WINDFLEX

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WIND-FLEX A flexible high bit rate modem
architecture for next generation short-range
wireless networking
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WIND-FLEX A joint European-wide effort

• Industry
• PHILIPS
• INTRACOM
• ACORDE
• Research Centers
• VTT
• CEFRIEL
• Universities
• University of Cantabria
• Technical University of Dresden
• University of Rome
• University of Athens
• Poznan University of Technology

20 persons per year Jan2000-Jun2003 10 partners
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WIND-FLEX objectives

• Definition of a 17 GHz radio system architecture
  for broadband (64 kbps - 100Mbps) indoor
  (office/home) applications
• scope encompassing radio interface specifications
  (i.e. Physical, Baseband, MAC/DLC layers)
• Definition of a flexible radio interface
  architecture
• flexible control algorithms and real time
  reconfigurable baseband and MAC/DLC schemes allow
  adaptive optimization of radio interfaces

WIND FLEX
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WIND-FLEX main characteristics
17GHz RF OFDM-based Very high bit rate Adaptive
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(No Transcript)
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WIND-FLEX throughput
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WIND-FLEX cluster
Full-meshed Network

• The Master coordinates the medium access in the
  cluster, granting an efficient sharing of the
  radio channel
• The Slave when associated to the cluster, can
  establish a direct connection to exchange data
  traffic with any other device

A
E
C
D
B
Master
Slave
No hardware or software differences among the
devices
The Master election protocol is periodically
repeated with period D, with D small enough to
take into account the mobility of the devices
(also repeated whenever the network topology
changes significantly)
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Flexibility/Adaptability/Reconfigurability (FAR)

• Flexibility is defined as an umbrella concept,
  encompassing multiple orthogonal features
• Flexibility adaptivity reconfigurability
  modularity
• A system is called adaptive if it can respond to
  changes by properly altering the numerical value
  of a set of parameters. It is reconfigurable if
  it can be rearranged, at a structural or
  architectural level.
• Notes
• for adaptivity, numerical change is meant to be
  gradual
• architectural implies change of heterogeneous
  elements, such as in sw/hw partitioning
  structural is a change of homogeneous elements,
  such as going from a turbo to a convolutional code

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FAR Supervisor

• Fitting QoS requirements from the MAC layer,
  given current channel conditions and traffic
  load, with the minimum transmitted/processing
  power

Turbo Enc
OFDM Mod
HPA
IFFT size WSCE positions constellation
IFFT size TC code rate
TX power
SUPERVISOR
MAC
Channel condition
Turbo Dec
LNA
OFDM Demod
signalling
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BB FAR features

• Adaptivity at the physical layer
• Keep the slot (symbol) and frame length fixed,
  and vary
• TC code rate
• OFDM constellation size (same for all
  subcarriers)
• Weak Subcarrier Excision (WSCE)
• Minimum TX power required
• Minimize processing power
• Reconfigurability at the physical layer
• Minimize processing power
• Parametric FFT length (N) and clock frequency as
  a function of QoS
• Change from Turbo coding to Convolutional coding
  or with no coding as a function of QoS

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Channel model creation process

• Typical office/home scenario
• Materials brick, glass, soft internal walls,
  wooden surfaces
• From simulations, PDP with 3 ns resolution were
  adjusted into a bins model

• Bin size chosen half of the transmitted pulse
  duration and place in the temporal axis
• Ti TPROP (i-½)TBIN i
  1,2,,NBINS
• Free space losses have been subtracted

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IF Section
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RF Section

• Output Frequency 17.1-17.3 GHz
• Low Noise Figure 2.9 dB
• Low phase noise

• Design of special mechanical boxes, for high
  gain MMIC devices
• Own power supply, whole power consumption lower
  than 5 W
• Two antenna models
• Single patch, 3 dB Gain, directional
• Six-faced structure, three patches per face, 3dB
  Gain, omnidirectional

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WIND-FLEX concept
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Strengths Time advantage! Backward compatible
and promising concept for the future No harmful
interference to other wireless systems
Weaknesses (?) Cost of 17GHz RF front-end
interface Global approval of 17GHz frequency
Threats UWB (Ultra wideband) competing technology
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• Next steps
• Demonstrate complete system, make extensive tests
  and refine specifications
• Get a business ownership and make it a standard

WIND-FLEX is a big opportunity for Semiconductor
and Component companies to lead and shape Next
Generation Networking ICs and modules market
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WIND-FLEX A flexible high bit rate modem
architecture for next generation short-range
wireless networking
Contacts

• Ilkka Saarinen, WIND-FLEX Project Manager,
  Ilkka.Saarinen_at_vtt.fi

• Aarne Mämmelä, Research Professor, VTT
  Electronics, Finland, Aarne.Mammela_at_vtt.fi

More information http//www.vtt.fi/ele/research/e
ls/projects/windflex.htm