Improving cognitive radio wireless network performances using clustering schemes and coalitional games

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the problem of improving the performances of large Cognitive Radio Wireless Networks (CRWN). The lack of network infrastructure and heterogeneous spectrum availability in cognitive radio wireless networks require the self-organization of secondary users (SUs) for efficient spectrum assignment. The cluster structure can be an adequate solution in both guaranteeing system performance and reducing communication overhead in CRWN. The approach considered in this paper relays on the use of a coalitional game in every cluster to preserve energy loss in the sensing phase and to reduce the interference with primary users (PUs) and between SUs. First, we study the coalitional formation process in partition form with non-transferable utility (NTU). In order to reduce the coalition formation cost, a cluster scheme is considered. Then, we use a strategic learning algorithm to learn the Nash equilibrium. At the end, simulation results demonstrate the preference of our CRWN compared to standard wireless cognitive network.