Modeling Decentralized Wireless Relay Networks: Information Azimuth Spectrum and Relay Network Tomography

A novel representation for a two-hop decentralized wireless relay network (DWRN) is proposed, where the relays operate in a completely distributive fashion. The modeling paradigm applies an analogous approach to the description method for double-directional multipath propagation channels and takes into account finite system spatial resolution and extended relay listening/transmitting time. Specifically, the double- and single-directional information azimuth spectra (IAS) are formulated to provide a compact representation of information flows in the DWRN. The proposed analytical framework is then studied from a geometry-based statistical modeling perspective. Finally, we look into the problem of relay network tomography (RNT), which solves an inverse problem to infer the internal structure of an unknown relay network by using the double-directional IAS recorded at multiple measuring nodes exterior to the relay region. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the suggested channel description method and the RNT algorithm.