MobCommunications - UNIT I Introduction
Introduction: In the present days, wireless communication system has become an
essential part of various types of wireless communication devices, that permits
user to communicate even from remote operated areas. There are many devices
used for wireless communication like mobiles. Cordless telephones, Zigbee
wireless technology, GPS, Wi-Fi, satellite television and wireless computer parts.
Current wireless phones include 3 and 4G networks, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
technologies.
Applications: Television and Radio Broadcasting, Satellite Communication, Radar
Mobile Telephone System (Cellular Communication), Global Positioning System
(GPS), Infrared Communication, WLAN (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Paging, Cordless Phones
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Near Field Communications (NFC), Internet
of Things (IoT).
Mobile And Wireless Devices:
The definition of mobile and wireless varies from person to person and
organization to organization. In many cases, the terms mobile and wireless are
used interchangeably, even though they are two different things. Let's start with
the term mobile. Mobile is the ability to be on the move. A mobile device is
anything that can be used on the move, ranging from laptops to mobile phones.
As long as location is not fixed, it is considered mobile. Areas that are not included
in our definition of mobile include remote offices, home offices, or home
appliances. While these are definitely remote, they are not considered mobile.
Wireless refers to the transmission of voice and data over radio waves. It allows
workers to communicate with enterprise data without requiring a physical
connection to the network. Wireless devices include anything that uses a wireless
network to either send or receive data. The wireless network itself can be accessed
from mobile workers, as well as in fixed locations.
A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computing device small enough to
hold and operate in the hand. Typically, any handheld computer device will have
an LCD flatscreen interface, providing a touchscreen interface with digital buttons
and keyboard or physical buttons along with a physical keyboard. Many such
devices can connect to the Internet and interconnect with other devices such as
car entertainment systems or headsets via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular networks or
near field communication (NFC). Integrated cameras, digital media players, the
ability to place and receive telephone calls, video games, and Global Positioning
System (GPS) capabilities are common. Power is typically provided by a lithium
battery. Mobile devices may run mobile operating systems that allow third-party
apps specialized for said capabilities to be installed and run.Early smartphones
were joined in the late 2000s by larger, but otherwise the same, tablets. Input and
output is now usually via a touch-screen interface. Phones/tablets and personal
digital assistants may provide much of the functionality of a laptop or desktop
computer but more conveniently. Enterprise digital assistants can provide
additional business functionality such as integrated data capture via barcode, RFID
and smart card readers. By 2010, mobile devices often contained sensors such as
accelerometers, magnetometers and gyroscopes allowing detection of orientation
and motion. Mobile devices may provide biometric user authentication such as
face recognition or fingerprint recognition.
Simplified Reference Model:
Mobile terminals are computerized devices which feature a screen on which to
view information and a keyboard or keypad for entering information, and may be
connected to various peripheral devices. A base station is a fixed point of
communication for customer cellular phones on a carrier network. The base
station is connected to an antenna (or multiple antennae) that receives and
transmits the signals in the cellular network to customer phones and cellular
devices. That equipment is connected to a mobile switching station that connects
cellular calls to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). A single base
station may extend the service providers network by blocks or by miles. Base
stations are company-specific. However, a single site may host multiple base
stations from competing telecommunication companies. Conventional servers
typically have all the protocols implemented in a server environment. ● Physical
layer: This is the lowest layer in a communication system and is responsible for the
conversion of a stream of bits into signals that can be transmitted on the sender
side. The physical layer of the receiver then transforms the signals back into a bit
stream. For wireless communication, the physical layer is responsible for
frequency selection, generation of the carrier frequency, signal detection
(although heavy interference may disturb the signal), modulation of data onto a
carrier frequency and (depending on the transmission scheme) encryption. ● Data
link layer: The main tasks of this layer include accessing the medium, multiplexing
of different data streams, correction of transmission errors, and synchronization
(i.e., detection of a data frame). Altogether, the data link layer is responsible for a
reliable point-to-point connection between two devices or a point- to-multipoint
connection between one sender and several receivers. ● Network layer: This third
layer is responsible for routing packets through a network or establishing a
connection between two entities over many other intermediate systems.
Important functions are addressing, routing, device location, and handover
between different networks. ● Transport layer: This layer is used in the reference
model to establish an end-to- end connection ● Application layer: Finally, the
applications (complemented by additional layers that can support applications) are
situated on top of all transmission oriented layers. Functions are service location,
support for multimedia applications, adaptive applications that can handle the
large variations in transmission characteristics, and wireless access to the world-
wide web using a portable device.
Need for Mobile Computing: Mobile computing is a generic term that refers to a
variety of devices that allow people to access data and information from wherever
they are. Sometimes referred to as "human-computer interaction," mobile
computing transports data, voice, and video over a network via a mobile device.
Mobile computing can use cellphone connections to make phone calls, as well as
to connect to the Internet. They include: Laptops, Smartphones, Tablets and
Wearable computers. ● Portability: Devices/nodes connected within the mobile
computing system should facilitate mobility. These devices may have limited
device capabilities and limited power supply, but should have a sufficient
processing capability and physical portability to operate in a movable
environment. ● Connectivity: This defines the quality of service (QoS) of the
network connectivity. In a mobile computing system, the network availability is
expected to be maintained at a high level with the minimal amount of
lag/downtime without being affected by the mobility of the connected nodes. ●
Interactivity: The nodes belonging to a mobile computing system are connected
with one another to communicate and collaborate through active transactions of
data. ● Individuality: A portable device or a mobile node connected to a mobile
network often denote an individual; a mobile computing system should be able to
adopt the technology to cater the individual needs and also to obtain contextual
information of each node.
Wireless Transmission: Wireless transmission is a form of unguided media.
Wireless communication involves no physical link established between two or
more devices, communicating wirelessly. Wireless signals are spread over in the
air and are received and interpreted by appropriate antennas. When an antenna
is attached to electrical circuit of a computer or wireless device, it converts the
digital data into wireless signals and spread all over within its frequency range. The
receptor on the other end receives these signals and converts them back to digital
data. A little part of electromagnetic spectrum can be used for wireless
transmission.
1) Radio Transmission: Radio frequency is easier to generate and because of its
large wavelength it can penetrate through walls and structures alike. Radio waves
can have wavelength from 1 mm – 100,000 km and have frequency ranging from
3 Hz (Extremely Low Frequency) to 300 GHz (Extremely High Frequency). Radio
frequencies are sub-divided into six bands. Radio waves at lower frequencies can
travel through walls whereas higher RF can travel in straight line and bounce back.
The power of low frequency waves decreases sharply as they cover long distance.
High frequency radio waves have more power. Lower frequencies such as VLF, LF,
MF bands can travel on the ground up to 1000 kilometers, over the earth’s surface.
2) Microwave Transmission: Electromagnetic waves above 100 MHz tend to travel
in a straight line and signals over them can be sent by beaming those waves
towards one particular station. Because Microwaves travels in straight lines, both
sender and receiver must be aligned to be strictly in line-of-sight. Microwaves can
have wavelength ranging from 1 mm – 1 meter and frequency ranging from 300
MHz to 300 GHz. Microwave antennas concentrate the waves making a beam of it.
As shown in picture above, multiple antennas can be aligned to reach farther.
Microwaves have higher frequencies and do not penetrate wall like obstacles.
Microwave transmission depends highly upon the weather conditions and the
frequency it is using. 3) Infrared Transmission: Infrared wave lies in between
visible light spectrum and microwaves. It has wavelength of 700-nm to 1-mm and
frequency ranges from 300-GHz to 430-THz. Infrared wave is used for very short
range communication purposes such as television and it’s remote. Infrared travels
in a straight line hence it is directional by nature. Because of high frequency range,
Infrared cannot cross wall-like obstacles. 4) Light Transmission: Highest most
electromagnetic spectrum which can be used for data transmission is light or
optical signaling. This is achieved by means of LASER. Because of frequency light
uses, it tends to travel strictly in straight line. Hence the sender and receiver must
be in the line-of-sight. Because laser transmission is unidirectional, at both ends of
communication the laser and the photo-detector needs to be installed. Laser beam
is generally 1mm wide hence it is a work of precision to align two far receptors
each pointing to lasers source. Laser works as Tx (transmitter) and photo-detectors
works as Rx (receiver). Lasers cannot penetrate obstacles such as walls, rain, and
thick fog. Additionally, laser beam is distorted by wind, atmosphere temperature,
or variation in temperature in the path. Laser is safe for data transmission as it is
very difficult to tap 1mm wide laser without interrupting the communication
channel.
Multiplexing: In telecommunications and computer networks, multiplexing
(sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital
signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a
scarce resource. For example, in telecommunications, several telephone calls may
be carried using one wire. Multiplexing originated in telegraphy in the 1870s, and
is now widely applied in communications. In telephony, George Owen Squier is
credited with the development of telephone carrier multiplexing in 1910. The
multiplexed signal is transmitted over a communication channel such as a cable.
The multiplexing divides the capacity of the communication channel into several
logical channels, one for each message signal or data stream to be transferred. A
reverse process, known as demultiplexing, extracts the original channels on the
receiver end. A device that performs the multiplexing is called a multiplexer (MUX),
and a device that performs the reverse process is called a demultiplexer (DEMUX
or DMX). Inverse multiplexing (IMUX) has the opposite aim as multiplexing, namely
to break one data stream into several streams, transfer them simultaneously over
several communication channels, and recreate the original data stream. Types:
Multiple variable bit rate digital bit streams may be transferred efficiently over a
single fixed bandwidth channel by means of statistical multiplexing. This is an
asynchronous mode time-domain multiplexing which is a form of time-division
multiplexing. Digital bit streams can be transferred over an analog channel by
means of code-division multiplexing techniques such as frequency-hopping spread
spectrum (FHSS) and direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS). In wireless
communications, multiplexing can also be accomplished through alternating
polarization (horizontal/vertical or clockwise/counter-clockwise) on each adjacent
channel and satellite, or through phased multi-antenna array combined with a
multiple-input multiple-output communications (MIMO) scheme. 1) Space-
division multiplexing: In wired communication, space-division multiplexing, also
known as Space-division multiple access is the use of separate point-to-point
electrical conductors for each transmitted channel. Examples include an analogue
stereo audio cable, with one pair of wires for the left channel and another for the
right channel, and a multi-pair telephone cable, a switched star network such as a
telephone access network, a switched Ethernet network, and a mesh network.
In wireless communication, space-division multiplexing is achieved with multiple
antenna elements forming a phased array antenna. Examples are multiple-input
and multiple-output (MIMO), single-input and multiple-output (SIMO) and
multiple-input and single-output (MISO) multiplexing. An IEEE 802.11n wireless
router with k antennas makes it in principle possible to communicate with k
multiplexed channels, each with a peak bit rate of 54 Mbit/s, thus increasing the
total peak bit rate by the factor k. Different antennas would give different multi-
path propagation (echo) signatures, making it possible for digital signal processing
techniques to separate different signals from each other. These techniques may
also be utilized for space diversity (improved robustness to fading) or beamforming
(improved selectivity) rather than multiplexing.
2) Frequency-division multiplexing: Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM): The
spectrum of each input signal is shifted to a distinct frequency range. Frequency-
division multiplexing (FDM) is inherently an analog technology. FDM achieves the
combining of several signals into one medium by sending signals in several distinct
frequency ranges over a single medium. In FDM the signals are electrical signals.
One of the most common applications for FDM is traditional radio and television
broadcasting from terrestrial, mobile or satellite stations, or cable television. Only
one cable reaches a customer's residential area, but the service provider can send
multiple television channels or signals simultaneously over that cable to all
subscribers without interference. Receivers must tune to the appropriate
frequency (channel) to access the desired signal.
A variant technology, called wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is used in
optical communications.
3) Time-division multiplexing: is a digital (or in rare cases, analog) technology
which uses time, instead of space or frequency, to separate the different data
streams. TDM involves sequencing groups of a few bits or bytes from each
individual input stream, one after the other, and in such a way that they can be
associated with the appropriate receiver. If done sufficiently quickly, the receiving
devices will not detect that some of the circuit time was used to serve another
logical communication path. Carrier sense multiple access and multidrop
communication methods are similar to time-division multiplexing in that multiple
data streams are separated by time on the same medium, but because the signals
have separate origins instead of being combined into a single signal, are best
viewed as channel access methods, rather than a form of multiplexing.
4) Polarization-division multiplexing: It uses the polarization of electromagnetic
radiation to separate orthogonal channels. It is in practical use in both radio and
optical communications, particularly in 100 Gbit/s per channel fiber optic
transmission systems.
5) Orbital angular momentum multiplexing: It is a relatively new and experimental
technique for multiplexing multiple channels of signals carried using
electromagnetic radiation over a single path. It can potentially be used in addition
to other physical multiplexing methods to greatly expand the transmission
capacity of such systems. As of 2012 it is still in its early research phase, with small-
scale laboratory demonstrations of bandwidths of up to 2.5 Tbit/s over a single
light path. This is a controversial subject in the academic community, with many
claiming it is not a new method of multiplexing, but rather a special case of space-
division multiplexing.
6) Code-division multiplexing: Code division multiplexing (CDM), Code division
multiple access (CDMA) or spread spectrum is a class of techniques where several
channels simultaneously share the same frequency spectrum, and this spectral
bandwidth is much higher than the bit rate or symbol rate. One form is frequency
hopping, another is direct sequence spread spectrum. In the latter case, each
channel transmits its bits as a coded channel-specific sequence of pulses called
chips. Number of chips per bit, or chips per symbol, is the spreading factor. This
coded transmission typically is accomplished by transmitting a unique time-
dependent series of short pulses, which are placed within chip times within the
larger bit time. All channels, each with a different code, can be transmitted on the
same fiber or radio channel or other medium, and asynchronously demultiplexed.
Advantages over conventional techniques are that variable bandwidth is possible
(just as in statistical multiplexing), that the wide bandwidth allows poor signal-to-
noise ratio according to Shannon-Hartley theorem, and that multi-path
propagation in wireless communication can be combated by rake receivers.
A significant application of CDMA is the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Multi access method: A multiplexing technique may be further extended into a
multiple access method or channel access method, for example, TDM into time-
division multiple access (TDMA) and statistical multiplexing into carrier-sense
multiple access (CSMA). A multiple access method makes it possible for several
transmitters connected to the same physical medium to share its capacity.
Multiplexing is provided by the Physical Layer of the OSI model, while multiple
access also involves a media access control protocol, which is part of the Data Link
Layer. The Transport layer in the OSI model, as well as TCP/IP model, provides
statistical multiplexing of several application layer data flows to/from the same
computer. Other widely used multiple access techniques are time-division multiple
access (TDMA) and frequency-division multiple access (FDMA). Code-division
multiplex techniques are used as an access technology, namely code-division
multiple access (CDMA), in Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)
standard for the third-generation (3G) mobile communication identified by the ITU
(International Telecommunication Union).
Spread Spectrum and Cellular Systems: In telecommunication and radio
communication, spread-spectrum techniques are methods by which a signal (e.g.,
an electrical, electromagnetic, or acoustic signal) generated with a particular
bandwidth is deliberately spread in the frequency domain, resulting in a signal with
a wider bandwidth. These techniques are used for a variety of reasons, including
the establishment of secure communications, increasing resistance to natural
interference, noise and jamming, to prevent detection, and to limit power flux
density (e.g., in satellite down links). Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS),
direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS), time-hopping spread spectrum (THSS),
chirp spread spectrum (CSS), and combinations of these techniques are forms of
spread spectrum. Each of these techniques employs pseudorandom number
sequences—created using pseudorandom number generators—to determine and
control the spreading pattern of the signal across the allocated bandwidth.
Wireless standard IEEE 802.11 uses either FHSS or DSSS in its radio interface. ●
FHSS: Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) is a method of transmitting
radio signals by rapidly switching a carrier among many frequency channels, using
a pseudorandom sequence known to both transmitter and receiver. It is used as a
multiple access method in the code division multiple access (CDMA) scheme
frequency-hopping code division multiple access (FH-CDMA). ● DSSS: In
telecommunications, direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) is a spread
spectrum modulation technique used to reduce overall signal interference. The
spreading of this signal makes the resulting wideband channel noisier, allowing for
greater resistance to unintentional and intentional interference. Some practical
and effective uses of DSSS include the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
channel access method and the IEEE 802.11b specification used in Wi-Fi networks.
● THSS: Time-hopping (TH) is a communications signal technique which can be
used to achieve anti-jamming (AJ) or low probability of intercept (LPI). It can also
refer to pulse-position modulation, which in its simplest form employs 2k discrete
pulses (referring to the unique positions of the pulse within the transmission
window) to transmit k bit(s) per pulse. To achieve LPI, the transmission time is
changed randomly by varying the period and duty cycle of the pulse (carrier) using
a pseudo-random sequence. The transmitted signal will then have intermittent
start and stop times. Although often used to form hybrid spread-spectrum (SS)
systems, TH is strictly speaking a non-SS technique. Spreading of the spectrum is
caused by other factors associated with TH, such as using pulses with low duty
cycle having a wide frequency response. An example of hybrid SS is TH-FHSS or
hybrid TDMA (time division multiple access).
● CSS: In digital communications, chirp spread spectrum (CSS) is a spread spectrum
technique that uses wideband linear frequency modulated chirp pulses to encode
information. A chirp is a sinusoidal signal whose frequency increases or decreases
over time (often with a polynomial expression for the relationship between time
and frequency). In the picture is an example of an upchirp in which the frequency
increases linearly over time.
Medium Access Control – Comparisons: In IEEE 802 LAN/MAN standards, the
medium access control (MAC) sublayer, also known as the media access control
sublayer, and the logical link control (LLC) sublayer together make up the data link
layer. Within that data link layer, the LLC provides flow control and multiplexing
for the logical link (i.e. EtherType, VLAN etc), while the MAC provides flow control
and multiplexing for the physical link, i.e. the transmission medium. the MAC block
provides a control abstraction of the physical layer such that the complexities of
physical link control are invisible to the LLC and upper layers of the network stack.
When sending data to another device on the network, the MAC block encapsulates MAC: While being simple and improving energy efficiency, the low power listening
higher-level frames into frames appropriate for the transmission medium (i.e. the approach used by B-MAC which employs a long preamble is suboptimal in terms
MAC adds a syncword preamble and also padding if necessary), adds a frame check of energy consumption, is subject to overhearing, as well as introducing excess
sequence to identify transmission errors, and then forwards the data to the latency at each hop.
physical layer as soon as the appropriate channel access method permits it. Comparison Table:
Controlling when data is sent and when to wait is necessary to avoid congestion
and collisions, especially for topologies with a collision domain (bus, ring, mesh,
point-to-multipoint topologies). Additionally, the MAC is also responsible for
compensating for congestion and collisions by initiating retransmission if a jam
signal is detected, and/or negotiating a slower transmission rate if necessary.
When receiving data from the physical layer, the MAC block ensures data integrity
by verifying the sender's frame check sequences, and strips off the sender's
preamble and padding before passing the data up to the higher layers. According
to IEEE Std 802-2001 section 6.2.3 "MAC sublayer", the primary functions
performed by the MAC layer are: 1) Frame delimiting and recognition; 2)
Addressing of destination stations (both as individual stations and as groups of
stations); 3) Conveyance of source-station addressing information; 4) Transparent
data transfer of LLC PDUs, or of equivalent information in the Ethernet sublayer;
5) Protection against errors, generally by means of generating and checking frame
check sequences; 6) Control of access to the physical transmission medium; 7)
receive/transmit normal frames; 8) half-duplex retransmission and backoff
functions; 9) append/check FCS (frame check sequence); 10) interframe gap
enforcement; 11) discard malformed frames; 12) prepend(tx)/remove(rx)
preamble, SFD (start frame delimiter), and padding; 13) half-duplex compatibility:
append(tx)/remove(rx) MAC address. Types & Comparisons of MACs:

● Sensor MAC (S-MAC): The key idea behind S-MAC is the utilization of managed
synchronized duty cycles. A duty cycle utilizes a periodic awake and sleep schedule,
allowing nodes in sleep mode turn off their radio. A duty cycle is represented as a
ratio of wake time to total cycle time, S- MAC limits it duty cycles to about 10%,
reducing energy waste by attempting to minimize idle listening. Sleep and listen
periods are predefined and constant in S-MAC; ● Timeout MAC (T-MAC): T-MAC
is similar to S-MAC in that it utilizes an active/sleep duty cycle. However, TMAC
improves upon the design of S-MAC by introducing an adaptive duty cycle in which
the active part is dynamically ended, in- creasing the efficiency of the algorithm for
variable traffic loads. The idea behind the design of T-MAC is as follows. While
latency requirements and buffers space are generally fixed, the message rate will
usually vary. Therefore, the nodes must be implemented with an active time that
can handle the highest expected load. Whenever the load is lower than that which
is expected, the active time is not optimally used and energy will be wasted on idle
listening; ● S-MACL, a Global Sleeping Schedule: As mentioned the S-MAC
protocol creates virtual clusters in which the clustered nodes follow a common
sleeping schedule. In order to connect these virtual clusters, nodes residing
between clusters have to adopt multiple schedules. These nodes, known as border
nodes, constitute nearly 50 percent of the nodes in some net- works and may have
to adopt up to 4 different schedules. These border nodes have to stay in active
mode longer than other node, which means that they waste more energy than
non-border nodes. Resultantly, these nodes will die sooner, and the network
coverage rate is reduced; ● Patten MAC (P-MAC): P-MAC is unique in that instead
of having fixed sleep and awake schedules as with S-MAC, the sleep- wakeup
schedules of the sensor nodes are adaptively determined, based on a node’s own
traffic and that of its neighbors. This improves throughput under heavy traffic and
reduces unwanted energy consumption while the networks is performing under
light loads when compared to the performance S-MAC; ● Traffic-Adaptive MAC
(TRAMA): As a traffic load increase, the probability of collisions of control or data
packets occurring in any contention-based scheme increases. This degrades
channel utilization and further reduces battery life. TRAMA implementation
attempts to provide energy-efficient conflict free channel access in wireless sensor
networks by creating transmission schedules that are adaptive to changes,
prolongs the battery life of each node, and is robust to wireless loses [7]. The
protocol consists of three components: the Neighbor Protocol (NP), the Schedule
Exchange Proto- col (SEP) and the Adaptive Election Algorithm (AEA). Additionally,
TRAMA uses single, time-slotted channel access that is divided up into random and
scheduled access periods; ● B-MAC, a Versatile Low Power MAC: B-MAC is a
carrier sense media access (CSMA) protocol that utilizes low power listening and
an extended preamble to achieve low power communication. Further- more, B-
MAC is designed for duty cycled WSN, so nodes have an awake and a sleep period,
and each node can have an independent schedule; ● X-MAC, a Short Preamble