POMDP-Based Throughput Maximization for Cooperative Communications Networks with Energy-Constrained Relay under Attack in the Physical Layer

In this paper, we investigate jamming attacks in the physical layer against cooperative communications networks, where a jammer tries to block the data communication between the source and destination. An energy-constrained relay is able to assist the source to forward the data to the destination even when the jammer tries to block the direct link. Due to a limited-capacity battery of the relay, a non-radio frequency energy harvester equipped in the relay helps to prolong its operation. We propose a scheme based on a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) to find the optimal action for the source such that we can maximize the achievable throughput of cooperative communications networks. Under this scheme, the source dynamically selects the appropriate action mode for its transmission in order to obtain maximum throughput under the jamming attack. Simulation results verify that the proposed scheme is superior to the Myopic scheme where only current throughput is taken into account for making decisions.