TF-SING: A Theoretical Foundation of Spatio-Temporal Mobility Modeling and Induced Link-Level Dynamics

无线设备的使用不可避免地导致用户在多种空间/时间尺度上的不同设置中的移动性，从中等到密集网络中的传统蜂窝电话用户和Wi-Fi用户，到多跳无线自组织网络中的游牧用户和移动机器人/传感器，以及更大空间/时间尺度上的延迟/中断容忍网络。随着移动通信向大规模和社会化网络发展，人们迫切需要探索移动引起的链路层动力学的基本原理，虽然尚未得到系统的研究，但对移动网络中的算法和协议的理论限制、性能分析和估计的优化技术、网络结构和拓扑控制、分布式传感器-执行器网络以及社会网络的建模等研究领域都产生了巨大的影响。本研究的目的是通过随机分析方法表征链路层动力学，为无线移动网络建立理论基础。具体地说，研究集中在(I)移动性引起的链路动态的建模、分析和统计特征，(Ii)在多个空间/时间尺度上的移动性建模中的时空动力学而不是先验依赖于网络环境，以及(Iii)在不同网络运行机制下的链路级度量的缩放限制。移动建模的理论基础融合了多学科特点，将作为实验集中区，启动网络科学创新课程设计。研究人员开发新的网络理论课程，从研究生水平开始，过渡到本科生水平，向本科生和K-12学生展示有形、有吸引力的无线移动应用理论工作的魅力和严谨性。

The usage of wireless devices unavoidably induce user mobility in diverse settings over multiple space/time scales, ranging from traditional cellular phone users and Wi-Fi users in moderate-to-dense networks, to nomadic users and mobile robots/sensors in multi-hop wireless ad-hoc networks and delay/disruption-tolerant networks over larger space/time scales. As mobile communications go to large-scale and social networks, there is an acute and timely demand for exploring fundamental principles in mobility-induced link-level dynamics, which has not been studied systematically, but have tremendous impact on a wide range of research areas, such as theoretic limits of algorithms, and protocols in mobile networks, optimization techniques for performance analysis and estimation, network architecture and topology control, distributed sensor-actuator networks, and modeling of social networks.The goal of this research is to develop a theoretical foundation for wireless mobile networks, through characterization of link-level dynamics by stochastic analysis approach. Specifically, the research focuses on (i) modeling, analysis, and statistical characterization of mobility-induced link dynamics, (ii) spatio-temporal dynamics in mobility modeling in multiple space/time scales rather than being dependent on networking environments a priori, and (iii) scaling limits for link-level metrics under various network operating regimes. The theoretical foundation of mobility modeling, which integrates multidisciplinary characteristics, will be used as an experimental concentration area to initiate innovative curriculum design of network science. The investigators develop new courses on networking theory, starting from graduate-level and transit to under-graduate level, by demonstrating the charm and rigorousness of theoretic work in tangible, attractive wireless mobile applications to undergraduate students and K-12 students.