Fundamentals of physical layer network coding

Network coding is a beautiful and powerful technique whose emergence invokes a wide range of applications. Along with the development of the theoretical research and wide-spread applications, just like its original butterfly network topology, network coding metamorphoses from a complex and abstruse theory to a widely accepted and natural choice for wireless designs. The mystery and nature behind network coding become more and more attractive and important for wireless researchers. In this very first chapter, we briefly review network coding theory. Specifically, the physical layer network coding (PLNC) is discussed in more detail and understood from three different viewpoints. This way reveals the relationships among PLNC and several existing transmission schemes, which are helpful for us to exploit the performance advantages promised by PLNC.