Media Modulation Based Molecular Communication

Abstract

Although visionary applications of molecular communication (MC), such as long-term continuous health monitoring by cooperative in-body nanomachines, have been proposed, MC is still in its infancy when it comes to practical implementation. In particular, long-term experiments and applications face issues such as exhaustion of signaling molecules (SMs) at the transmitter (TX) and interference by SMs from previous transmissions at the receiver (RX). To overcome these practical burdens, a new class of SMs with switchable states seems to be promising. For example, certain switchable SMs can be switched between two states, whereupon the sensitivity of the RX depends on the state. Hence, only molecules in one of the states are observable at the RX. Assuming that the SMs are already inside the channel, the TX can switch them to the observable state by applying an appropriate trigger. Later, to prevent interference, an eraser (EX) may switch the SMs back to the non-observable state and they can remain in the channel until they get reused for another transmission. In this work, we provide an overview of existing switchable SMs, and classify them according to their properties. Furthermore, we highlight how switchable SMs can be utilized for media modulation. In addition, we present first experimental results for a system employing the green fluorescent protein variant "Dreiklang" (GFPD) as switchable SM. Finally, we discuss media modulation specific challenges and opportunities.

An M-Ary Concentration-Shift Keying With Common Detection Thresholds for Multitransmitter Molecular Communication

“…Thus, developing novel modulation techniques has become a key research focus. Various innovative methods are being explored, such as concentration [14]- [18], type [19]- [22], timing [23]- [25], direction [26], [27], and media [28]. Among these, concentration modulation, or concentration-shift keying (CSK), is widely used because of its simplicity.…”

Power Control for ISI Mitigation in Mobile Molecular Communication

“…Chang et al [31] proposed an adaptive detection scheme to mitigate ISI based on the reconstruction of the channel impulse response. Maximum likelihood (ML) detection schemes [32]- [34] and symbol-by-symbol ML detection schemes [35], [36] have also been proposed in molecular communication. Moreover, non-coherent detection schemes based on K-means clustering were studied in [37].…”