Decode-and-forward cooperative multicast with space shift keying

In this paper, we consider space-shift keying (SSK) in dual-hop decode-and-forward (DF) cooperative multicast networks, where a source node communicates with multiple destination nodes with the help of relay nodes. We consider a topology consisting of a single source, two relays, and multiple destinations. For such a system, we propose a scheme to select a single relay among the two when SSK is used for transmission on each of the links in the cooperative system. We analyze the end-to-end average bit error probability (ABEP) of this system. For binary SSK, we derive an exact expression for the ABEP in closed-form. Analytical results exactly match the simulation results validating the analysis. For non-binary SSK, we derive an approximate ABEP expression, where the analytical ABEP results closely follow simulation results. We also derive the diversity order of the system through asymptotic ABEP analysis.