centered at 25.25 GHz, the power contributions of the multipath components are studied, and the dominant reflection orders are determined for each scenario. Path loss is analyzed, and the breakpoint is observed. Other key parameters, such as Doppler shifts, coherence time, polarization ratios, and so on, are studied. Suggestions on symbol rate, sub-frame bandwidth, and polarization configuration are provided to guide the 5G mmWave communication system design in typical HSR scenarios.

Investigation of cross-correlation characteristics for multi-link channels in high-speed railway scenarios

This paper investigates the cross-correlation characteristics of large-scale parameters (LSPs) and small-scale fading (SSF) for high-speed railway (HSR) multilink propagation scenarios, based on realistic measurements conducted on Beijing to Tianjin HSR line in China. A long-term evolution-based channel sounding system is utilized in the measurements to obtain the channel data. By applying a proposed time-delay based dynamic partition method, multi-link channel impulse responses are extracted from the raw channel data. Then, the statistical results of LSPs, including shadow fading, K-factor, and root-mean-square delay spread are derived and the cross-correlation coefficients of these LPSs are calculated. Moreover, the SSF spatial correlation and cross-correlation of SSF are analyzed. These results can be used to exploit multi-link channel model and to optimize the next-generation HSR communication system.