Network Coding in Relay-Based Device-to-Device Communications

Device-to-device (D2D) communications has been realized as an effective means to improve network throughput, reduce transmission latency, and extend cellular coverage in 5G systems. Network coding is a well established technique known for its capability to reduce the number of retransmissions. In this article, we review state-of-the-art network coding in relay-based D2D communications, in terms of application scenarios and network coding techniques. We then apply two representative network coding techniques to dual-hop D2D communications and present an efficient relay node selecting mechanism as a case study. We also outline potential future research directions, according to the current research challenges. Our intention is to provide researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive overview of the current research status in this area and hope that this article may motivate more researchers to participate in developing network coding techniques for different relay-based D2D communications scenarios.