Network Coding: From theory to Wireless Applications

Abstract: The lecture will give a brief introduction to the basic theory and applications of network coding in wireless networks. Since it was proposed in year 2000, network coding has attracted substantial research interest from both theory and application aspects. By allowing information processing, e.g., algebraic operations at intermediate nodes, it was shown that network coding can increase the performance in terms of throughput, communication efficiency, and reliability. Based on inherent properties such as broadcast and interference, wireless communications has been combined with network coding in a natural fashion, resulting in solid performance gains. In the talk, the basic properties (performance limits, algebraic properties, complexity and construction) of network coding will be first given. Then the lecture will introduce the combination of network coding and wireless relay networks. Particularly, network coding for cooperative communications, multi-user multi-relay networks, wireless broadcast, multi-user multicast with backhaul will be discussed.