We propose in this paper a physical‐layer security (PLS) scheme for dual‐hop cooperative networks in an effort to enhance the communications secrecy. The underlying model comprises a transmitting node (Alice), a legitimate node (Bob), and an eavesdropper (Eve). It is assumed that there is no direct link between Alice and Bob, and the communication between them is done through trusted relays over two phases. In the first phase, precoding‐aided spatial modulation (PSM) is employed, owing to its low interception probability, while simultaneously transmitting a jamming signal from Bob. In the second phase, the selected relay detects and transmits the intended signal, whereas the remaining relays transmit the jamming signal received from Bob. We analyze the performance of the proposed scheme in terms of the ergodic secrecy capacity (ESC), the secrecy outage probability (SOP), and the bit error rate (BER) at Bob and Eve. We obtain closed‐form expressions for the ESC and SOP and we derive very tight upper‐bounds for the BER. We also optimize the performance with respect to the power allocation among the participating relays in the second phase. We provide examples with numerical and simulation results through which we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

We propose in this paper a physical layer security (PLS) scheme for dual-hop cooperative networks in an effort to enhance the communications secrecy. The underlying model comprises a transmitting node (Alice), a legitimate node (Bob) and an eavesdropper (Eve). It is assumed that there is no direct link between Alice and Bob, and the communication between them is done through trusted relays over two phases. In the first phase, precoded spatial modulation (PSM) is employed, owing to its low interception probability, while simultaneously transmitting a jamming signal from Bob. In the second phase, the selected relay detects and transmits the intended signal, whereas the remaining relays transmit just the jamming signal received from Bob. We analyze the performance of the proposed scheme in terms of the ergodic secrecy capacity (ESC) and secrecy outage probability (SOP) where we obtain closed form expressions for those metrics. We also optimize the performance with respect to the power allocation among the participating relays in the second phase. We provide examples with numerical and simulations results through which we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. We also provide a comparison of the bit error rate (BER) at Bob and Eve by simulation.

In this paper, the performance analysis of Receive Space Modulation (RSM) in the shadowing Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) broadcast channel is presented. This is undertaken by considering Zero Forcing (ZF) precoding and both small and large scale fading. In particular, a closed form and accurate framework for the evaluation of the Symbol Error Rate (SER) is derived. In addition, the diversity order and the coding gain of the new architecture are also obtained. The derived framework can be directly extended to the conventional spatially multiplexed shadowing MIMO broadcast channel. It is shown that RSM achieves the same diversity order and, in certain scenarios which are well defined, higher coding gain than spatially multiplexing (SMX). Also, the performance difference between RSM and SMX in the shadowing broadcast channel is mathematically quantified. Finally, numerical results that verify the new framework and conclusions are provided.

Contemporary technologies as implemented in the field of healthcare have provided the everyday clinical practice with a plethora of tools to be used in various settings. In this field, distributed and networked embedded systems, such as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), are the most promising technology to achieve continuous monitoring of aged people for their own safety, without affecting their daily activities. WSN4QoL is a Marie Curie project involving academic and industrial partners from three EU countries, which aims to show how new WSNs-based technologies suit the specific requirements of pervasive healthcare applications. In particular, in this paper, the WSN4QoL's system architecture is presented as designed to exploit the Network Coding (NC) mechanisms to achieve energy efficiency in the wireless communications and distributed positioning solutions to locate patients in indoor home environments. The system has been validated through experimental activities using commercial off the shelf (COTS) WSN testbeds and medical devices prototypes offered by a commercial partner. Results demonstrate that NC helps in achieving substantial gains in terms of energy efficiency as compared to traditional relay mechanisms, while the proposed positioning solution is able to locate people in indoor environments at a sub-room accuracy level, without requiring any extra dedicated hardware.

In this paper, Multi-Stream Receive-Spatial Modulation (MSR-SM) for application to the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) broadcast channel is introduced and studied. MSR-SM is a closed-loop transmission scheme, which applies the concept of multistream space modulation at the receiver side. An accurate mathematical framework for the evaluation of the Bit Error Rate (BER) is proposed. In addition, the diversity order and coding gain of the new architecture are derived. Note that the proposed analytical framework takes into account both the small-scale fading and the system topology, and is directly applicable to the conventional MIMO broadcast channel. Compared with the state-of-the-art MIMO transmission in the broadcast channel, it is mathematically shown that MSR-SM achieves the same diversity order and a better coding gain, in the high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) regime. Finally, the proposed mathematical framework and the new findings are validated via Monte Carlo simulation results.

In this paper, a novel architecture for the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) broadcast channel is proposed and studied. The new architecture is based on the concept of Multi- Stream Receive-Spatial Modulation (MSR-SM). MSR-SM is a closed-loop transmission scheme, which applies the concept of multi-stream space modulation at the receiver side. A new and accurate framework for computing the Average Bit Error Probability (ABEP) of the new architecture is proposed. In addition, the new architecture is compared against the state- of-the-art MIMO transmission in the broadcast channel and it is shown to: i) provide superior Bit Error Rate (BER) performance in the high Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR) regime and ii) reduce the signal processing complexity at the transmitter.

Spatial Modulation (SM) is a recently proposed single-RF multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) technique, which is capable of outperforming many conventional MIMO transmission schemes with low implementation and computational complexity. Recently, there have been some attempts in understanding the performance of SM in multi-user environments. However, most of the work has been oriented towards uplink multi-access scenarios. Also, conventional downlink/broadcast MIMO precoding techniques such as Zero Forcing (ZF) or Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) cannot be used in Multi-User SM (MU-SM), as part of the data in SM is also encoded into the Channel Impulse Responses (CIRs). In this paper, a novel precoding scheme for single-cell downlink MU-SM systems is proposed with a two-fold objective: i) the precoder needs to be able to completely eliminate the Multi-User Interference (MUI) by taking advantage of the Channel State Information (CSI) at the transmitter and ii) it needs to allow the users to use a single-user Maximum Likelihood (ML) optimum detector while achieving the same performance as interference-free point-to-point SM transmission. Finally, we also develop an interference-aware multi-user detection scheme, which does not require any CSI at the transmitter, and compare its performance with that of single-user detection schemes based on precoding.

In this paper, we propose a novel Virtual Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (VMIMO) architecture based on the concept of Spatial Modulation (SM). Using a dual-hop and Decode-and-Forward protocol, we form a distributed system, called Dual-Hop Hybrid SM (DH-HSM). DH-HSM conveys information from a Source Node (SN) to a Destination Node (DN) via multiple Relay Nodes (RNs). The spatial position of the RNs is exploited for transferring information in addition to, or even without, a conventional symbol. In order to increase the performance of our architecture, while keeping the complexity of the RNs and DN low, we employ linear precoding using Channel State Information (CSI) at the SN. In this way, we form a Receive-Spatial Modulation (R-SM) pattern from the SN to the RNs, which is able to employ a centralized coordinated or a distributed uncoordinated detection algorithm at the RNs. In addition, we focus on the SN and propose two regularized linear precoding methods that employ realistic Imperfect Channel State Information at the Transmitter. The power of each precoder is analyzed theoretically. Using the Bit Error Rate (BER) metric, we evaluate our architecture against the following benchmark systems: 1) single relay; 2) best relay selection; 3) distributed Space Time Block Coding (STBC) VMIMO scheme; and 4) the direct communication link. We show that DH-HSM is able to achieve significant Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) gains, which can be as high as 10.5 dB for a very large scale system setup. In order to verify our simulation results, we provide an analytical framework for the evaluation of the Average Bit Error Probability (ABEP).

In this paper, we aim to study the Energy Efficiency (EE) of Spatial Modulation (SM) at different Base Stations (BSs) taking into account the total power consumption. Compared to conventional Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) schemes, SM benefits from a single Radio Frequency (RF) chain which results in decreased power supply (W), higher EE (Mbits/J), and reduced complexity. Using the fundamental limits of Shannon capacity, we show that SM achieves a range of average data rates with only a fraction, which can be as low as 24% for four transmit antennas, of the total power supply of conventional MIMO. In addition, we demonstrate that the EE of the studied schemes is maximized for a certain average data rate and that SM achieves the highest EE among them. Finally, we note that a BS employing SM can be up to 67% more energy efficient compared to a BS under a conventional MIMO transmission scheme, for four transmit antennas.

In this paper, motivated by the relatively new concept of Spatial Modulation (SM), we are addressing the problem of Receive-Spatial Modulation (R-SM) under two cases of imperfect channel knowledge at the transmitter side. In the first case, we adopt a statistical model for the channel uncertainties, whereas in the second one a worst-case approach is followed and the channel uncertainties are expressed as a bounded set. Based on Zero-Forcing (ZF) precoding and using standard tools from optimization theory, we derive closed form solutions that turn out to be robust. Simulation results show that the proposed schemes have a performance close to the perfect channel knowledge scenario in low and mid-low SNRs. Furthermore, these designs can be applied to wide range of channels with different correlation states combined with a transmit power gain.