Modulation and Signal Detection for Diffusive-Drift Molecular Communication with a Mobile Receiver

Molecular communication (MC), which allows nanomachines to communicate with each other by using chemical molecules, is considered to be a promising method for communications in liquid environment. Available works on MC mainly focus on modulation and signal detection schemes for MC systems with fixed nanomachines, i.e., fixed molecular communication (FMC) systems. However, the more complex systems with mobile nanomachines (i.e., mobile molecular communication (MMC) systems) have been largely unexplored. This paper considers a MMC system with a fixed transmitter and a mobile receiver communicating over diffusive-drift channels of a limited boundary. We first propose a new modulation scheme to address the issue of misalignment in the signal detection of MMC systems by adopting three types of molecules in the signal modulation and modulating the transmitted signals into blocks with equal length to avoid the transferring of a signal error in the current block on the signal detection in other blocks. We then propose a new signal detection scheme of the MMC systems by calculating the distance between the transmitter and the receiver based on a distance prediction method and detecting signals at the receiver based on the decided adaptive concentration threshold in each time interval. To verify the efficiency of our proposed scheme, we then conducted extensive simulations by the Monte Carlo simulation, and comparisons are also made among our proposed schemes, a well-known fixed threshold signal detection scheme, the CATD scheme, the PAD scheme, and a low complexity signal detection scheme for MMC systems in terms of the BER (bit error rate). Results show that our proposed schemes can outperform these schemes regarding the BER.

A Tilt Visible Light Positioning System Based on Double LEDs and Angle Sensors

Visible light positioning (VLP) has been studied widely due to its high accuracy and low cost in the field of location-based services (LBS). However, many existing VLP systems have the requirements that the receiver should be placed horizontally and more than three LED lamps should be used, which are difficult to meet in practical scenarios. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a novel VLP algorithm for tilted conditions. An effective and simple VLP system while the receiver is tilted based on double-LED lamps is proposed in this paper. The vertical position can be determined by combining the information from angle sensors with geometric information. Through analyzing the imaging characteristics of the tilted state, we can utilize the relationship of similarity to calculate the location of the mobile receiver. Experimental results show that the positioning accuracy of our proposed algorithm can reach 5.48 cm.

Event-Sensitive Network: A Construction Algorithm of Agricultural Sensor Network Driven by Environmental Change

In a wireless sensor network, the sensor nodes transmit the acquired information to the server through the data transmission link. On the serverside, the data are processed, fused, and expressed to serve the user. Sensor deployment is a key factor related to the stability and security of wireless networks. This article uses environmental changes to drive related technologies to deploy wireless sensors. In this article, environmental change-driven means that through certain deployment cost model assumptions and problem descriptions, network deployment is artificially divided into two stages: initial deployment and redeployment. In the deployment phase, by referring to the idea of virtual force, a new sensor deployment algorithm is proposed in the redeployment phase, which can well solve the stability- and security-related issues encountered in agricultural wireless sensor networks. In this algorithm, the moving distance of the mobile receiver and the average coverage of the network are calculated based on the virtual force, the direction, and the number of adjacent clusters. Finally, the algorithm model was simulated in MATLAB, and the feasibility of the algorithm was verified by analyzing the event coverage and the moving distance of nodes. The final simulation results show that the algorithm proposed in this paper can achieve better performance than existing algorithms in terms of average coverage and moving distance.

Investigation of the influence of surfaces between basic stations and satisfactory recognition on the accuracy of coordinating definitions

The distance between different base stations and the mobile receiver, as well as errors of coordinate definitions at different distances between the base station and the mobile receiver are investigated. For realization of the set tasks the following methods of research were applied: field measurements, mathematical modeling method and methods of mathematical statistics for the processing of experimental data. The degree of influence of distances between the base station and the satellite receiver on accuracy of coordinate definitions in RTK-mode is established.

Characterization of acoustic detection efficiency using a gliding robotic fish as a mobile receiver platform

Background Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and animal telemetry have become important tools for understanding the relationships between aquatic organisms and their environment, but more information is needed to guide the development and use of AUVs as effective animal tracking platforms. A forward-facing acoustic telemetry receiver (VR2Tx 69 kHz; VEMCO, Bedford, Nova Scotia) attached to a novel AUV (gliding robotic fish) was tested in a freshwater lake to (1) compare its detection efficiency (i.e., the probability of detecting an acoustic signal emitted by a tag) of acoustic tags (VEMCO model V8-4H 69 kHz) to stationary receivers and (2) determine if detection efficiency was related to distance between tag and receiver, direction of movement (toward or away from transmitter), depth, or pitch. Results Detection efficiency for mobile (robot-mounted) and stationary receivers were similar at ranges less than 300 m, on average across all tests, but detection efficiency for the mobile receiver decreased faster than for stationary receivers at distances greater than 300 m. Detection efficiency was higher when the robot was moving toward the transmitter than when moving away from the transmitter. Detection efficiency decreased with depth (surface to 4 m) when the robot was moving away from the transmitter, but depth had no significant effect on detection efficiency when the robot was moving toward the transmitter. Detection efficiency was higher when the robot was descending (pitched downward) than ascending (pitched upward) when moving toward the transmitter, but pitch had no significant effect when moving away from the transmitter. Conclusion Results suggested that much of the observed variation in detection efficiency is related to shielding of the acoustic signal by the robot body depending on the positions and orientation of the hydrophone relative to the transmitter. Results are expected to inform hardware, software, and operational changes to gliding robotic fish that will improve detection efficiency. Regardless, data on the size and shape of detection efficiency curves for gliding robotic fish will be useful for planning future missions and should be relevant to other AUVs for telemetry. With refinements, gliding robotic fish could be a useful platform for active tracking of acoustic tags in certain environments.

Network Code DGNSS Positioning for Faster L1–L5 GPS Ambiguity Initialization

This paper presents DGNSS network code positioning using permanent geodetic networks, commonly used in GNSS measurements. Using several reference stations at the same time allows for the independent control of GNSS positioning and facilitates the more realistic estimation of accuracy. Test calculations were made on the basis of real GPS data, using one TRIMBLE mobile receiver and four nearest reference stations of the ASG-EUPOS geodetic system. In addition, DGNSS positioning computational simulations were performed for a case where one mobile GNSS receiver would be able to be used with two (e.g., GPS + Galileo or GPS + GLONASS) or four different positioning systems and different GNSS reference station systems at the same time. To reduce the deviations of the DGPS positioning from a true value, the Kalman filtering for horizontal coordinates and vertical ones was used. The result shows a significant improvement in DGPS positioning accuracy. Based on the numerical analysis carried out, it can be seen that when four GNSS systems are used, it is possible to achieve a DGNSS accuracy of 0.1 m and 0.2 m for horizontal and height coordinates, respectively, using only code measurements. Additionally, the paper presents the impact of the DGNSS code positioning accuracy on the effectiveness of determining ambiguities of phase observations on individual measurement epochs, using the L1–L5 observations of the GPS system and the precise and fast method of ambiguity resolution (PREFMAR). The developed DGNSS positioning methodology can be applied for reliable GNSS navigation using at least two independent GNSS systems.

Improved kinematic Precise Point Positioning performance with the use of map constraints

A positioning approach combining satellite measurements with a map representing the ground-truth trajectory is developed with the main objective of improving the availability of solutions for a mobile vehicle. For the positioning model, the Precise Point Positioning (PPP) technique is augmented with an alternative map-matching to find a probable space where the true vehicle or platform position is located. Then, by using a selection criterion based on the precise carrier phase residuals, the best candidate position within the space can be determined. This process provides an accurate initial position to the PPP filter, different from the standard PPP approach that relies on a point position using the less accurate pseudorange observables. A controlled experiment of a mobile receiver navigating over a pre-defined trajectory was conducted. The results show that the approach offers an instantaneous initial convergence, eliminating the re-convergences during two GNSS obstructions of 32 and 17 seconds, while constantly keeping the solution on the correct trajectory, even when tracking 3 to 2 satellites. This approach outperforms the standard PPP and RTK solutions in terms of convergences and re-convergences. These results are corroborated when comparing the average and standard deviation of residuals to the standard PPP model. For the pseudorange residuals, improvements of 17.5 cm and 24.3 cm in the average and standard deviation respectively were achieved. The carrier phase residuals standard deviation of the proposed approach was 3 cm better than that of the standard PPP.

Low-Cost Solar Electricity Using Stationary Solar Fields; Technology Potential and Practical Implementation Challenges to Be Overcome. Outcomes from H2020 MOSAIC Project

At any time of the day, a spherical mirror reflects the rays coming from the sun along a line that points to the sun through the center of the sphere. This makes it possible to build concentrated solar power(CSP) plants with fixed solar fields and mobile receivers; that is, solar fields can be significantly cheaper and simpler, but challenging tracking systems for the mobile receiver need to be implemented. The cost-cutting possibilities for this technology have been under-researched. This article describes the MOSAIC concept, which aims to achieve low-cost solar energy by boosting the benefits of spherical reflectors while addressing their challenges. This new concept proposes to build large modular plants from semi-Fresnel solar bowls. One of these modules has been designed and is under construction in Spain. This article reports the main lessons learned during the design phase, describes the advantages and challenges of the concept, details the proposed routes to overcome them, and identifies the steps needed to develop a fully competitive industrial solution.