Abstract The fifth generation (5G) of mobile networks is emerging as a key enabler of modern factory automation (FA) applications that ensure timely and reliable data exchange between network components. Network slicing (NS), which shares an underlying infrastructure with different applications and ensures application isolation, is the key 5G technology to support the diverse quality of service requirements of modern FA applications. In this article, an end-to-end (E2E) NS solution is proposed for FA applications in a 5G network. Regression approaches are used to construct a performance model for each slice to map the service level agreement to the network attributes. Interference coordination approaches for switched beam systems are proposed to optimize radio access network (RAN) performance models. A case study of a non-public network is used to show the proposed NS solution. Simulation result shows that for services with different QoS requirements, different IC approaches should be used as optimization methods. Design prediction using regression approach has been evaluated and shows that the prediction successful rate increases when more existing data are used.

Fifth generation (5G) mobile networks enable ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) applications, ushering in an era of endless possibilities for 5G. URLLC supports emerging 5G services and applications with stringent requirements for latency and reliability. Factory automation (FA) is a URLLC application that automates and optimizes workflows and processes in factories. To accommodate diversified FA services, 5G networks employ the “network slicing” technique, which divides the network into slices tailored to different service requirements. Designing a sliced network and translating diversified service-level agreements (SLAs) into network attributes necessitates advanced automation techniques to enhance human–machine collaboration, increase efficiency, minimize manual errors, reduce operating costs, and, most importantly, provide adequate service quality economically and reliably. To apply autonomic computing to FA network design, new architectures and software components have been envisioned. These include information extraction, domain knowledge representation, rule-based reasoning, performance model calculation, and querying using simulators and neural networks (NNs), among others. This paper proposes an innovative approach to network slicing design using advanced automation methods. This approach can be easily extended to include new services or to integrate cutting-edge 5G techniques.

This paper describes an autonomous robotic system for characterizing and mapping indoor wireless coverage. Most current-generation systems for measuring wireless coverage require human testers to walk around a prescribed path and manually record their position. This time-consuming process limits measurement resolution and its accuracy is subject to human error. As indoor coverage solutions become more widespread, techniques for efficiently measuring coverage quality are growing in importance. The autonomous robotic system described automatically explores an area and accurately determines its position relative to the building map. Handset logging equipment onboard the robot determines physical layer data rates and signal quality as measured by metrics such as SNR, RSRP, and CQI. Following the robotic test, postprocessing software overlays the test metrics on the building map to create significantly higher resolution coverage maps than have been previously possible. This system allows for verification of wireless coverage against service level agreements, and for repetitive testing of in-development indoor solutions.

In the last few years, small-cell technology has moved from the realm of academic research to large commercial networks with millions of deployed units. This paper discusses the challenges in deploying and maintaining a large-scale residential small-cell network. The paper first discusses the need for residential small cells to provide ubiquitous coverage in homes located in poor coverage areas of the conventional macrocell, and then describes the architectures of current and next-generation residential small-cell networks, and how these large networks are effectively provisioned and managed. The paper is air interface agnostic and is based on the experience of the authors in commercial deployment of both UMTS and CDMA2000 femtocell networks.

In wireless networks, resource management is a very challenging task since network resources are always limited, and wireless channel is time varying. Sharing resources among resource users needs to be coordinated, and this coordination is achieved by packet schedulers. This research presents the performance of state-of-the-art macrocell scheduling algorithms in a CDMA 2000 1×EVDO femtocell network. The performance of Round Robin (RR), maximum Data Rate Control (DRC), proportional fairness (PF), exponent DRC (expDRC), average DRC (aveDRC), and maxDRC-PF schedulers are investigated. For performance analysis, paper introduces a unique methodology which combines real femtocell network experiments with computer simulations. Data rate control (DRC) values collected through real experiments are used in computer simulations in order to assess the performance of scheduling methods in femtocell environment. Best effort (BE) and Voice over IP (VoIP) traffic are modeled and simulated in computer simulations. Schedulers' performance are measured in terms of total delivered throughput, VoIP packet delay, and throughput fairness. In conclusion, expDRC and maxDRC-PF scheduler is recommended since they have the lowest VoIP packet delay bound error, and the high throughput and throughput fairness compared to other scheduling methods.

Optimizing wireless networks represents a complex task, directly affecting quality, cost, coverage and capacity. In this paper we propose a new automated method of simultaneously maximizing coverage while minimizing interference. The proposed method represents a novel approach in that it focuses on those network parameters that can be represented by continuous variables, and applies classical optimization methods. A new figure of merit for coverage, the coverage coefficient, is also introduced. Results have been presented for transmit power optimization. A sample network of 36 sites showed an average coverage coefficient improvement of approximately 47%. By determining the desired network coverage with a minimum of overlap, this method can provide a good lead in for application of other capacity enhancing algorithms, such as frequency planning methods.

In this paper, the performance of a MC-CDMA system with cross-system interference cancellation is evaluated in an overloaded environment. Simulation results predict that a MC-CDMA receiver with cross-system interference cancellation is able to detect and demodulate signals in a Rayleigh fading environment with a loading of two, where a conventional MC-CDMA receiver is not capable of detection. An examination of the error terms produced by this type of interference cancellation is performed. In addition to cross-system interference cancellation, internal interference cancellation is added to the implementation for a decrease in signal to noise ratio required to reach the same bit error rate.

The objective of the polarization diversity measurement program is to compare and evaluate the efficacy of a single unit polarization diversity antenna relative to the classic vertically polarized two antenna horizontal space diversity configuration. The two base station antenna configurations were tested simultaneously for both vertical polarized mobile antennas and randomly oriented portable antennas. The methodology and data reduction techniques used in the analysis were similar to those used in work by Turkmani et al. (1995) in Europe and by Weitzen et al. (1996). It was observed that bottom line PCS performance with a randomly oriented portable unit was almost identical for polarization and space diversity systems. For a vertical mobile antenna the bottom line performance was approximately 3 dB worse for the polarization diversity system relative to the horizontal space diversity system with vertical polarization. Significant polarization discrimination, that is one slant favored over the other was observed at close ranges (less than 1 km) when there is a nearly clear line of sight between mobile and base. Significant depolarization was observed at longer ranges and when the mobile is in the clutter.

This paper describes the use of antenna beam steering to improve performance of meteor burst communications systems. Various techniques used to achieve antenna beam steering are described and compared. Measured comparisons of meteor burst performance with and without antenna beam steering are given. To demonstrate an application of beam steering, a meteor burst system with 10 times the throughput performance of any previous meteor burst system, and with sufficient capacity to provide interactive voice communication, is also described.>

The performance of meteor burst communication at different ranges for a number of antenna configurations is analyzed. Characteristics of ideal antenna patterns for short- and long-range meteor scatter communication are described. An ideal antenna configuration matches its illumination pattern to the spatial arrival pattern of meteor trails. The analysis is used to compare the performance of several commonly used antenna configurations. It will be demonstrated that the characteristics of antennas which perform well at short ranges are different than those that perform well at long ranges.>

An examination is made of the ground illumination footprint of meteor trails and its effect on the simultaneous reception of meteor scatter transmissions by multiple receivers. A technique for calculating the ground illumination footprint of individual trails which provides added insight into the physical mechanisms is presented. The probability of adjacent station reception as a function of location on the ground is calculated by computing the ground illumination footprint of individual trails at different locations and orientations within the common volume and weighting each footprint by the number of trails at that location and orientation. Two different models for the spatial arrival pattern of meteor trails are considered: the first model assumes that trails arrive uniformly over the common volume, and the second calculates the number of arrivals from the spatial distribution of meteor orbits, antenna patterns, time of day, and season. The effect of antenna patterns on the ground illumination footprint of meteor scatter communication is examined.>

This paper examines the relationship between range and performance of meteor burst communication systems. Three performance measures are considered: average duty cycle, average throughput for a system which transmits fixed length message packets at a fixed data rate, and waiting time to deliver a fixed length message. In particular, we examine the range dependence of the three measures at ranges of less than 400 km. It will he demonstrated that communication connectivity can be maintained at short ranges by a combination of efficient protocol and proper antenna pattern designs.

High-latitude propagation phenomena, such as scatter from the aurora and sporadic-Epropagation, can alter the communication characteristics of the meteor communication channel. This paper describes an experiment in which the fading and multipath profiles of the high-latitude meteor communication channel were characterized. The effects of high-latitude propagation phenomena on the capacity and reliability of meteor burst communication are discussed.

An estimate of the capacity of the meteor burst communication channel is given. The model takes into account both overdense and underdense trails as well as the effects of wind-induced trail warping.