CAREER: Exploiting Antenna Capabilities in Wireless Mesh Networks: Theory, Protocols, and Practice

互联网的边缘在无线媒体上继续快速增长。维持这样的增长率并非易事。无线信道的变幻莫测，加上大规模网络的分布式特性，在容量、可伸缩性、可靠性和安全性方面提出了各种各样的挑战。必须最大限度地利用每一个新的机会，以应付不断增加的最终用户需求。新兴的天线功能提供了一个这样的机会。天线系统以及无线协议设计界已经取得了重大进展。早期的证据表明，通过有效地将天线感知集成到网络协议栈中，可以提取显著的端到端性能优势。然而，这样的整合不是微不足道的，并且需要一系列丰富的研究挑战。这个名为Spotlight的项目旨在通过理论、协议和原型演示来实现这一目标。该项目没有尝试包罗万象的解决方案，而是明确地针对无线网状网络架构。重点报道在整合不同研究学科的自主创新方面迈出了积极的一步。具体来说，它使天线系统和无线网络这两个领域更加紧密地联系在一起。研究成果正在通过技术出版物、研讨会和教程进行传播。此外，该项目致力于将研究和教育计划紧密结合。电子工程的技术与计算机科学的算法正在统一，并呈现在研究生和本科生的新课程中。实践经验是这些课程不可或缺的组成部分，使学生能够理解理论与现实生活系统的转化。PI: Romit Roy ChoudhuryECE，杜克大学

The edge of the internet continues to grow rapidly over the wireless medium. Sustaining this growth rate is not trivial. The vagaries of the wireless channel, in conjunction with the distributed nature of large scale networks, raises diverse challenges in capacity, scalability, reliability, and security. Every new opportunity has to be maximally exploited to cope with the escalating end-user demands. Emerging antenna capabilities offer one such opportunity. Crucial advances have been made in antenna systems, as well as in the wireless protocol design community. Early evidence shows that significant end to end performance benefits can be extracted by effectively integrating antenna-awareness into the network protocol stack. However, such inte- gration is not trivial, and entails a rich set of research challenges. This project, named Spotlight, is oriented to achieve this goal, through theory, protocols, and a prototype demonstration. Instead of attempting all- encompassing solutions, the project categorically targets wireless mesh network architectures. Spotlight takes an active step towards integrating independent innovations from diverse research disciplines. Specifically, it brings the two communities of antenna systems and wireless networking closer to each other. Research results is being disseminated through technical publications, seminars, and tutorials. Moreover, the project is committed to tightly integrate research and educational plans. Techniques from Electrical Engi- neering is being unified with algorithms from Computer Science, and presented in new courses for graduates as well as undergraduates. Hands on experiences are integral components of these courses, enabling stu- dents to appreciate the translation of theory to real life systems. PI: Romit Roy ChoudhuryECE, Duke University