NeTS ProWIN: Topology And Routing With Steerable Antennas

当可控相控阵天线被网络的子集使用时，该项目解决了无线网络的可扩展性，并建立在先前的工作基础上，从而为这种可控天线修改了MAC层。早些时候发现，需要有限地使用这种可操纵性；天线配置被设计为针对缓慢变化的一组节点，而不是逐个分组地更改天线配置。这项工作提出了一个问题，即这些缓慢变化的节点集应该如何形成。该项目使用空间分集来提高物理层的效率，并提出了一个能够在物理层实现高效空间重用的网络层。这包括动态定义网络的拓扑或连通性以及可用连接的路由或使用。这个问题很有挑战性，因为相控阵天线不仅改变了射频信号的方向，而且还改变了信号的强度。该项目包括开发和使用一个研究网络，使用可操纵和固定天线的组合，将固定和移动节点结合在一起。该平台将使用低成本的软件定义无线电SoftMAC来部署用于现场实验的原型系统。该项目的示例应用包括城市和紧急服务网络，研究人员将与当地警察和消防部门合作，了解、建模和分析这些高度动态的网络的使用场景。该项目的工作应该会使这些快速部署的无线网络更灵活，更耐故障。

This project addresses the scalability of wireless networks when steerable phase array antennas are used by a subset of the network and builds on earlier work resulting in a modified MAC layer for such steerable antennas. This earlier found that limited use of that steerability was needed; rather than change antenna configuration on a packet-by-packet basis, antenna configurations are designed to target a slowly changing set of nodes. That work begged the question of how those slowly changing sets of nodes should be formed. This project uses spatial diversity to improve the efficiency of the physical layer and proposes a network layer that enables efficient spatial reuse at the physical layer. This includes dynamically defining the topology, or connectedness, of the network as well as the routing, or use of available connections. This problem is challenging because phase array antennas not only change the direction of RF signal, they also vary the strength of that signal. This project includes development and use of a research network combining fixed and mobile nodes using a combination of steerable and fixes antennas. This platform will use SoftMAC, a low cost software defined radio, to deploy prototype systems for in-field experimentation. Example applications for this project include city- and emergency service networks, and the researchers will be working with local Police and Fire departments to understand, model and analyze usage scenarios for these highly dynamic networks. The work in this project should make these rapidly deployed wireless networks more flexible and resistant to failure.