Combining Mimo with Network Coding: A Viable Means to Provide Multiplexing and Diversity in Wireless Relay Networks

Abstract

In this paper, a two-step communication protocol combined with virtual MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and network coding technique is proposed. The protocol is therefore termed MINEC (MIMO Network Coding). A three nodes network with multi-antennas on relay node is taken as an illustrative example of MINEC. Theoretical and simulative analyses of the MINEC performance under the assumption of a binary symmetric relay channel model are carried out. It is found that MINEC performs equivalent to a 2×2 V-BLAST MIMO and a two 2×1 Alamouti MISO in transmitting phase and forwarding phase, respectively. Theoretical and simulative analyses prove that MINEC protocol facilitates more reliable transmission and higher throughput.

Combined MRC-like reception and transmit diversity for physical-layer network coding with multiple-antenna relay

“…Recently, techniques to combine two-phases two-way relay and MIMO are emerging, such as MIMO-NC [4] and MIMO-PNC [5], where the relay node is equipped with multipleantennas. It is well known that MIMO technique, if properly exploited, can offer both spatial multiplexing gain and spatial diversity gain to improve spectral efficiency and transmission reliability of the system in fading channel [6].…”

Survey of Network Coding and Its Applications

“…Security issues in network coding will become more important when network coding is deployed widely. Although we did not discuss network coding in the physical layer, it may also include interesting research topics, such as MIMO network coding (Fasolo et al [29], Tran et al [119], Xu et al [132]) and cooperative communication with network coding (Chen et al [16], Xiao et al [131]). …”

Channel quantization-based physical-layer network coding for two-way relay STBC system

“…Combination of MIMO and PNC for the two-way relay networks has received increasing attention recently [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. In [6], the authors proposed a two-way relay network model in which all nodes have two antennas to transmit Alamouti codes.…”

“…The transmit beamformer, however, needs to have knowledge of CSI at the two terminal nodes. In [7], the author applied the concept of MIMO to a two-way relay network. Although Alamouti STBC was used for transmission during the broadcast (BC) phase from the relay to the terminal nodes, only a single antenna was used for the multiple access (MA) phase for the inverse links from the two terminal nodes to the relay.…”