Performance modeling and prototyping of directional radio link for moving machines

Usage of smart devices and the amount of mobile data traffic have grown exponentially in the past decade. Also, novel applications have specific bandwidth and latency requirements. All of these combined are calling for a new networking technology. Upcoming 5G wireless networks aim to answer the current and potential future needs of wireless technology. In the context of the implementation and development challenges, we can highlight two important use cases of 5G: Enhanced Mobile Broadband, which promises high data rate with low latency during rush hour, and Machine-Type-Communication, where wireless devices can communicate with each other in a fully automated manner with no need for human interaction. Concerning the first use case, this work has focused on evaluating the core performance metrics, including throughput and Signal-to-Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), of suggested radio technology for 5G (mmWave) in a dense urban deployment. In this work, additional Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-assisted Access Points (APs) are considered to provide extra coverage. For this reason, a number of appropriate scenarios were simulated and evaluated using NS-3 platform. Regarding the second use case, this work has focused on enabling high-speed long-range communication specifically used in autonomous robotic off-shore operations and modeling the performance of such systems in terms of throughput and Received Signal Strength (RSS). For this purpose, a system of directional radio links utilizing IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi and 3GPP LTE was designed, installed and tested on an autonomous boat to enable a high-speed bi-directional connection. This thesis describes the details of these research directions along with obtained results