NeTS-NBD: Cooperative Multi-Hop Wireless Communications and Networking: Joint Design of Error Control Coding, Medium Access, and Routing

协作多跳无线通信和网络：差错控制编码、介质接入和路由的联合设计0626695蔡晓东多跳通信在许多新兴的无线网络中发挥了重要作用，如adhoc网络、传感器网络、网状网等。但是，当网络运行在复杂的信道衰落和阴影的典型环境中时，现有的多跳通信方法在吞吐量、延迟、能量效率和健壮性方面无法提供令人满意的网络性能。这是由于几个主要问题：1)在网络层，当前的路由算法没有任何机制来应对无线信道中固有的衰落和阴影的有害影响，因为这些路由算法基于无线信道的盘模型，该模型考虑了路径损耗，但没有考虑衰落和阴影。2)在数据链路层和物理层，当前的传输方案没有适当地探索无线传输的广播性质以提高链路可靠性。3)由于缺乏跨网络、媒体访问控制(MAC)和物理层的联合设计，因此很难优化网络性能。该项目旨在开发一种跨层协作通信框架，以大幅提高多跳无线通信的性能。具体地说，跨层设计框架提供了一种跨越网络、MAC和物理层的统一方法，其中路由算法和MAC方案确保节点协作，而新型差错控制码(ECC)通过节点协作实现最大编码和分集增益。本项目开发的通信和联网方法有望显著提高采用多跳通信的无线网络的性能。

Cooperative Multi-Hop Wireless Communications and Networking: Joint Design of Error Control Coding, Medium Access, and RoutingAward 0626695Xiaodong CaiMulti-hop communication is instrumental in many emerging wireless networks such as ad hoc networks, sensor networks, mesh networks, etc. However, current multi-hop communication methods cannot provide satisfactory network performance in terms of throughput, latency, energy efficiency, and robustness, when the network operates in typical environments with complicated channel fading and shadowing. This is due to several major problems: 1) At the network layer, current routing algorithms do not have any mechanisms to cope with the detrimental effects of fading and shadowing inherent in wireless channels, since these routing algorithms are based upon a disk model for wireless channels that takes into account path loss, but not fading and shadowing. 2) At the data link and physical layers, current transmission schemes do not properly explore the broadcasting nature of wireless transmissions to improve link reliability. 3) The lack of a joint design across the network, medium access control (MAC), and physical layers renders it difficult to optimize network performance. This project aims to develop a framework of cross-layer cooperative communications to substantially improve the performance of multi-hop wireless communications. Specifically, the cross-layer design framework provides a unified approach across the network, MAC, and physical layers, where routing algorithms along with MAC schemes ensure node cooperation, while the novel error-control code (ECC) achieves maximum coding and diversity gain enabled by node cooperation. The communication and networking methods developed in this project are expected to significantly improve the performance of wireless networks employing multi-hop communication.