Cell-Free Wireless Networks with Edge Clusters and Hybrid Beamforming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cell-free wireless communication networks face challenges such as high hardware complexity, heavy processing, and interference issues due to the large number of distributed access points and user equipment.
Innovation Solution
A wireless communication network architecture that groups access points into communication clusters based on channel state information, forming subnetworks with edge computing devices, and uses a hybrid analog-digital beamforming scheme optimized through deep reinforcement learning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fully centralized cell-free network architecture is used to serve multiple users simultaneously, then transmission performance and coverage are improved, but hardware complexity and processing requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the fully centralized network into multiple distributed cell-free subnetworks, each served by a local edge server. This segmentation reduces the complexity of individual nodes while maintaining overall system performance through coordinated operation of multiple subnetworks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces edge servers as intermediary components between access points and the central server. These edge servers perform local processing and coordination, reducing the burden on both individual access points and the central server, thereby reducing overall hardware complexity while maintaining transmission performance.
2Reliability
If centralized processing is used to coordinate beamforming and channel estimation, then transmission performance is improved, but computational complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized processing into distributed processing across multiple edge servers. Each edge server handles beamforming and channel estimation for its local subnetwork, reducing the computational load on any single node while maintaining overall system performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical architecture with multiple levels (access points, edge servers, central server) that processes computations across different dimensions. This dimensional approach allows complex beamforming operations to be distributed across multiple computational levels rather than concentrated at a single central point.
3Area of stationary object
If access points are distributed to increase coverage, then network coverage and capacity are improved, but interference between different access points increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into multiple subnetworks with dedicated access points for each subnetwork. This segmentation allows for better interference management by limiting the interference scope to local subnetworks while maintaining wide coverage through the presence of multiple subnetworks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local coordination within each subnetwork where edge servers optimize beamforming and resource allocation for their local access points. This local quality approach reduces interference by tailoring transmission parameters to local conditions while maintaining overall network coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless communication network comprises access points distributed across a geographical area and configured to wirelessly communicate with distributed user devices in the area, and a central server communicatively connected to the access points and configured to control the network. The access points are grouped, based on channel state information, to form a plurality of communication clusters each in wireless communication with a subset of the user devices in geographically proximal location thereto, and each communication cluster and its subset of user devices forms a subnetwork. The subnetworks are arranged for wireless communication in non-overlapping portions of the geographical area. The access points of a common subnetwork are configured to wirelessly exchange data with the subnetwork's user devices using a common frequency range. Each communication cluster comprises an edge computing device formed by one or more of the access points belonging thereto and configured to exchange data with the server.