Short-range Wireless Research Articles

Precise: Predictive Content Dissemination Scheme exploiting realistic mobility patterns

Device-to-Device (D2D) communications have expanded the way of managing available network resources to efficiently distribute data between users. D2D exploits communication alternatives, in Opportunistic Networks, based on short range wireless radio technologies such as Bluetooth and WiFi-Direct. Besides, nowadays in most urban areas, realistic human mobility is characterized by often repeated patterns that can be used to accurately predict the next visited regions—we call these regions hotspots (or Replication Zones (RZs)). In this work, we present Predictive Content Dissemination Scheme (Precise), to explore and combine the D2D paradigm along with real mobility and predictions focused on the dissemination of content among hotspots. To analyze the viability of such scheme, we show simulation results and evaluate the average content availability, lifetime and delivery delay, storage usage and network utilization metrics. We compare the performance of Precise with state-of-the-art approaches, such as Epidemic, restricted Epidemic, and Proximity-Interest-Social (PIS) routing protocols. Our results underline the need for smart usage of communication opportunities and storage. We demonstrate that Precise allows for a neat reduction in network activity by decreasing the number of data exchanges by up to 92%, requiring the use of up to 50% less of on-device storage. This comes at negligible costs. In particular, the delivery delay with Precise shows an increase with respect to epidemic dissemination schemes that varies from 0.03 s in the most dynamic case to at most 1.91 s for the least dynamic case, and which however does not hinder the possibility to use Precise for real-time applications. Regarding how contents are spread, we observe that Precise requires 2% to 20% less mobile users to carry them within a target hotspot, especially under slow dynamics. This however does not impact on the probability that mobile users entering the hotspots obtain contents, and barely shortens the lifetime of contents in our experiments from 100 min down to about 95, in the worst case. This demonstrates that the reduction of content availability among mobile users with Precise is either negligible or not impactful, thus guaranteeing the dissemination of contents as with legacy epidemic dissemination protocols.

Composable security for continuous variable quantum key distribution: Trust levels and practical key rates in wired and wireless networks

Continuous variable (CV) quantum key distribution (QKD) provides a powerful setting for secure quantum communications, thanks to the use of room-temperature off-the-shelf optical devices and the potential to reach much higher rates than the standard discrete-variable counterpart. In this work, we provide a general framework for studying the composable finite-size security of CV-QKD with Gaussian-modulated coherent-state protocols under various levels of trust for the loss and noise experienced by the parties. Our study considers both wired (i.e., fiber-based) and wireless (i.e., free-space) quantum communications. In the latter case, we show that high key rates are achievable for short-range optical wireless (LiFi) in secure quantum networks with both fixed and mobile devices. Finally, we extend our investigation to microwave wireless (WiFi) discussing security and feasibility of CV-QKD for very short-range applications.

Reconfigurable 2×1 CPW-Fed Rectangular Slot Antenna Array (RSAA) Based on Graphene for Wireless Communications

This article presents a 2×1 CPW ultra wideband rectangular slot antenna array (UWB-RSAA) with a modified circular slot shape to support a high data rate for wireless communications applications. The proposed antenna array dimensions are 0.7λ×0.8λo×0.064λo at the resonant frequency 1.8 GHz. It is fabricated on Rogers RO4003 substrate and fed by using a coplanar waveguide (CPW). A graphene layer is added on one side of the substrate to realize frequency reconfigurability and improve the array gain. The proposed array acquires -10 dB impedance bandwidth of the RSAA that extends from 1.7 GHz to 2.6 GHz, from 3.2 to 3.8 GHz, and from 5.2 GHz to 7 GHz. The proposed array achieved a realized peak gain of 7.5 dBi at 6.5 GHz at 0 Volt bias with an average gain of 4.5 dBi over the operating band. When the graphene bias is increased to 20 Volt, the antenna bandwidth extends from 1 GHz to 4 GHz and from 5 to 7 GHz with a peak gain of 14 dBi at 3.5 GHz and an average gain of 7.5 dBi. The linearly polarized operation of the proposed array over the operating bands makes it suitable for short-range wireless communications .

An integrated antenna for cognitive radio wireless sensor networks and HD video transmission applications

This article introduces an integrated polarization divesity cognitive radio (CR) and Ultrawide Band (UWB) Multiple Inputs and Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna systems for CR wireless sensor networks (CR-WSN) and short-range HD video transmission applications. This proposed integrated antenna system's main purpose is to overcome the impediments of frequency re-configurable UWB/Narrow Band (NB) antenna system. The proposed integrated system consists of two antenna systems: the CR antenna and the UWB MIMO antenna system. The first part of the integrated antenna system is the CR antenna that comprises vertical and horizontal oriented UWB antennas to sense the spectrum and four NB antennas for communication purposes. The second part of the integrated antenna system is a 2 × 2 MIMO antenna that comprises a veritical and horizontal oriented UWB antenna with notch characteristics for MIMO applications. High isolation is achieved without using a decoupling structure by placing radiators in the horizontal and vertical planes. The proposed integrated 3D antenna system is designed with a compact size of 50 × 50 mm2. The antenna's essential parameters, such as the reflection coefficient, mutual coupling, peak gain, the radiation pattern, and radiation efficiency, are analyzed to evaluate the antenna's performance. The proposed integrated antenna system is suitable for off-device applications in industries or Laboratories. The real-time implementation of CR-WSN and short-range wireless HD video transmission applications are demonstrated using National Instruments (NI) Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) and CC2538 kit.

Two Decades of UWB Filter Technology: Advances and Emerging Challenges in the Design of UWB Bandpass Filters

The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented growth in the study and implementation of different short-range wireless services. However, the deployment of multiple short-range communication techniques has led to an overpopulation of the radio spectrum. Ultrawide-band (UWB) technology aims to offer an alternative to this spectrum scarcity as it can coexist with other radio technologies [Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)] while causing minimal interference. The prospects of UWB technology allowing high data rate (up to 500 Mb/s) with low power consumption (<;0.5 mW) up to a typical range of 10 m have escalated their demands over other short-range communication systems.

Performance analysis of NTRU algorithm with non-post-quantum algorithms

In opportunistic networks, the nodes connect to each other wirelessly and use the store-carry-forward technique to transmit the data from one node to another node. The nodes in opportunistic networks are heterogeneous, having high mobility, limited power, low density, short radio range, and numerous security threats to unauthorized nodes. The fundamental challenge in an opportunistic network is to secure and protect the information during communication in networks to achieve the user’s confidence. This issue is technically resolved by incorporating the cryptography algorithms that make both the virtual and modern world in a safer position. Asymmetric Cryptography makes information unintelligible to an unauthorized user and provides confidentiality to genuine users. Encryption and decryption technology are solutions to protect data from unauthorized users. There are many opportunistic network algorithms in the existing literature that provide optimal performance. However, in this research work, we propose the NTRU post-quantum algorithm because of its high performance, low cost, and fast execution during encryption and decryption of the data over the network. We also implemented and analyzed the performance of the proposed NTRU algorithm and compared its results with the Elliptic Curve Cryptography and ElGamal algorithm. After the result analysis, we conclude that our proposed technique is highly effective and secure.

Topology optimization of metamaterial microstructure for wireless power transfer with high power transmission efficiency

An efficient short-range magnetic coupling wireless power transferring (WPT) system by embedding metamaterials (MTM) resonator between the source coil and load coil, whose configuration was designed based on topology optimization, was proposed in this paper. The topology optimization model for designing the MTM microstructures to achieve WPT with maximum power transfer efficiency (PTE) at the required frequency was established. The different MTM microstructures were realized by different conductor patch combination in the discretized pixelated design domain. As a designing example, a short-range magnetic coupling MTM-based WPT system with high efficiency at specific frequency 1 GHz was designed. Taking two classical MTM microstructures as reference, the PTE of WPT system with the topology optimized MTM was improved considerably. The variation of the transmission characteristics of the designed WPT system caused by misalignment was analyzed. The comparison between the MTM-based WPT system and the typical 4-coil WPT system was also discussed.

An engineering perspective on the development and evolution of implantable cardiac monitors in free-living animals.

The latest technologies associated with implantable physiological monitoring devices can record multiple channels of data (including: heart rates and rhythms, activity, temperature, impedance and posture), and coupled with powerful software applications, have provided novel insights into the physiology of animals in the wild. This perspective details past challenges and lessons learned from the uses and developments of implanted biologgers designed for human clinical application in our research on free-ranging American black bears (Ursus americanus). In addition, we reference other research by colleagues and collaborators who have leveraged these devices in their work, including: brown bears (Ursus arctos), grey wolves (Canis lupus), moose (Alces alces), maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina). We also discuss the potentials for applications of such devices across a range of other species. To date, the devices described have been used in fifteen different wild species, with publications pending in many instances. We have focused our physiological research on the analyses of heart rates and rhythms and thus special attention will be paid to this topic. We then discuss some major expected step changes such as improvements in sensing algorithms, data storage, and the incorporation of next-generation short-range wireless telemetry. The latter provides new avenues for data transfer, and when combined with cloud-based computing, it not only provides means for big data storage but also the ability to readily leverage high-performance computing platforms using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. These advances will dramatically increase both data quantity and quality and will facilitate the development of automated recognition of extreme physiological events or key behaviours of interest in a broad array of environments, thus further aiding wildlife monitoring and management.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Measuring physiology in free-living animals (Part I)’.

Privacy Enhancement on Unilateral Bluetooth Authentication Protocol for Mobile Crowdsensing

As an open standard for the short-range radio frequency communications, Bluetooth is suitable for Mobile Crowdsensing Systems (MCS). However, the massive deployment of personal Bluetooth-enabled devices also raises privacy concerns on their wielders. Hence, we investigate the privacy of the unilateral authentication protocol according to the recent Bluetooth standard v5.2. The contributions of the paper are twofold. (1) We demonstrate that the unilateral authentication protocol suffers from privacy weakness. That is, the attacker is able to identify the target Bluetooth-enabled device once he observed the device’s previous transmitted messages during the protocol run. More importantly, we analyze the privacy threat of the Bluetooth MCS, when the attacker exploits the proposed privacy weakness under the typical Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios. (2) An improved unilateral authentication protocol is therefore devised to repair the weakness. Under our formal privacy model, the improved protocol provably solves the traceability problem of the original protocol in the Bluetooth standard. Additionally, the improved protocol can be easily adapted to the Bluetooth standards because it merely employs the basic cryptographic components available in the standard specifications. In addition, we also suggest and evaluate two countermeasures, which do not need to modify the original protocol.

InnoCube—A Wireless Satellite Platform to Demonstrate Innovative Technologies

A new innovative satellite mission, the Innovative CubeSat for Education (InnoCube), is addressed. The goal of the mission is to demonstrate “the wireless satellite”, which replaces the data harness by robust, high-speed, real-time, very short-range radio communications using the SKITH (SKIpTheHarness) technology. This will make InnoCube the first wireless satellite in history. Another technology demonstration is an experimental energy-storing satellite structure that was developed in the previous Wall#E project and might replace conventional battery technology in the future. As a further payload, the hardware for the concept of a software-based solution for receiving signals from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) will be developed to enable precise position determination of the CubeSat. Aside from technical goals this work aims to be of use in the teaching of engineering skills and practical sustainable education of students, important technical and scientific publications, and the increase of university skills. This article gives an overview of the overall design of the InnoCube.

Research on indoor positioning algorithm based on BP neural network

The neural network positioning algorithm is an algorithm that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to activate a short-range wireless tag wirelessly to achieve information reading. It has the advantages of small size, low cost, and reusability. This paper compares several neural network structures of DNN, CNN, and RNN, and selects BP neural network to optimize its training through theory and practice, combining the data to compare their average error and average time used in indoor positioning practice, the average error of the optimized BP neural network in this article is smaller, and the positioning time is shorter, and combined with the practical data to obtain the efficient use of the division value n, which meets the high-precision requirements of indoor positioning and is more convenient for practical applications.

Optical pulses generation of single-cycle and dual-UWB using square and Gaussian electric pulses

- In this paper, a method for generating transverse band (UWB) pulses, the basis of which is a large-scale interferometer with a resonator of small silicone rings capable of changing paired configuration, is reported. Single-cycle, dual-bandwidth signals are generated at the time of the Picosecond pulse, and the small ring amplifier is modulated with square and Gaussian electric pulses, respectively. Microwave photonic systems that work with large optical components suffer from large size, high energy consumption, high cost, and vulnerability to environmental disturbances. Therefore, it is highly desirable to assemble the microwave photonic system on a single chip to make it more compact, cheap, and low-consumption. They have a low spectrum. One of its applications is in short-range wireless telecommunications and high power for wireless transmission of large multimedia data. It can also be used in low speed and power mode for IoT applications such as precision internal positioning. Unlike the WiFi or Bluetooth distance estimation, which is based on signal intensity, the bandwidth signal has a very narrow pulse width, similar to the radar pulse, which enables it to estimate the position using pulse forward time and 10 cm accuracy. With an intensified modulator based on silicon photonics, one can very hopefully generate an adjustable microwave signal on the chip.

Experimental Evaluation of a LoRa Wildlife Monitoring Network in a Forest Vegetation Area

Smart agriculture and wildlife monitoring are one of the recent trends of Internet of Things (IoT) applications, which are evolving in providing sustainable solutions from producers. This article details the design, development and assessment of a wildlife monitoring application for IoT animal repelling devices that is able to cover large areas, thanks to the low power wide area networks (LPWAN), which bridge the gap between cellular technologies and short range wireless technologies. LoRa, the global de-facto LPWAN, continues to attract attention given its open specification and ready availability of off-the-shelf hardware, with claims of several kilometers of range in harsh challenging environments. At first, this article presents a survey of the LPWAN for smart agriculture applications. We proceed to evaluate the performance of LoRa transmission technology operating in the 433 MHz and 868 MHz bands, aimed at wildlife monitoring in a forest vegetation area. To characterize the communication link, we mainly use the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and packet delivery ratio (PDR). Findings from this study show that achievable performance can greatly vary between the 433 MHz and 868 MHz bands, and prompt caution is required when taking numbers at face value, as this can have implications for IoT applications. In addition, our results show that the link reaches up to 860 m in the highly dense forest vegetation environment, while in the not so dense forest vegetation environment, it reaches up to 2050 m.

Millimeter-wave enabled PAM-4 data transmission over hybrid FSO-MMPOF link for access networks

In this paper, we propose a full duplex architecture based on a hybrid link composed of free space optics (FSO) and multimode plastic optical fiber (MMPOF) for short-range wireless access networks. The proposed architecture employs mode group division multiplexing (MGDM) and wavelength reuse techniques to transmit data between central unit (CU) and radio access units (RAUs). An optical frequency comb source to generate multiple optical sidebands is realized using a single laser source to provide 60 GHz millimeter-wave (mm-wave) signals at each RAU by simultaneously transmitting PAM-4 signal on linearly polarized (LP) modes of each optical sideband. Data rate of 2times12 Gbps at mm-wave frequency of 60 GHz is achieved for both downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions. The transmission of 2times12 Gbps PAM-4 signal over hybrid FSO-MMPOF link is investigated at different values of refractive index structure parameter (C_n^2) by employing log-normal (LN) FSO channel model to support three RAUs in a ring topology. The acceptable receiver sensitivities below −5 and −0.6 dBm for DL and UL transmissions are achieved, respectively. The proposed hybrid architecture can be a potential candidate for future communication networks.

Comparative performance analysis of short-range wireless protocols for wireless personal area network

Comparative performance analysis of short-range wireless protocols for wireless personal area network

Internet of Things (IoT) and emerging Wireless Technologies in the 21st Century

This paper accesses the Internet of Things (IoT) in conjunction with the emergence of Wireless Technologies. Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a type of network to connect anything with the Internet, based on stipulated protocols through information sensing equipment to conduct information exchange and communications; in order to achieve smart recognitions, positioning, tracing, monitoring, and administration. This investigates the Internet of Things (IoT) and its incorporation of multiple long-range, short-range, and personal area wireless networks and technologies into the designs of IoT applications. Particularly, it focuses on ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, Bluetooth Low Energy, LoRa, and so on. This enables numerous business opportunities in fields as diverse as e-health, smart cities, and smart homes, among many others. This research briefly discussed about IoT, some of the major evolving and enabling wireless technologies in the IoT, Smart Environnent Application Domain, and Application of IoT. Benefits and Challenges of IoT.

QoS Enabled Heterogeneous BLE Mesh Networks

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a widely known short-range wireless technology used for various Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Recently, with the introduction of BLE mesh networks, this short-range barrier of BLE has been overcome. However, the added advantage of an extended range can come at the cost of a lower performance of these networks in terms of latency, throughput and reliability, as the core operation of BLE mesh is based on advertising and packet flooding. Hence, efficient management of the system is required to achieve a good performance of these networks and a smoother functioning in dense scenarios. As the number of configuration points in a standard mesh network is limited, this paper describes a novel set of standard compliant Quality of Service (QoS) extensions for BLE mesh networks. The resulting QoS features enable better traffic management in the mesh network, providing sufficient redundancy to achieve reliability whilst avoiding unnecessary packet flooding to reduce collisions, as well as the prioritization of certain traffic flows and the ability to control end-to-end latencies. The QoS-based system has been implemented and validated in a small-scale BLE mesh network and compared against a setup without any QoS support. The assessment in a small-scale test setup confirms that applying our QoS features can enhance these types of non-scheduled and random access networks in a significant way.

FAN: Fast and Active Network Formation in IEEE 802.15.4 TSCH Networks

The IEEE 802.15.4 TSCH standard is designed to improve the reliability, timeliness, and energy efficiency of short-range wireless communications in industrial applications. TSCH relies upon a network formation process to efficiently create and maintain a synchronized reliable mesh network. The standard adopts a purely passive scan mechanism enabling joining nodes to listen to periodic Enhanced Beacons (EBs) in order to locate a TSCH network and associate to it. Nevertheless, the standard defines neither the advertisement strategy nor the rate at which the EBs should be sent. Consequently, long (re)association times might be observed, which postpones the proper functioning of the network and might have devastating consequences on the industrial application. In this paper, we propose a Fast and Active Network formation scheme (FAN) that leans on active scan procedures and Trickled beacon advertising strategies to accelerate the (re)association process. To do so, FAN equips joiners with a collision avoidance mechanism and allows them to initiate EB requests, on free channels, to trigger EBs. FAN is implemented in Contiki and evaluated through extensive realistic simulations and public testbed experiments. Obtained results assert the robustness of FAN compared to state-of-the-art solutions in terms of association times and overhead.

Who is Charging My Phone? Identifying Wireless Chargers via Fingerprinting

With the increasing popularity of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, the demand for fast and convenient battery charging services grows rapidly. Wireless charging is a promising technology for such a purpose and its usage has become ubiquitous. However, the close distance between the charger and the device being charged not only makes proximity-based and near-field communication attacks possible but also introduces a new type of vulnerabilities. In this article, we propose to create fingerprints for wireless chargers based on the intrinsic nonlinear distortion effects of the underlying charging circuit. Using such fingerprints, we design the WirelessID system to detect potential short-range malicious wireless charging attacks. WirelessID collects signals in the standby state of the charging process and sends them to a trusted server, which can extract the fingerprint and then identify the charger. We conduct experiments on eight commercial chargers over a period of five months and collect 8000 traces of signal. We use 10% of the traces as the training data set and the rest for testing. The results show that on the standard performance metrics, we have achieved 99.0% precision, 98.9% recall, and 98.9% $F1$ -score.

Edge-Based Hybrid System Implementation for Long-Range Safety and Healthcare IoT Applications

In many conventional Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications, data are transferred directly from the sensor network to the cloud via a gateway for further data processing. However, this typical usage of a gateway is not suitable for every application. For short-range IoT wireless protocols [e.g., Bluetooth low energy (BLE)], multiple gateways are required to achieve broader coverage, which is inconvenient. In this article, an edge-based hybrid network system architecture is presented. The proposed system consists of hybrid routers and an IoT gateway. The router supports two wireless protocols, BLE and long range (LoRa), and is equipped with a solar energy harvester to extend the router's lifetime. It can extend the coverage of short-range BLE network by utilizing LoRa wireless technology, and support fundamental edge computing tasks such as preliminary data processing. The IoT gateway can support multiple IoT protocols, including LoRa, BLE, and XBee. It can perform more advanced edge computing tasks, such as data filtering, storage, processing, user interface, and cloud connection. Three case studies incorporating a wearable safety monitoring sensor network, a healthcare monitoring application, and a smart hospital application are studied with the proposed edge network system to demonstrate its promising capabilities to support IoT applications. Experimental evaluations indicate that by processing data at the edge, the minimal delay is only 11.5 ms. Furthermore, with the hybrid LoRa network implementation, the BLE network can be extended to 2.4 km.