Quantized distributed relay network for physical layer network coding

Quantized distributed MIMO reception enhances communication between users using geographically separated nodes. Here we apply distributed reception to a two-user network with a relay composed of many "dumb" radio nodes. The network operates with a slotted structure commensurate with physical layer network coding. In the uplink, the user transmissions are simultaneously observed by all nodes. Subsequently, each relay node broadcasts a compressed version of the observed signal to the users. Given prior transmissions and channel state information, decoding algorithms can be run by the users. To demonstrate practicality, we compare performance of the system to physical layer network coding.