Blind channel acquisition and channel estimation for multi-rate multicarrier DS-CDMA communications

Multi-rate multicarrier DS-CDMA is a potentially attractive multiple access method for future wireless networks that must support multimedia, and thus multi-rate, traffic. Considering that high performance detection such as coherent demodulation needs the explicit knowledge of the channel, this paper proposes a subspace-based blind adaptive algorithm for timing acquisition and channel estimation in asynchronous multirate multicarrier DS-CDMA systems, which is applicable to both multicode and variable spreading factor systems.

Cancellation of siren noise from two way voice communications inside emergency vehicles

Sirens used by police, fire and paramedic vehicles have been designed so that they can be heard over large distances, but unfortunately the siren noise enters the vehicle and corrupts intelligibility of voice communications from the emergency vehicle to the control room. Often the siren needs to be turned off to enable the control room to hear what is being said. This paper discusses a siren noise filter system that is capable of removing the siren noise picked up by the two-way radio microphone inside the vehicle. The removal of the siren noise improves the response time for emergency vehicles and thus save lives. To date, the system has been trialed within a fire tender in a non-emergency situation, with good results.

Multiband OFDM modulation and demodulation for ultra wideband communications

This chapter considers the Multiband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB- OFDM) modulation and demodulation with the intention to optimize the Ultra-Wideband (UWB) system performance. OFDM is a type of multicarrier modulation and becomes the most important aspect for the MB-OFDM system performance. It is also a low cost digital signal component efficiently using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm to implement the multicarrier orthogonality. Within the MB-OFDM approach, the OFDM modulation is employed in each 528 MHz wide band to transmit the data across the different bands while also using the frequency hopping technique across different bands. Each parallel bit stream can be mapped onto one of the OFDM subcarriers. Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and Dual Carrier Modulation (DCM) are currently used as the modulation schemes for MB-OFDM in the ECMA-368 defined UWB radio platform. A dual QPSK soft-demapper is suitable for ECMA-368 that exploits the inherent Time-Domain Spreading (TDS) and guard symbol subcarrier diversity to improve the receiver performance, yet merges decoding operations together to minimize hardware and power requirements. There are several methods to demap the DCM, which are soft bit demapping, Maximum Likelihood (ML) soft bit demapping, and Log Likelihood Ratio (LLR) demapping. The Channel State Information (CSI) aided scheme coupled with the band hopping information is used as a further technique to improve the DCM demapping performance. ECMA-368 offers up to 480 Mb/s instantaneous bit rate to the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, but depending on radio channel conditions dropped packets unfortunately result in a lower throughput. An alternative high data rate modulation scheme termed Dual Circular 32-QAM that fits within the configuration of the current standard increasing system throughput thus maintaining the high rate throughput even with a moderate level of dropped packets.

Information and Communications for Engineers

Information and its communication is one of the most important areas in the modern world, and its developments are advancing at an ever increasing pace. To be able to assess and evaluate the importance of these developments, an understanding of the basic principles behind them is essential for the student of engineering. This book presents these principles in a coherent and understandable manner while at the same time ensuring that the arguments are based on sound scientific theory.