CAREER: Cross-Layer Protocols for Robust and Scalable Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

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The future of wireless networking will be heterogeneous, making use of various air interfaces with a wide variety of capabilities and constraints. It will empower people through a digital environment that is aware of their presence and context and sensitive to their needs. Unfortunately, today's air interfaces merely co-exist, and very little has been achieved in making them co-operate to provide robust, secure, and scalable networks. Two main issues hinder the successful deployment of such networks: limitation of resources and vulnerability of robustness and security of communications among heterogeneous devices. The complexity and criticality of these issues increase with the size of the network and the variety of the devices that compose it. This project investigates the design and prototyping of cross-layer communication protocols and resource-management strategies to accommodate variations in the environment (traffic characteristics, channel quality, topology and mobility, energy, and adversary attacks). The approach is based on theoretical concepts such as generalized conflict-graphs, linear programming, coding and information theory, but also heuristic techniques for cross-layer resources cost-metrics, adaptive physical-layer, and contention-aware routing. The project considers a cross-layer approach to robustness against adversaries. The outcomes of the project are two fold: cross-layer algorithms and protocols for robust, scalable and secure communication, and evaluation tools including simulators and prototypes. The development of an innovative networking technology for "ambient intelligence" will be a significant enabling factor in the development of a vibrant, inclusive, safe, and productive society where access to services and information is cheap, transparent, and, most importantly, secure.