Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The Internet of things (IoT) via satellites is an attractive system architecture that has been identified as a key enabling technology to extend the IoT services on a global scale.Terrestrialonly IoT infrastructures are unable to cover a large portion of the Earth (e.g oceans, deserts, forests, etc.), while in other regions they represent a cost-inefficient solution (i.e.rural or remote areas).Furthermore, the potential tremendous number of IoT devices communicating in a network leads to large capacity demands.To this end, the role of the satellites to extend and complement the terrestrial IoT networks is unique and irreplaceable.Among several IoT technologies, Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) has been recognized as the leading one in addressing the machine type communication (MTC) traffic of the 5th generation of mobile communication systems (5G).Global-scale NB-IoT services hold a huge potential in opening up new market verticals and use cases for the future.However, the novel impairments caused by the signal propagation over the satellite channel compromise several procedures of the existing NB-IoT protocol.In the above context of having NB-IoT connectivity via satellite links, the work carried out in this thesis mainly focuses on designing new communication algorithms which are capable of counteracting the impairments induced by the satellite channel.More specifically, the main objective of this work is to propose techniques that require minimal adaptations in the current standard, in order to have a fully functional NB-IoT network, either terrestrial or satellite-based.This approach is advantageous compared to designing a completely new satellite-specific protocol for several reasons.First, it relaxes the need for totally new network infrastructures and IoT chipsets.NB-IoT is being designed to co-exist and operate over cellular networks (4 & 5G) and the infrastructure is already in place.Second, it offers a capacity increase and flexibility of operation.Similar to terrestrial-only networks, relying on the satellite as the only mean of communication may lead to scarce capacity.Besides, in certain IoT applications (e.g.asset tracking) the devices are in a continuous movement in v First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Symeon Chatzinotas, for his excellent guidance and for all the opportunities I was given to further develop on a professional and personal level.His consistent support and encouragement had a crucial role in the accomplishment of this thesis.Also, I am highly indebted to Dr. Nicola Maturo for his valuable technical guidance and his immediate feedback on my work.I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Stefano Andrenacci and Frank Zimmer from the Société Europeenne des Satellites (SES), for their insightful suggestions and for helping me to understand several practical concepts of satellite communication systems.
Author: Oltjon Kodheli
Language: English
Topic: IoT Networks and Protocols
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3203203437