Improving Path Loss Prediction Using Environmental Feature Extraction from Satellite Images: Hand-Crafted vs. Convolutional Neural Network

Accurate Path Loss Prediction Using a Neural Network Ensemble Method

Path loss is one of the most important factors affecting base-station positioning in cellular networks. Traditionally, to determine the optimal installation position of a base station, path-loss measurements are conducted through numerous field tests. Disadvantageously, these measurements are time-consuming. To address this problem, in this study, we propose a machine learning (ML)-based method for path loss prediction. Specifically, a neural network ensemble learning technique was applied to enhance the accuracy and performance of path loss prediction. To achieve this, an ensemble of neural networks was constructed by selecting the top-ranked networks based on the results of hyperparameter optimization. The performance of the proposed method was compared with that of various ML-based methods on a public dataset. The simulation results showed that the proposed method had clearly outperformed state-of-the-art methods and that it could accurately predict path loss.

Dynamic Regressor/Ensemble Selection for a Multi-Frequency and Multi-Environment Path Loss Prediction

Wireless network parameters such as transmitting power, antenna height, and cell radius are determined based on predicted path loss. The prediction is carried out using empirical or deterministic models. Deterministic models provide accurate predictions but are slow due to their computational complexity, and they require detailed environmental descriptions. While empirical models are less accurate, Machine Learning (ML) models provide fast predictions with accuracies comparable to that of deterministic models. Most Empirical models are versatile as they are valid for various values of frequencies, antenna heights, and sometimes environments, whereas most ML models are not. Therefore, developing a versatile ML model that will surpass empirical model accuracy entails collecting data from various scenarios with different environments and network parameters and using the data to develop the model. Combining datasets of different sizes could lead to lopsidedness in accuracy such that the model accuracy for a particular scenario is low due to data imbalance. This is because model accuracy varies at certain regions of the dataset and such variations are more intense when the dataset is generated from a fusion of datasets of different sizes. A Dynamic Regressor/Ensemble selection technique is proposed to address this problem. In the proposed method, a regressor/ensemble is selected to predict a sample point based on the sample’s proximity to a cluster assigned to the regressor/ensemble. K Means Clustering was used to form the clusters and the regressors considered are K Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Extreme Learning Trees (ET), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting (GB), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). The ensembles are any combinations of two, three or four of the regressors. The sample points belonging to each cluster were selected from a validation set based on the regressor that made prediction with lowest absolute error per individual sample point. Implementation of the proposed technique resulted in accuracy improvements in a scenario described by a few sample points in the training data. Improvements in accuracy were also observed on datasets in other works compared to the accuracy reported in the works. The study also shows that using features extracted from satellite images to describe the environment was more appropriate than using a categorical clutter height value.