TV White Space Testbed with Robust Spectrum Sensing Algorithms for M2M Communications

物联网（IoT）和机器对机器（M2M）最近被英国政府确定为可能为该行业提供真实的增长机会的五个领域之一，政府和行业合作可以刺激经济增长。M2M的好处在能源、农业、制造业、电子保健和交通运输方面最为明显。电视白色空间（TVWS）频谱是指现有持牌人在任何时候或任何地点都没有使用的UHF电视频率。白色空间装置（WSD）可使用这些频率，但须适当地管理对频谱的持牌使用者（即数码地面电视（DTT）及节目制作和特别活动（PMSE））造成有害干扰的风险。TVWS为这些M2M应用提供了绝佳的机会，因为UHF TV频谱使信号能够比通常可用于移动的连接的更高频带更容易地传播并穿透建筑物。当前识别TVWS的方法依赖于集中控制的地理位置数据库。实时事件和传播环境的动态变化对数据库模型提出了重大挑战。该项目旨在建立一个测试平台，将现有的地理位置数据库方法与强大的频谱感知算法和新型宽带天线相结合，以确保M2M通信的白色空间频谱。将在室内、城市和农村地区进行一系列测量，以展示该项目的新奇。智能电表可以作为如何有效利用白色空间的示例，以展示该技术将为M2M应用带来的好处。智能电表通常以突发方式传输数据，并涉及相对较小的文件传输。他们可以容忍相当数量的延迟，并且不需要在精确的时间交付报告。由于智能仪表的这些最小定时要求，例如政府要求在每三十分钟的时间段内记录消耗数据，这非常好地映射到白色空间频谱的性质，因为它们不是一直可用的。然而，可靠性和覆盖范围是智能电表的关键，特别是对于室内或农村地区。UHF TVWS频谱将是解决这些挑战的理想候选者。为了在家庭和农村地区建立可靠的无线电连接，该项目中的新型紧凑型天线将确保智能电表能够接收微弱信号并对抗多径。本项目中提出的鲁棒感测算法将提高TVWS的检测精度，以进一步确保智能电表无线电链路的鲁棒性。该项目的系统方法也将有利于其他M2M和物联网连接的进一步发展。

Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) recently have been identified by the UK government as one of five areas that are likely to provide real growth opportunities in the sector and where Government and industry, working together, could stimulate economic growth. The benefits of M2M would be most evident in energy, agriculture, manufacturing, e-health and transportation. TV White space (TVWS) spectrum refers to the UHF TV frequencies that are not being used by existing licensees at all times or at all locations. A white space device (WSD) can make use of these frequencies provided that the risk of harmful interference to the licensed users of the spectrum, i.e. Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and Programme making and special events (PMSE), can be appropriately managed. TVWS provides an excellent opportunity to enable these M2M applications as UHF TV spectrum enable signals to propagate further and penetrate buildings more readily than in the higher frequency bands typically available for mobile connections. Current approaches to identifying the TVWS rely on a centrally controlled geo-location database. The real-time events and dynamic changes of propagation environment pose significant challenges to the database model. This project aims to build a testbed that integrates the exiting geo-location database approach with the robust spectrum sensing algorithms and novel wideband antennas to secure the white space spectrum for M2M communications. A series of measurements will be carried out for indoor, city urban and rural areas to demonstrate the novelty of this project.Smart meters can be taken as an example of how white space can be utilised efficiently to demonstrate the benefits this technology will bring to M2M applications. Smart meters typically deliver data in bursts and involve relatively small file transfers. They can tolerate fair amount of delays and do not require a report to be delivered exactly at a precise time. Because of these minimal timing requirements of smart meters, e.g. the government requiring to record consumption data in each thirty minute period, this maps very nicely to the nature of white space spectrum as they are not available all the time. However, reliability and coverage are the keys for smart meters, especially for an indoor or rural area. The UHF TVWS spectrum would be the ideal candidate to address these challenges. For reliable radio links around homes and rural areas, the novel compact antennas in this project would ensure smart meters being able to pick up weak signals and combat multipaths. The robust sensing algorithms proposed in this project would increase the detection accuracies of the TVWSs to further ensure robustness of the radio links for the smart meters. The systematic approach of this project will also benefit to the further development on other M2M and IoT connections.