Channel Decoder Architectures for Energy-Constrained Wireless Communication Systems: Holistic Approach
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Electronics and Computer Science
Abstract
The Machine-To-Machine (M2M) applications of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) are set to offer many new capabilities in the EPSRC themes of 'Healthcare technologies', 'Living with environmental change' and 'Global uncertainties', granting significant societal and economic benefits. These networks comprise a number of geographically-separated sensor nodes, which collect information from their environment and exchange it using wireless transmissions. However, these networks cannot as yet be employed in demanding applications, because current sensor nodes cannot remain powered for a sufficient length of time without employing batteries that are prohibitively large, heavy or expensive. In this work, we aim to achieve an order-of-magnitude extension to the battery charge-time of WSNs and WBANs by facilitating a significant reduction in the main cause of their energy consumption, namely the energy used to transmit information between the sensor nodes. A reduction in the sensor nodes' transmission energy is normally prevented, because this results in corrupted transmitted information owing to noise or interference. However, we will maintain reliable communication when using a low transmit energy by specifically designing channel code implementations that can be employed in the sensor nodes to correct these transmission errors. Although existing channel code implementations can achieve this objective, they themselves may have a high energy consumption, which can erode the transmission energy reduction they afford. Therefore, in this work we will aim for achieving a beneficial step change in the energy consumption of channel code implementations so that their advantages are maintained when employed in energy-constrained wireless communication systems, such as the M2M applications of WSNs and WBANs. We shall achieve this by facilitating a significant reduction in the supply voltage that is used to power the channel code implementations. A reduction in the supply voltage is normally prevented, because this reduces the speed of the implementation and causes the processed information to become corrupted, when its operations can no longer be performed within the allotted time. However, we will maintain reliable operation when using a low supply voltage, by specifically designing the proposed channel code implementations to use their inherent error correction ability to correct not only transmission errors, but also these timing errors. To the best of our knowledge, this novel approach has never been attempted before, despite its significant benefits. Furthermore, we will develop methodologies to allow the designers of WSNs and WBANs to estimate the energy consumption of the proposed channel code implementations, without having to fabricate them. This will allow other researchers to promptly optimise the design of the proposed channel code implementations to suit their energy-constrained wireless communication systems, such as WSNs and WBANs. Using this approach, we will demonstrate how the channel coding algorithm and implementation can be holistically designed, in order to find the most desirable trade-off between complexity and performance.
Planned Impact
This research will enable economic and societal benefits within a few years, since the benefits of the proposed work will be available to the commercial manufacturers of energy-constrained wireless communication systems, allowing them to develop systems with significantly improved energy-efficiency and battery lifetime. This lifetime extension represents enabling technology, since it allows the Machine-To-Machine (M2M) applications of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) to be applied in new environmental monitoring, ambient assisted living and healthcare applications. More specifically, the employment of a WSN or WBAN for a particular application may have been prevented in the past because it would require energy harvesters or batteries that are unfeasibly bulky or expensive. For example, sensor nodes that are implanted into the human body for obtaining physiological data are required to be small and lightweight. These sensors cannot be readily recharged and are required to have long lifetimes in order to justify their employment. However, the widespread use of these sensors is currently prevented because WBANs having lifetimes beyond a couple of days require bulky batteries. The techniques developed by this proposal will extend the sensor lifetime by an order of magnitude, which would justify their employment and facilitate significant healthcare improvements. Besides EPSRC's 'Healthcare technologies' theme, similarly significant impacts can be expected in the 'Living with environmental change' and 'Global uncertainties' themes.
Throughout his PhD, the named Research Assistant (RA) Liang Li has gained significant expertise in both communication algorithms and hardware design, as shown in the attached CV. This combination is highly sought after in both UK industry and academia, since it facilitates holistic design, which can yield significant benefits like those described in this proposal. The experience that the named RA will gain from his involvement in this proposal will significantly further develop his expertise, which is highly desirable in both UK industry and academia. In addition to developing the expertise of the Principal Investigator (PI), undertaking this role for the first time will significantly develop his project leadership skills. The experience that the PI gains from managing this work will enable him to undertake even more ambitious projects in the future, having greater scope and impact. Furthermore, the liaison with academia and industry that are included in this proposal will provide valuable networking opportunities for the PI. In the future, this will provide him with further opportunities to collaborate and undertake work with broader scope and impact. Furthermore, the PhD student funded by the University of Southampton will follow in the named RA's footsteps, gaining valuable expertise in both communication algorithms and hardware design.
Throughout his PhD, the named Research Assistant (RA) Liang Li has gained significant expertise in both communication algorithms and hardware design, as shown in the attached CV. This combination is highly sought after in both UK industry and academia, since it facilitates holistic design, which can yield significant benefits like those described in this proposal. The experience that the named RA will gain from his involvement in this proposal will significantly further develop his expertise, which is highly desirable in both UK industry and academia. In addition to developing the expertise of the Principal Investigator (PI), undertaking this role for the first time will significantly develop his project leadership skills. The experience that the PI gains from managing this work will enable him to undertake even more ambitious projects in the future, having greater scope and impact. Furthermore, the liaison with academia and industry that are included in this proposal will provide valuable networking opportunities for the PI. In the future, this will provide him with further opportunities to collaborate and undertake work with broader scope and impact. Furthermore, the PhD student funded by the University of Southampton will follow in the named RA's footsteps, gaining valuable expertise in both communication algorithms and hardware design.
Organisations
- University of Southampton (Lead Research Organisation)
- Cascoda (Collaboration)
- McKay Brothers Microwave (Collaboration)
- Telecom Bretagne (Collaboration)
- Cobham (Collaboration)
- Orange France Telecom (Collaboration)
- AccelerComm (Collaboration)
- SONY (Collaboration)
- Ericsson (Collaboration)
- Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) (Collaboration)
- Technical University of Dresden (Collaboration)
- LG Corporation (South Korea) (Collaboration)
- NEC Corporation (Collaboration)
- National Instruments Corp (UK) Ltd (Collaboration)
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS (Collaboration)
- University of Bristol (Collaboration)
- BT Group (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Qualcomm (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Nokia Siemens Networks (UK) (Project Partner)
Publications
Al-Dujaily R
(2016)
A Scalable Turbo Decoding Algorithm for High-Throughput Network-on-Chip Implementation
in IEEE Access
Aljohani A
(2013)
EXIT-Chart-Aided Joint Source Coding, Channel Coding, and Modulation Design for Two-Way Relaying
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
An J
(2022)
Low-Complexity Improved-Rate Generalised Spatial Modulation: Bit-to-Symbol Mapping, Detection and Performance Analysis
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
An J
(2022)
Low-Complexity Channel Estimation and Passive Beamforming for RIS-Assisted MIMO Systems Relying on Discrete Phase Shifts
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Babar Z
(2018)
Unary-Coded Dimming Control Improves ON-OFF Keying Visible Light Communication
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Babar Z
(2016)
Fully-Parallel Quantum Turbo Decoder
in IEEE Access
Babar Z
(2020)
Polar Codes and Their Quantum-Domain Counterparts
in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials
Bastami H
(2021)
On the Physical Layer Security of the Cooperative Rate-Splitting-Aided Downlink in UAV Networks
in IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security
Bo Zhang
(2013)
Distributed Multiple-Component Turbo Codes for Cooperative Hybrid ARQ
in IEEE Signal Processing Letters
Brejza M
(2016)
20 Years of Turbo Coding and Energy-Aware Design Guidelines for Energy-Constrained Wireless Applications
in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials
Brejza M
(2016)
Exponential Golomb and Rice Error Correction Codes for Generalized Near-Capacity Joint Source and Channel Coding
in IEEE Access
Brejza M
(2017)
A High-Throughput FPGA Architecture for Joint Source and Channel Decoding
in IEEE Access
Brejza M
(2017)
Flexible iterative receiver architecture for wireless sensor networks: a joint source and channel coding design example
in IET Wireless Sensor Systems
Cane R
(2021)
Experimental Characterization of Fault-Tolerant Circuits in Small-Scale Quantum Processors
in IEEE Access
Cao Y
(2022)
The Evolution of Quantum Key Distribution Networks: On the Road to the Qinternet
in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials
Chandra D
(2022)
Direct Quantum Communications in the Presence of Realistic Noisy Entanglement
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Chang H
(2021)
Low-Complexity Adaptive Optics Aided Orbital Angular Momentum Based Wireless Communications
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Chawla A
(2021)
Distributed Detection for Centralized and Decentralized Millimeter Wave Massive MIMO Sensor Networks
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Chen H
(2015)
Hybrid-ARQ-Aided Short Fountain Codes Designed for Block-Fading Channels
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Chen J
(2015)
Bit-by-Bit Iterative Decoding Expedites the Convergence of Repeat Accumulate Decoders
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Chen J
(2021)
Factor Graphs for Support Identification in Compressive Sensing Aided Wireless Sensor Networks
in IEEE Sensors Journal
Chen X
(2020)
Efficient Resource Allocation for Relay-Assisted Computation Offloading in Mobile-Edge Computing
in IEEE Internet of Things Journal
Chen X
(2021)
Joint User Scheduling and Resource Allocation for Millimeter Wave Systems Relying on Adaptive-Resolution ADCs
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Chen Y
(2019)
Millimeter-Wave Massive MIMO Systems Relying on Generalized Sub-Array-Connected Hybrid Precoding
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Chen Y
(2019)
Channel-Covariance and Angle-of-Departure Aided Hybrid Precoding for Wideband Multiuser Millimeter Wave MIMO Systems
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Cui F
(2019)
Peak-to-Average Power Ratio Reduction Based on Penalty-CCCP for Filter Bank Multicarrier Systems
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Cui J
(2021)
Minimum-Delay Routing for Integrated Aeronautical Ad Hoc Networks Relying on Real Flight Data in the North-Atlantic Region
in IEEE Open Journal of Vehicular Technology
Cui J
(2020)
Next-Generation mm-Wave Small-Cell Networks: Multiple Access, Caching, and Resource Management
in IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine
Cui J
(2021)
Twin-Component Near-Pareto Routing Optimization for AANETs in the North-Atlantic Region Relying on Real Flight Statistics
in IEEE Open Journal of Vehicular Technology
Ding X
(2019)
The Security-Reliability Tradeoff of Multiuser Scheduling-Aided Energy Harvesting Cognitive Radio Networks
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Duan R
(2020)
Joint Multicast Beamforming and Relay Design for Maritime Communication Systems
in IEEE Transactions on Green Communications and Networking
Egilmez Z
(2022)
A Soft-Input Soft-Output Polar Decoding Algorithm for Turbo-Detection in MIMO-Aided 5G New Radio
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
El-Hajjar M
(2014)
Demonstrating the practical challenges of wireless communications using USRP
in IEEE Communications Magazine
Fang H
(2019)
Learning-Aided Physical Layer Authentication as an Intelligent Process
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Feng S
(2019)
Joint Power Allocation for the Multi-User NOMA-Downlink in a Power-Line-Fed VLC Network
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Gong S
(2021)
A Unified MIMO Optimization Framework Relying on the KKT Conditions
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Gong S
(2019)
Robust Energy Efficiency Optimization for Amplify-and-Forward MIMO Relaying Systems
in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications
Gopi S
(2019)
Coherent and Non-Coherent Multilayer Index Modulation
in IEEE Access
Guo H
(2019)
Joint Optimization of Power Splitting and Beamforming in Energy Harvesting Cooperative Networks
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Gupta S
(2019)
Performance Analysis of Device-to-Device Communication Underlaying Dense Networks (DenseNets)
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Hailes P
(2018)
Hardware-Efficient Node Processing Unit Architectures for Flexible LDPC Decoder Implementations
in IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs
Hailes P
(2017)
A Flexible FPGA-Based Quasi-Cyclic LDPC Decoder
in IEEE Access
Hailes P
(2016)
A Survey of FPGA-Based LDPC Decoders
in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials
He D
(2021)
Deep Learning-Assisted TeraHertz QPSK Detection Relying on Single-Bit Quantization
in IEEE Transactions on Communications
Hoang T
(2022)
RIS-Aided AANETs: Security Maximization Relying on Unsupervised Projection-Based Neural Networks
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
| Description | The Machine-To-Machine (M2M) applications of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) are set to offer many new capabilities, granting significant societal and economic benefits. These networks comprise a number of geographically-separated sensor nodes, which collect information from their environment and exchange it using wireless transmissions. However, these networks were prevented from being employed in demanding applications, because sensor nodes could not remain powered for a sufficient length of time without employing batteries that are prohibitively large, heavy or expensive. In this work, we achieved significant extension to the battery life of WSNs and WBANs by facilitating a significant reduction in the main cause of their energy consumption, namely the energy used to transmit information between the sensor nodes. A reduction in the sensor nodes' transmission energy was previously prevented, because it resulted in corrupted transmitted information owing to noise or interference. However, we maintained reliable communication when using a low transmit energy by specifically designing channel code implementations that can be employed in the sensor nodes to correct these transmission errors. Although previous channel code implementations could achieve this objective, they themselves have a high energy consumption, which can erode the transmission energy reduction they afford. Motived by this, we achieved a beneficial step change in the energy consumption of channel code implementations so that their advantages are maintained when employed in energy-constrained wireless communication systems, such as the M2M applications of WSNs and WBANs. We achieved this by facilitating a significant reduction in the supply voltage that is used to power the channel code implementations. A reduction in the supply voltage was previously prevented, because this reduces the speed of the implementation and causes the processed information to become corrupted, when its operations can no longer be performed within the allotted time. However, we maintained reliable operation when using a low supply voltage, by specifically designing the proposed channel code implementations to use their inherent error correction ability to correct not only transmission errors, but also these timing errors. To the best of our knowledge, this novel approach had never been attempted before, despite its significant benefits. Furthermore, we developed methodologies to allow the designers of WSNs and WBANs to estimate the energy consumption of the proposed channel code implementations, without having to fabricate them. This is now allowing other researchers to promptly optimise the design of the proposed channel code implementations to suit their energy-constrained wireless communication systems, such as WSNs and WBANs. Using this approach, we demonstrated how the channel coding algorithm and implementation can be holistically designed, in order to find the most desirable trade-off between complexity and performance. |
| Exploitation Route | This holistic cross-disciplinary research has developed new knowledge that spans the gap between energy-efficient communication theory and energy-efficient hardware design, opening up new areas of research in both of these fields. In particular, researchers with expertise in hardware design can benefit from the proposed architectures for energy-efficient and error-tolerant channel decoder implementations. More specifically, although we have validated the proposed architectures by implementing the most popular channel codes, the new design methodologies may be employed to consider other system components by the wider community. Furthermore, in the coming decades, the proposed error tolerant architectures will allow channel coding implementations to be fabricated using nanoelectronic devices, which are prone to manufacturing defects and ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC)-induced processing errors, but potentially facilitate orders-of-magnitude lower energy consumptions. Additionally, researchers with expertise in energy-efficient communications theory can benefit from the proposed methodologies for accurately estimating the energy consumption of the proposed channel decoder implementations. These researchers will be able to offset the reduction in transmission energy that is afforded by a channel code, with the energy consumption of its decoder implementation, even if they have no particular expertise in hardware design. For the first time, our proposed methodologies have enabled the holistic design of channel coding algorithms, without requiring the time-consuming fabrication of the corresponding implementations. As a result, the pace and completeness of this research will be significantly improved going forwards. The research is now being commercialised by the spin-out AccelerComm and it has informed contributions to the 3GPP standardisation process for 5G telecommunications. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) |
| Description | Professor Rob Maunder and his team at the University of Southampton have developed methodologies for the joint design of signal processing algorithms and their hardware acceleration for mobile communication. Since March 2016, the impact of this research has been as follows: I1 Creation of a spin-out company AccelerComm Ltd to develop the research into commercial-grade hardware accelerator designs. AccelerComm now employs 33 people and offers 27 hardware accelerator design products protected by 5 granted patents and a further 32 patent applications. I2 Deployment of hardware accelerator designs in 5G base-stations, test-and-measurement equipment, satellites and user devices world-wide, through 58 licenses of the AccelerComm products to various organisations including National Instruments, generating license sales booking for AccelerComm, plus royalty commitments that will be realised in future years. I3 Contributing to the global standards that define 5G. Maunder led a consortium including Ericsson, LG Electronics, Orange, NEC and Sony that contributed to defining the hardware accelerated signal processing aspects of the global standard for 5G mobile communication. I4 Facilitating 5G deployment. Research has led to open source simulation models that, in combination with AccelerComm's partnerships with hardware vendors Intel, Xilinx and Achronix, have contributed to the development of a global eco-system for open standardised hardware platforms for 5G base-station implementation, enabling the 'integration in a day' of hardware accelerators. I5 Maunder informed part of the UK government's Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, which sets the flagship policy for the roll-out of 5G in the UK, with the target of providing 5G coverage to the majority of the UK population by 2027. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | Aid for Startups |
| Amount | £500,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 900037 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2016 |
| End | 04/2018 |
| Description | Connected and Autonomous Vehicles |
| Amount | £250,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 10/2019 |
| Description | HARNet |
| Amount | £247,333 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | TS/L009390/1 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2013 |
| End | 12/2015 |
| Description | Highly-parallel algorithms and architectures for high-throughput wireless receivers |
| Amount | £489,433 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/L010550/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2014 |
| End | 03/2017 |
| Description | Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research |
| Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | SETsquared Partnership |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2015 |
| End | 03/2016 |
| Description | Knowledge Transfer Partnership |
| Amount | £190,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2018 |
| End | 12/2020 |
| Description | PhD funding |
| Amount | £75,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Qinetiq |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2016 |
| End | 06/2023 |
| Title | 3GPP New Radio polar code reference model |
| Description | Models the operation of the 3GPP New Radio polar code, allowing other to confirm the compliance of their solutions with the standard. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Used by other companies to confirm the compliance of their solutions with the standard. |
| URL | https://github.com/robmaunder/polar-3gpp-matlab |
| Title | FPGA implementations of LDPC decoders |
| Description | Database of 40 data items of 139 different FPGA implementations of LDPC decoders. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This database has generated a significant amount of interest and downloads from researchers around the world. |
| URL | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/384946/ |
| Title | Survey of ASIC and FPGA implementations of polar decoders |
| Description | Survey of ASIC and FPGA implementations of polar decoders |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | 3GPP standardisation process influenced |
| URL | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/400401/ |
| Title | Survey of ASIC implementations of turbo and LDPC decoders |
| Description | Survey of ASIC implementations of turbo and LDPC decoders |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Influenced 3GPP standardisation process |
| URL | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/399846/ |
| Description | 3GPP meetings |
| Organisation | Ericsson |
| Country | Sweden |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I have been representing AccelerComm at 3GPP standardisation meetings, where the error correction code for 5G mobile systems is being selected. In these meetings, I have led the consortium of companies that support the turbo code, which includes Ericsson, LG Electronics, NEC, Sony and Orange. In particular, I have presented and defended this consortium's way-forward proposals during these debates, as well as several papers of my own. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-signed way-forward proposals and contributed papers. |
| Impact | Contributed to 3GPP standard for 5G telecommunications. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | 3GPP meetings |
| Organisation | LG Electronics |
| Country | Korea, Republic of |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I have been representing AccelerComm at 3GPP standardisation meetings, where the error correction code for 5G mobile systems is being selected. In these meetings, I have led the consortium of companies that support the turbo code, which includes Ericsson, LG Electronics, NEC, Sony and Orange. In particular, I have presented and defended this consortium's way-forward proposals during these debates, as well as several papers of my own. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-signed way-forward proposals and contributed papers. |
| Impact | Contributed to 3GPP standard for 5G telecommunications. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | 3GPP meetings |
| Organisation | NEC Corporation |
| Department | NEC (UK) Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I have been representing AccelerComm at 3GPP standardisation meetings, where the error correction code for 5G mobile systems is being selected. In these meetings, I have led the consortium of companies that support the turbo code, which includes Ericsson, LG Electronics, NEC, Sony and Orange. In particular, I have presented and defended this consortium's way-forward proposals during these debates, as well as several papers of my own. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-signed way-forward proposals and contributed papers. |
| Impact | Contributed to 3GPP standard for 5G telecommunications. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | 3GPP meetings |
| Organisation | Orange France Telecom |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I have been representing AccelerComm at 3GPP standardisation meetings, where the error correction code for 5G mobile systems is being selected. In these meetings, I have led the consortium of companies that support the turbo code, which includes Ericsson, LG Electronics, NEC, Sony and Orange. In particular, I have presented and defended this consortium's way-forward proposals during these debates, as well as several papers of my own. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-signed way-forward proposals and contributed papers. |
| Impact | Contributed to 3GPP standard for 5G telecommunications. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | 3GPP meetings |
| Organisation | SONY |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I have been representing AccelerComm at 3GPP standardisation meetings, where the error correction code for 5G mobile systems is being selected. In these meetings, I have led the consortium of companies that support the turbo code, which includes Ericsson, LG Electronics, NEC, Sony and Orange. In particular, I have presented and defended this consortium's way-forward proposals during these debates, as well as several papers of my own. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-signed way-forward proposals and contributed papers. |
| Impact | Contributed to 3GPP standard for 5G telecommunications. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | 3GPP meetings |
| Organisation | Telecom Bretagne |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I have been representing AccelerComm at 3GPP standardisation meetings, where the error correction code for 5G mobile systems is being selected. In these meetings, I have led the consortium of companies that support the turbo code, which includes Ericsson, LG Electronics, NEC, Sony and Orange. In particular, I have presented and defended this consortium's way-forward proposals during these debates, as well as several papers of my own. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-signed way-forward proposals and contributed papers. |
| Impact | Contributed to 3GPP standard for 5G telecommunications. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | AccelerComm |
| Organisation | AccelerComm |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | AccelerComm is collaborating with the University of Southampton under directly funded research collaboration agreements, Innovate UK projects and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. The University is contributing algorithmic expertise on signal processing for 5G mobile communications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | AccelerComm is contributing hardware implementation expertise on signal processing for 5G mobile communications. |
| Impact | Product development. 5G standardisation contributions. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Cascoda |
| Organisation | Cascoda |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have setup a continuing dialogue with Cascoda about our work on the practical implementation of architectures for wireless communication processing, for the purpose of knowledge transfer. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Cascoda are an industrial partner of our EPSRC fellowship application 'Holistic design of signal processing algorithms, waveforms and hardware implementations for ultra-low- latency wireless communication'. Cascoda provide feedback on our research findings and help to shape our future research directions. |
| Impact | Knowledge transfer has resulted from this collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Cobham |
| Organisation | Cobham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have setup a continuing dialogue with Cobham about our work on the practical implementation of architectures for wireless communication processing, for the purpose of knowledge transfer. We are developing algorithms which Cobham will use in their products. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Cobham are an industrial partner of our further funding project 'HARNet'. Cobham provide feedback on our research findings and help to shape our future research directions. |
| Impact | Publications and algorithms for Cobham's products are emerging from this collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | DSTL |
| Organisation | Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | DSTL are sponsoring a part-time PhD student. |
| Collaborator Contribution | DSTL are providing co-supervision and are informing the direction of the research. |
| Impact | PhD training has resulted from this collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Harnessing Quantum-Computing & Signal Processing in Wireless Communications |
| Organisation | Indian Institute of Technology Madras |
| Country | India |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We published several joint 4* papers, which contribute to the REF; |
| Collaborator Contribution | Deriving closed-form equations for characterizing device-to-device communications and IoT |
| Impact | mathematics, information theory, signal processing, computer science, telecommunications engineering |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | McKay Brothers Microwave |
| Organisation | McKay Brothers Microwave |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have setup a continuing dialogue with McKay Brothers Microwave about our work on the practical implementation of architectures for wireless communication processing, for the purpose of knowledge transfer. |
| Collaborator Contribution | McKay Brothers Microwave are an industrial partner of our EPSRC fellowship application 'Holistic design of signal processing algorithms, waveforms and hardware implementations for ultra-low- latency wireless communication'. McKay Brothers Microwave provide feedback on our research findings and help to shape our future research directions. |
| Impact | Knowledge transfer has resulted from this collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | National Instruments |
| Organisation | National Instruments Corp (UK) Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have setup a continuing dialogue with National Instruments about our work on the practical implementation of architectures for wireless communication processing, for the purpose of knowledge transfer. |
| Collaborator Contribution | National Instruments have provided support for their software and hardware, which we use in our research. National Instruments provide feedback on our research findings and help to shape our future research directions. National Instruments are an industrial partner of our EPSRC fellowship application 'Holistic design of signal processing algorithms, waveforms and hardware implementations for ultra-low- latency wireless communication' |
| Impact | Knowledge transfer has resulted from this collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | Technische Universität Dresden |
| Organisation | Technical University of Dresden |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have setup a continuing dialogue with TU Dresden about our work on the practical implementation of architectures for wireless communication processing, for the purpose of knowledge transfer. |
| Collaborator Contribution | TU Dresden are an acadmic partner of our EPSRC fellowship application 'Holistic design of signal processing algorithms, waveforms and hardware implementations for ultra-low- latency wireless communication'. TD Dresden provide feedback on our research findings and help to shape our future research directions. |
| Impact | Knowledge transfer has resulted from this collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | University of Bristol |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Department | Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have setup a continuing dialogue with the University of Bristol about our work on the practical implementation of architectures for wireless communication processing, for the purpose of knowledge transfer. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The University of Bristol is an academic partner of our EPSRC fellowship application 'Holistic design of signal processing algorithms, waveforms and hardware implementations for ultra-low- latency wireless communication'. The University of Bristol provide feedback on our research findings and help to shape our future research directions. |
| Impact | Knowledge transfer has resulted from this collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Title | Detection circuit, receiver, communications device and method of detecting |
| Description | A detection circuit performs a turbo detection process to recover a frame of data symbols from a received signal, the symbols having been effected, by a Markov process with the effect that symbols in the received signal are dependent on one or more preceding symbols which can be represented as a trellis having plural stages. The detection circuit comprises a plurality of processing elements 706,708, each element is associated with one of the trellis stages. Each element receives soft decision values corresponding to symbols associated with the trellis stage, and each processing element is configured, in one clock cycle to receive fixed point data representing a-priori forward slate metrics, a-priori backward state metrics, and a-priori soft decision values for the symbols for the trellis stage. For each cycle, the circuit processes, for each processing element, the a-priori information for symbols detected for the stage associated with the processing element, and t provides extrinsic soft decision values corresponding to the symbols for a next clock cycle of the detection process. |
| IP Reference | GB2529209 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2016 |
| Licensed | Yes |
| Impact | Assigned to AccelerComm |
| Title | FULLY PARALLEL TURBO DECODING |
| Description | A detection circuit performs a turbo detection process to recover a frame of data symbols from a received signal, the data symbols of the frame having been effected, during transmission, by a Markov process with the effect that the data symbols of the frame in the received signal are dependent one or more preceding data symbols which can be represented as a trellis having a plurality of trellis stages. The detection circuit comprises a plurality of processing elements, each of the processing elements is associated with one of the trellis stages representing the dependency of the data symbols of the frame according to the Markov process and each of the processing elements is configured to receive one or more soft decision values corresponding to one or more data symbols associated with the trellis stage, and each of one or more of the processing elements is configured, in one clock cycle to receive fixed point data representing a priori forward state metrics a priori backward state metrics, and fixed point data representing a priori soft decision values for the one or more data symbols being detected for the trellis stage. For each of a plurality of clock cycles of the turbo detection process, the detection circuit is configured to process, for each of the processing elements representing the trellis stages, the a priori information for the one or more data symbols being detected for the trellis stage associated with the processing element, and to provide the extrinsic soft decision values corresponding to the one or more data symbols for a next clock cycle of the turbo detection process. |
| IP Reference | WO2016023762 |
| Protection | Patent granted |
| Year Protection Granted | 2016 |
| Licensed | Yes |
| Impact | Assigned to AccelerComm |
| Title | Arbitrarily Parallel Turbo Decoder |
| Description | Soft IP for Arbitrarily Parallel Turbo Decoder |
| Type Of Technology | New/Improved Technique/Technology |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | Licensing discussions with several potential customers underway |
| Company Name | AccelerComm |
| Description | Soft-IP semiconductor company for hardware acceleration of wireless communication signal processing |
| Year Established | 2016 |
| Impact | Raised external investment, created jobs, in licensing discussions with several potential customers |
| Website | http://www.accelercomm.com |
| Description | 3GPP standardisation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Contributed technical documents and way-forward proposals to the 3GPP standardisation process for 5G telecommunications |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
| Description | Academic presentation (University of York) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This talk sparked questions and discussions afterwards. A closer relationship has been built with the University of York. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | GC-WOC keynote |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Keynote address at Global Conference on Wireless and Optical Communications |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | NIWeek Keynote |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Academic keynode address at NIWeek 2016 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/8qqCWPj-di8 |
| Description | SETsquared Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Engaged with over 100 individuals from companies all over the world, including EE, TMobile, China Mobile, AT&T, Rohde & Schwarz, Nokia Networks, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Samsung, Thales, Huawei, Altera, Qualcomm, National Instruments, nVidia, ARM, Imagination Technologies, Analog Devices, BAe Systems and Cobham. The aim of these engagements was to create awareness for our research outputs, to understand the problems faced by industry, to see how well our research addresses these problems and to inform our future research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | TU Dortmund Summer School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Summer school talk on joint design of algorithms and architectures for signal processing in wireless communications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |