Molecular Communication Using Brownian Motion with Drift

TL;DR

This paper explores molecular communication using Brownian motion with drift, analyzing information transfer based on molecule release timing, and provides strategies for different drift velocities.

Contribution

It develops a preliminary molecular communication model with drift, analyzing mutual information and proposing optimized transmission strategies.

Findings

Mutual information bounds are derived for molecule release timing.

Optimal degree distributions for transmission are identified.

Results vary with different drift velocities.

Abstract

Inspired by biological communication systems, molecular communication has been proposed as a viable scheme to communicate between nano-sized devices separated by a very short distance. Here, molecules are released by the transmitter into the medium, which are then sensed by the receiver. This paper develops a preliminary version of such a communication system focusing on the release of either one or two molecules into a fluid medium with drift. We analyze the mutual information between transmitter and the receiver when information is encoded in the time of release of the molecule. Simplifying assumptions are required in order to calculate the mutual information, and theoretical results are provided to show that these calculations are upper bounds on the true mutual information. Furthermore, optimized degree distributions are provided, which suggest transmission strategies for a variety of drift velocities.