Improving Wireless Data Transmission Speed and Reliability to Mobile Computer Platforms

Abstract

We are exploring a new dimension in improving the speed and reliability of wireless data transmission to mobile computing platforms, such as notebooks, cell phones, and handheld computers. This new dimension is to mitigate the wireless interference generated by the mobile computing platform itself. In mobile computer platforms, clocks and busses generate significant radio frequency interference (RFI). RFI also includes radiation events from power saving strategies, such as switching subsystems on/off as well as scaling clock frequencies and supply voltages up/down based on subsystem demand. RFI may be viewed as a combination of independent radiation events, and is impulsive in nature.

In this talk, we model impulsive noise/interference from the mobile computer platform using Middleton Class A and Symmetric Alpha Stable models. We validate these noise models using RFI measurements of platform noise. We develop several processing approaches to mitigate platform noise in wireless receivers. The specific contributions of this talk are to evaluate the

1. performance vs. complexity tradeoffs of parameter estimation algorithms,
2. closeness of fit of parameter estimation algorithms to measured RFI data from the computer platform, and
3. communication performance vs. computational complexity tradeoffs for linear and nonlinear methods to mitigate computer platform RFI in wireless receivers.

Biography