面向低空无人机通信的OTFS物理层密钥生成方法

OTFS Modulation-Based Secret Key Generation for Secure Low-Altitude UAV Communications

  • 摘要: 无人机(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV)通信是实现低空网络节点信息互通的关键使能技术,确保无人机通信的安全是保障低空经济健康稳定发展的关键。物理层密钥生成技术利用无线信道的随机性与互易性动态生成共享私密密钥,可以有效提升系统安全性与隐私保护能力,在小型无人机平台等存储与计算资源受限应用场景中更具优势。然而,无人机或环境中散射体的高速运动引起的多普勒频移会导致信道呈现高时变性,进而影响双向信道估计所获得的信道随机参数的一致性。最新研究表明,采用正交时频空(Orthogonal Time-Frequency Space,OTFS)调制的系统相较于采用正交频分复用(Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing,OFDM)等传统调制技术的方法能更好地在强多径多普勒信道进行信道估计和信号检测,因而特别适用于高移动场景下的通信,同时其在时延多普勒域信道统计特性也可有效用于物理层密钥生成。针对高移动性场景下的物理层密钥分发,本文提出一种基于OTFS调制的密钥生成方案。该方案能够有效应对快速时变信道,降低生成密钥的比特不一致率(Bit Disagreement Ratio,BDR)。为在时延-多普勒(Delay-Doppler, DD)域中准确获取信道参数,我们采用了基于稀疏贝叶斯学习(Sparse Bayesian Learning,SBL)的信道估计方法。传统估计方法难以应对计算复杂度高以及非整数时延与多普勒的离网问题。基于变分推断框架构建的SBL方法,有效估计了稀疏的DD域信道冲激响应,包括路径增益、时延和多普勒频移,尤其在高噪声环境下仍能保持较高的估计精度。由于OTFS域信道参数的缓变性可能导致生成密钥随机性不足、密钥熵值偏低,本文采用离散Karhunen-Loève变换(Karhunen-Loève Transform,KLT)对信道分量进行去相关处理。为进一步提高密钥生成速率,提出一种路径系数-多普勒-延迟域的联合量化算法。在发送节点的引导下,采用了一种多比特自适应量化(Multibit Adaptive Quantization, MAQ)方案,旨在确保合法用户间生成高一致性的比特序列,同时最大限度地减少信息泄露。仿真结果表明,该方案在密钥生成速率、熵特性及比特不一致率等多项关键指标上均展现出显著优势。其中,所提方案能够通过调整误比特率门限,有效调节误比特率、密钥生成速率等相关性能指标,从而实现安全性与效率的动态平衡,且生成的密钥具有更高的熵值,而这种强随机特性将显著增加攻击者实施暴力破解及其他密码攻击所需的时间与计算资源。该方案为高移动性无人机通信中的安全密钥生成提供了一种高效、轻量化的解决方案。它有效应对了DD域中信道时变性、缓变性和稀疏性带来的挑战。通过整合OTFS调制、基于SBL的信道估计、基于KLT的去相关处理以及联合多参数量化技术,本方案实现了高密钥生成速率、低比特不一致率和高熵值,从而成为提升下一代低空网络物理层安全性的有力候选方案。其核心思想也具备向未来涉及毫米波和大规模多输入多输出(Multiple-Input Multiple-Output,MIMO)系统在第六代移动通信技术(6th Generation, 6G)场景扩展的潜力。

     

    Abstract: Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication is a key enabling technology for information exchange among low-altitude network nodes, and ensuring its security is critical for the healthy and stable development of the low-altitude economy. Physical layer key generation (PLKG) leverages the randomness and reciprocity of wireless channels to dynamically generate shared keys, thereby enhancing system security and privacy protection. This approach has particular advantages in resource-constrained application scenarios, such as small UAV platforms, where storage and computational resources are limited. However, the high-speed movement of UAVs or environmental scatterers introduces Doppler shifts, which cause the channel to exhibit high time variability and consequently affect the consistency of channel random parameters obtained through bidirectional channel estimation. Recent studies have shown that, compared with conventional modulation schemes such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), orthogonal time-frequency space (OTFS) modulation can better handle fast time-varying channels, making it particularly suitable for high-mobility communication scenarios and applicable to physical layer key generation. To address the challenge of physical layer key distribution in high-mobility scenarios, this study proposes an OTFS-based key generation scheme. The proposed scheme can effectively cope with fast time-varying channels and reduce the bit disagreement rate (BDR) in key generation. For accurate channel parameter acquisition in the delay-Doppler (DD) domain, which is crucial for subsequent steps, a sparse Bayesian learning (SBL)-based channel estimation method is adopted. Traditional estimation methods struggle with computational complexity and the off-grid issue caused by non-integer delays and Doppler shifts. The SBL approach, formulated within a variational inference framework, can effectively estimate the sparse DD-domain channel impulse response, including path gains, delays, and Doppler shifts, with improved accuracy, especially in noisy conditions. Since the slow variation of OTFS channels may cause insufficient randomness and low entropy in the generated keys, the discrete Karhunen-Loève transform (KLT) is employed to decorrelate channel components. Furthermore, to enhance the key generation rate, a joint quantization algorithm is proposed in the path coefficient-Doppler-delay domain. A multi-bit adaptive quantization (MAQ) scheme, guided by the transmitting node, is implemented to ensure high bit agreement between legitimate users while minimizing information leakage. Simulation results show that the scheme achieves strong performance in improving key generation rates, optimizing entropy characteristics, and reducing bit disagreement rates. Specifically, the proposed scheme can effectively adjust performance metrics, such as the bit disagreement rate and key generation rate, by setting a bit disagreement rate threshold, thereby achieving a dynamic balance between security and efficiency while maintaining higher key entropy. This strong randomness significantly increases the time and computational resources required for attackers to perform brute-force attacks or other forms of cryptographic analysis. The proposed framework provides an efficient and lightweight solution for secure key generation in high-mobility UAV communications. It effectively addresses challenges posed by channel time variability, slow variation, and sparsity in the DD domain. By integrating OTFS modulation, SBL-based channel estimation, KLT-based decorrelation, and joint multi-parameter quantization, the scheme ensures a high key generation rate, low bit disagreement, and high entropy, making it a robust candidate for enhancing the physical layer security of next-generation low-altitude networks. The core ideas also hold potential for extension to future 6th generation (6G) scenarios involving millimeter-wave and massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems.

     

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