volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

With the growth of demand for high-rate and high-quality wireless communication services, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) communication technology has received a lot of attention. By deploying Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) on the UAV, more users can be reached while effectively expanding the signal coverage. The rotational nature of the UAV also provides new degrees of freedom in the design of RIS-assisted millimeter-wave Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems. In this paper, using the advantages of UAV and RIS technologies, Aerial Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (ARIS) is introduced to assist the communication, and the millimeter-wave Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) communication scenario based on the ARIS-assisted multi-vehicle beam tracking problem. First, Zero Forcing (ZF) beamforming is employed at the base station to eliminate inter-vehicle interference. On this basis, the vehicle-side beam combining matrix, the RIS-side reflection beamforming matrix, along with the rotation angle of the ARIS, are jointly designed to maximize the number of vehicles and data rates, thereby providing high-quality communication for beam tracking studies. Secondly, an ARIS-assisted multi-vehicle beam tracking model is derived in a MIMO-based 3D communication scenario. Finally, an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) algorithm based on the angular deviation correction mechanism is proposed to realize the beam tracking of multiple vehicles. Simulation results show that the proposed EKF algorithm can effectively reduce the beam tracking error in multi-vehicle communication scenarios with robust beam tracking capability under the joint design based on beam merging matrix, beamforming matrix and ARIS rotation angle.

1. Meng, Xiao, Fan Liu, Christos Masouros, Weijie Yuan, Qixun Zhang, and Zhiyong Feng, "Vehicular connectivity on complex trajectories: Roadway-geometry aware ISAC beam-tracking," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 22, No. 11, 7408-7423, 2023.
doi:10.1109/twc.2023.3250442 Google Scholar

2. Yu, Xiaoyou, Li Tu, Qi Yang, Miao Yu, Zhu Xiao, and Yongdong Zhu, "Hybrid beamforming in mmWave massive MIMO for IoV with dual-functional radar communication," IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol. 72, No. 7, 9017-9030, 2023.
doi:10.1109/tvt.2023.3247747 Google Scholar

3. Saqib, Najam Us, Shumei Hou, Sung Ho Chae, and Sang-Woon Jeon, "Reconfigurable intelligent surface aided hybrid beamforming: Optimal placement and beamforming design," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 23, No. 9, 12003-12019, 2024.
doi:10.1109/twc.2024.3387449 Google Scholar

4. Sun, Yu, Chen-Wei Feng, Xian-Ling Wang, Jiang-Nan Yuan, and Lin Zhang, "Beam tracking based on a new state model for mmWave V2I communication on 3D roads," Journal of Computers, Vol. 35, No. 1, 33-50, 2024.
doi:10.53106/199115992024023501003 Google Scholar

5. Wu, Qingqing, Shuowen Zhang, Beixiong Zheng, Changsheng You, and Rui Zhang, "Intelligent reflecting surface-aided wireless communications: A tutorial," IEEE Transactions on Communications, Vol. 69, No. 5, 3313-3351, 2021.
doi:10.1109/tcomm.2021.3051897 Google Scholar

6. Chen, Wanshi, Xingqin Lin, Juho Lee, Antti Toskala, Shu Sun, Carla Fabiana Chiasserini, and Lingjia Liu, "5G-advanced toward 6G: Past, present, and future," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, Vol. 41, No. 6, 1592-1619, 2023.
doi:10.1109/jsac.2023.3274037 Google Scholar

7. Tian, Yue, Baiyun Xiao, Xianling Wang, Yau Hee Kho, Chen Zhu, Wenda Li, Qinying Li, and Xuejie Hu, "Opportunistic RIS-assisted rate splitting transmission in coordinated multiple points networks," Computer Communications, Vol. 202, 23-32, 2023.
doi:10.1016/j.comcom.2023.01.023 Google Scholar

8. Xiao, Baiyun, Yue Tian, Wenda Li, Yau Hee Kho, Xianling Wang, Chen Zhu, and Hong Liu, "Performance analysis of adaptive RIS-assisted clustering strategies in downlink communication systems," IEEE Internet of Things Journal, Vol. 10, No. 5, 4520-4530, 2023.
doi:10.1109/jiot.2022.3218794 Google Scholar

9. Teng, Boyu, Xiaojun Yuan, Rui Wang, and Shi Jin, "Bayesian user localization and tracking for reconfigurable intelligent surface aided MIMO systems," IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing, Vol. 16, No. 5, 1040-1054, 2022.
doi:10.1109/jstsp.2022.3173747 Google Scholar

10. Tian, Yue, Baiyun Xiao, Xianling Wang, Yau Hee Kho, and Chen Tian, "Performance analysis of opportunistic NOMA strategy in uplink coordinated multi-points systems," Computer Communications, Vol. 177, 207-212, 2021.
doi:10.1016/j.comcom.2021.07.001 Google Scholar

11. Pan, Cunhua, Gui Zhou, Kangda Zhi, Sheng Hong, Tuo Wu, Yijin Pan, Hong Ren, Marco Di Renzo, A. Lee Swindlehurst, Rui Zhang, and Angela Yingjun Zhang, "An overview of signal processing techniques for RIS/IRS-aided wireless systems," IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing, Vol. 16, No. 5, 883-917, 2022.
doi:10.1109/jstsp.2022.3195671 Google Scholar

12. Yao, Jiacheng, Wei Xu, Yongming Huang, H. H. Xiao, and Z. H. Lu, "Techniques for reconfigurable intelligent surface-aided 6G communication network: An overview," Journal of Signal Processing, Vol. 38, No. 8, 1555-1567, 2022.
doi:10.16798/j.issn.1003-0530.2022.08.001 Google Scholar

13. You, Changsheng, Zhenyu Kang, Yong Zeng, and Rui Zhang, "Enabling smart reflection in integrated air-ground wireless network: IRS meets UAV," IEEE Wireless Communications, Vol. 28, No. 6, 138-144, 2021.
doi:10.1109/mwc.001.2100148 Google Scholar

14. Lu, Haiquan, Yong Zeng, Shi Jin, and Rui Zhang, "Aerial intelligent reflecting surface: Joint placement and passive beamforming design with 3D beam flattening," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 20, No. 7, 4128-4143, 2021.
doi:10.1109/twc.2021.3056154 Google Scholar

15. Yang, Lu and Wei Zhang, "Beam tracking and optimization for UAV communications," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 18, No. 11, 5367-5379, 2019.
doi:10.1109/twc.2019.2935972 Google Scholar

16. Wang, Xianling, Haijun Zhang, Hongwen Yang, Yue Tian, Chen Zhu, and Arumugam Nallanathan, "A non-orthogonal cross-tier joint transmission design for clustered ABS-assisted networks," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 23, No. 4, 3361-3376, 2024.
doi:10.1109/twc.2023.3307570 Google Scholar

17. Wang, Xianling, Haijun Zhang, Kyeong Jin Kim, Yue Tian, and Arumugam Nallanathan, "Performance analysis of cooperative aerial base station-assisted networks with non-orthogonal multiple access," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 18, No. 12, 5983-5999, 2019.
doi:10.1109/twc.2019.2941199 Google Scholar

18. Cui, Yaping, Zhaopeng Ying, Peng He, Yufeng Zheng, Dapeng Wu, Ruyan Wang, and Luo Chen, "Ultra-reliable low-latency communication multi-unmanned aerial vehicle network assisted by intelligent reflecting surface in air," Journal of Southwest Jiaotong University, Vol. 59, No. 4, 907-916, 2024.
doi:10.3969/j.issn.0258-2724.20230288 Google Scholar

19. Muntaha, Sidra Tul, Naveed Ul Hassan, Ijaz Haider Naqvi, and Chau Yuen, "Aerial reconfigurable intelligent surface: Rotate or displace?," 2022 IEEE 33rd Annual International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC), 566-571, Kyoto, Japan, 2022.
doi:10.1109/pimrc54779.2022.9978138

20. Xie, Taoyu, Qin Tao, Xu Gan, and Caijun Zhong, "UKF-based channel tracking method for IRS-aided mmwave MISO Systems," IEEE Communications Letters, Vol. 27, No. 6, 1599-1603, 2023.
doi:10.1109/lcomm.2023.3269201 Google Scholar

21. Yu, Danyang, Gan Zheng, Arman Shojaeifard, Sangarapillai Lambotharan, and Yi Liu, "Kalman filter based channel tracking for RIS-assisted multi-user networks," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 23, No. 4, 3856-3869, 2024.
doi:10.1109/twc.2023.3312426 Google Scholar

22. Ge, Z., D. Yue, G. Li, S. Wei, and Y. Su, "Beamforming design of millimeter wave MIMO system assisted by intelligent reflecting surface," Telecommunication Engineering, Vol. 63, No. 01, 7-13, 2023.
doi:10.20079/j.issn.1001-893x.211117005 Google Scholar

23. Van Chien, Trinh, Bui Trong Duc, Ho Viet Duc Luong, Huynh Thi Thanh Binh, Hien Quoc Ngo, and Symeon Chatzinotas, "Active and passive beamforming designs for SER minimization in RIS-assisted MIMO systems," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 23, No. 12, 18838-18854, 2024.
doi:10.1109/twc.2024.3477557 Google Scholar

24. Shabir, Muhammad Wasif, Tu N. Nguyen, Jawad Mirza, Bakhtiar Ali, and Muhammad Awais Javed, "Transmit and reflect beamforming for max-min SINR in IRS-aided MIMO vehicular networks," IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Vol. 24, No. 1, 1099-1105, 2023.
doi:10.1109/tits.2022.3151135 Google Scholar

25. Adam, Abuzar B. M., Mohamed Amine Ouamri, Xiaoyu Wan, Mohammed Saleh Ali Muthanna, Reem Alkanhel, Ammar Muthanna, and Xingwang Li, "Secure communication in UAV-RIS-empowered multiuser networks: Joint beamforming, phase shift, and UAV trajectory optimization," IEEE Systems Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2, 1009-1019, 2024.
doi:10.1109/jsyst.2024.3379456 Google Scholar

26. Yang, Yumin, Han Hu, Fuhui Zhou, Longxiang Yang, and Rose Qingyang Hu, "Robust beamforming and phase shift optimization for RIS-assisted UAV multiuser MISO communication networks," IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol. 73, No. 10, 15687-15692, 2024.
doi:10.1109/tvt.2024.3398788 Google Scholar

27. Zhang, Jingwen, Zhong Zheng, Zesong Fei, Zheng Chang, and Zhu Han, "RIS-assisted multi-user localization in UAV-enabled mmWave wireless networks," IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol. 74, No. 3, 5069-5084, 2025.
doi:10.1109/tvt.2024.3502155 Google Scholar

28. Nguyen, Minh-Hien T., Emiliano Garcia-Palacios, Tan Do-Duy, Octavia A. Dobre, and Trung Q. Duong, "UAV-aided aerial reconfigurable intelligent surface communications with massive MIMO system," IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking, Vol. 8, No. 4, 1828-1838, 2022.
doi:10.1109/tccn.2022.3187098 Google Scholar

29. Song, Jiho, Seong-Hwan Hyun, Jong-Ho Lee, Jeongsik Choi, and Seong-Cheol Kim, "Joint vehicle tracking and RSU selection for V2I communications with extended Kalman filter," IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol. 71, No. 5, 5609-5614, 2022.
doi:10.1109/tvt.2022.3153345 Google Scholar

30. Hyun, Seong-Hwan, Jiho Song, Keunwoo Kim, Jong-Ho Lee, and Seong-Cheol Kim, "Adaptive beam design for V2I communications using vehicle tracking with extended kalman filter," IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol. 71, No. 1, 489-502, 2022.
doi:10.1109/tvt.2021.3127696 Google Scholar

31. Song, Jiho, Jong-Ho Lee, and Song Noh, "Position-based adaptive beamforming and roadside unit sectorization for V2I communications," IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol. 73, No. 2, 2960-2965, 2024.
doi:10.1109/tvt.2023.3320663 Google Scholar

32. El Ayach, Omar, Sridhar Rajagopal, Shadi Abu-Surra, Zhouyue Pi, and Robert W. Heath, "Spatially sparse precoding in millimeter wave MIMO systems," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 13, No. 3, 1499-1513, 2014.
doi:10.1109/twc.2014.011714.130846 Google Scholar

33. Liu, Fan, Weijie Yuan, Christos Masouros, and Jinhong Yuan, "Radar-assisted predictive beamforming for vehicular links: Communication served by sensing," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 19, No. 11, 7704-7719, 2020.
doi:10.1109/twc.2020.3015735 Google Scholar

34. Ribeiro, Yuri S., André L. F. de Almeida, Fazal-E-Asim, Behrooz Makki, and Gábor Fodor, "Low-complexity joint active and passive beamforming design for IRS-assisted MIMO," IEEE Wireless Communications Letters, Vol. 13, No. 3, 607-611, 2024.
doi:10.1109/lwc.2023.3336821 Google Scholar

35. Chen, X., Y. Huang, J. Shi, and R. Rui, "Joint beamforming for intelligent reflecting surface-aided multi-user massive MIMO system," Telecommunication Engineering, Vol. 63, No. 09, 1285-1290, 2023.
doi:10.20079/j.issn.1001-893x.220501001 Google Scholar

36. Zappone, Alessio, Marco Di Renzo, Farshad Shams, Xuewen Qian, and Mérouane Debbah, "Overhead-aware design of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in smart radio environments," IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol. 20, No. 1, 126-141, 2021.
doi:10.1109/twc.2020.3023578 Google Scholar

37. Shaham, Sina, Ming Ding, Matthew Kokshoorn, Zihuai Lin, Shuping Dang, and Rana Abbas, "Fast channel estimation and beam tracking for millimeter wave vehicular communications," IEEE Access, Vol. 7, 141104-141118, 2019.
doi:10.1109/access.2019.2944308 Google Scholar

Dr. Chenwei Feng

Ms. Zhenzhen Lin

Mr. Yawei Sun

Mr. Yangbin Huang

Dr. Yinhua Wu