Buffer-aided distributed space-time coding schemes and algorithms for cooperative DS-CDMA systems

In this work, we propose buffer-aided distributed space-time coding (DSTC) schemes and relay selection algorithms for cooperative direct-sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems. We first devise a relay pair selection algorithm that can exploit all possible relay pairs and then select the optimum set of relays among both the source-relay phase and the relay-destination phase according to the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) criterion. Multiple relays equipped with dynamic buffers are then introduced in the network, which allows the relays to store data received from the sources and wait until the most appropriate time for transmission. A greedy relay pair selection algorithm is then developed to reduce the high cost brought by the exhaustive search that is required when a large number of relays are involved in the transmission. The proposed techniques effectively improve the quality of the transmission with an acceptable delay as the buffer size is adjustable. An analysis of the computational complexity of the proposed algorithms and the delay and a study of the greedy algorithm are then carried out. Simulation results show that the proposed dynamic buffer-aided DSTC schemes and algorithms outperform prior art.