LEO Satellite Macro Diversity Handover for Soft-Bit Decoding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Low earth orbit (LEO) satellites experience weak signal strength and high mobility issues, leading to increased RF link failures and dropped calls during handovers due to variable weather and user elevation changes, especially in remote areas.
Innovation Solution
Implementing macro diversity-based handover between LEO satellites using soft decoding bits from a second satellite to assist the first satellite in decoding uplink and downlink communications, ensuring seamless call continuity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If LEO satellites provide coverage in remote areas with high mobility users, then global access and remote area coverage are improved, but RF link failure and call dropping increase due to weak signals and variable weather conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the satellite coverage area into multiple macro cells served by different LEO satellites. When a user moves between coverage areas, the system segments the handover process into manageable steps by identifying target satellites and coordinating handover parameters, reducing the complexity of maintaining continuous service across dynamic coverage zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing handover parameters and identifying candidate target satellites before actual handover occurs. The network proactively determines handover timing and prepares necessary signaling messages, ensuring smooth transitions and preventing call dropping during user mobility events.
2Reliability
If macro diversity handover is implemented between LEO satellites, then call dropping is reduced during handovers, but system complexity increases due to coordination between multiple satellites
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the handover coordination functions into a unified macro diversity handover procedure managed by the network controller. Multiple LEO satellites and ground stations cooperate through standardized handover signaling, combining their resources to provide seamless service continuity while managing complexity through centralized coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The network controller acts as an intermediary that mediates between multiple LEO satellites and user equipment during handover. It coordinates handover parameters, selects optimal target satellites, and manages the signaling exchange, simplifying the complexity of multi-satellite coordination by centralizing control logic.
3Reliability
If soft decoding bits are transmitted from second LEO satellite to first LEO satellite, then decoding reliability is improved during handover, but signal strength requirements and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system discards incomplete or corrupted decoding attempts from individual satellites and recovers reliable data by aggregating soft decoding bits from multiple LEO satellites. This approach improves overall decoding reliability by leveraging redundant information from different satellite sources rather than relying on a single potentially failing transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of decoded data and soft decoding bits across multiple LEO satellites. When handover occurs, the target satellite receives and processes these copied data segments, enabling continuous service by reconstructing the complete data packet from multiple sources rather than requiring perfect single-transmission reception.
Data Source
AI summary
According to aspects herein, methods and a non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer instructions for handover between extraterrestrial access points. The method begins with receiving, at a first extraterrestrial access point and a second extraterrestrial access point an uplink communication from a UE. Both the first extraterrestrial access point and the second extraterrestrial access point attempt to decode the uplink communication. The second extraterrestrial access point may transmit additional soft decoding bits to the first extraterrestrial access point. The uplink communication is decoded using the soft decoding bits and the additional soft decoding bits.