Search for: All records

In this paper, we study a sampling problem where a source takes samples from a Wiener process and transmits them through a wireless channel to a remote estimator. Due to channel fading, interference, and potential collisions, the packet transmissions are unreliable and could take random time durations. Our objective is to devise an optimal causal sampling policy that minimizes the long-term average mean square estimation error. This optimal sampling problem is a recursive optimal stopping problem, which is generally quite difficult to solve. However, we prove that the optimal sampling strategy is, in fact, a simple threshold policy where a new sample is taken whenever the instantaneous estimation error exceeds a threshold. This threshold remains a constant value that does not vary over time. By exploring the structure properties of the recursive optimal stopping problem, a low-complexity iterative algorithm is developed to compute the optimal threshold. This work generalizes previous research by incorporating both transmission errors and random transmission times into remote estimation. Numerical simulations are provided to compare our optimal policy with the zero-wait and age-optimal policies.

 

In this paper, we consider transmission scheduling in a status update system, where updates are generated periodically and transmitted over a Gilbert-Elliott fading channel. The goal is to minimize the long-run average age of information (AoI) under a long-run average energy constraint. We consider two practical cases to obtain channel state information (CSI): (i) without channel sensing and (ii) with delayed channel sensing. For (i), CSI is revealed by the feedback (ACK/NACK) of a transmission, but when no transmission occurs, CSI is not revealed. Thus, we have to balance tradeoffs across energy, AoI, channel exploration, and channel exploitation. The problem is formulated as a constrained partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP). We show that the optimal policy is a randomized mixture of no more than two stationary deterministic policies each of which is of a threshold-type in the belief on the channel. For (ii), (delayed) CSI is available via channel sensing. Then, the tradeoff is only between the AoI and energy. The problem is formulated as a constrained MDP. The optimal policy is shown to have a similar structure as in (i) but with an AoI associated threshold. With these, we develop an optimal structure-aware algorithm for each case.