|Wired and wireless networks are becoming increasingly complex with increased amount of signal destinations. Before the transmitted signal reaches its final destination, it must pass through one or more relay nodes (e.g. router, access point, portable device, or other communication nodes). Each relay node would typically perform an operation like amplify-and-forward (AF) or decode-and-forward (DF). AF relays scale and amplify the signal for the DF relay to detect and transmit. The reliability of DF to transmit the signal correctly depends on the clarity of the signal from AF. Since both the delay and complexity of DF increase linearly with respect to the number relay nodes, the performance of DF is subpar for high-performance applications. In addition, the computational/power cost may also be high for low-power scenarios. While AF helps avoid the penalties from delay, the low cost of AF is accompanied by a substantial throughput-loss (30-70 percent compared to DF) due to noise accumulated at the intermediate node. There is need of a method for improving the performance of AF and DF relays.
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new technique called transcoding for wired and wireless communications. In transcoding, the relay partially decodes or processes the received signal before transmission. This avoids the delay and computational issues associated with DF and significantly improves upon the performance of AF, therefore, improving latency for communication and networks. Transcoding could be used over multiple relay nodes and would be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, and/or any combination thereof.
-Improved DF and AF performance
Sep 26, 2018
Sep 26, 2017
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