Analysis and Design of Hyperloop Communication Network Based on QoS Requirements

Hyperloop is a cutting-edge high-speed rail transportation system. It can achieve aircraft-like speeds thanks to its unique configuration. Nevertheless, this very-high movement speed and the vacuum-tube environment result in multiple challenges to design the communication system. In this work, we propose a hybrid optical-wireless network architecture for Hyperloop communication system where data packets are transmitted from a centralized station through a backhaul optical link to multiple access points (APs) mounted on the tube. Each AP communicates with the moving pod using wireless signals. Then, we model the proposed architecture and analyze the downlink communication performance using queuing theory tools. We propose a design approach for the number of APs and the wireless technology to be implemented at each AP, considering several quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. We show, through multiple simulation examples, the impact of cell coverage and traffic intensity on the proposed design. It was demonstrated that the cost in terms of the required number of APs increases with strict probability of blocking constraints, whereas a wider bandwidth for the wireless link is required when the QoS constraint in terms of packet delay is alleviated.