Nolan Pearce MS Thesis Defense

Name:
Nolan Pearce

Title:
Downlink Transmit Beamforming: Single-Carrier Acoustic Communication in a Noisy Environment

Date:
4/16/2024

Time:
2:00:00 PM

Location:
EXP-601A:

Committee Members:
1. Prof. MIlica Stojanovic (Advisor)
2. Prof. Stefano Basagni
3. Prof. Josep Jornet
4. Dr. Dimitrios Koutsonikolas

Abstract:
Noisy wireless acoustic channels produce intersymbol interference (ISI) from multipath propagation. This interference may be reduced by equalization techniques but require computationally intensive receiver algorithms. Typically, beamforming methods are implemented at the uplink receiver to reduce complexity of equalization methods. However, these methods require a receiver array. Using angle estimation of a transmitter, beamforming techniques can be applied in downlink signal transmission to reduce equalizer complexity. This hypothesis is supported through simulation and applied to an open-air acoustic channel for significant performance improvement. Improving downlink signals through beamforming enables less complex user design suitable for single-carrier communications.