TABLE OF CONTENTS H seyin Arslan 1 and Serhan Yarkan 2
1 University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA, arslan@eng.usf.edu
2 University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA, syarkan@eng.usf.edu
When we look at the evolution of wireless communication systems, as in most systems, two major developments are most prominent: 1) addition of new features and 2) improvement of already existing capabilities. The first development arises from the fact that communication through a wireless medium makes life easier. Every development brings several new features and these new features contribute positively to this fact. These developments can be seen clearly in the evolution of cell phones. In the past, cell phones were used only for transmitting voice and short text-based messages. Currently, there are cell phones in which an operating system runs and several multimedia applications are available.
The second type of development solely originates from the fact that every physical concept is finite. Therefore, according to the principal of parsimony, [1] the newer systems restrain themselves from wasting resources. Using resources adequately under dynamically changing conditions introduces the notion of adaptation and optimization.
Although systems evolve in terms of 1) and 2), particularly in communication systems, it can be observed that the fundamental design architecture, which is known as layered architecture, still remains the same. Despite the inefficiency of contemporary communication systems, they still accomplish their tasks. Nevertheless, it can be seen that the aforementioned evolutionary developments are approaching a saturation point for contemporary communication systems. The fundamental design...
