Mobile jammers for secrecy rate maximization in cooperative networks

We consider a source (Alice) trying to communicate with a destination (Bob), in a way that an unauthorized node (Eve) cannot infer, based on her observations, the information that is being transmitted. The communication is assisted by multiple multi-antenna cooperating nodes (helpers) who have the ability to move. While Alice transmits, the helpers transmit noise that is designed to affect the entire space except Bob. We consider the problem of selecting the helper weights and positions that maximize the system secrecy rate. It turns out that this optimization problem can be efficiently solved, leading to a novel decentralized helper motion control scheme. Simulations indicate that introducing helper mobility leads to considerable savings in terms of helper transmit power, as well as total number of helpers required for secrecy communications.