CAREER: Optimization and Design of Next-Generation Cognitive Mesh Networks: From Theory to Practice

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。认知无线电和多天线系统是两个最新的组成部分，每个都提供了一个巨大的潜力，提高频谱效率。前者实现机会频谱接入（OSA），而后者实现多输入多输出（MIMO）能力。这个项目开发了无线网状网络的理论和实践框架，当它们都支持MIMO和OSA功能。这项研究的目的有三个方面。首先，它采用自下而上的跨层方法来理解、建模和表征最佳端到端网络吞吐量，同时考虑物理层限制和链路层争用约束。其次，该项目通过研究新的范式来开发高效的网络算法，这些范式从传统范式转变为适合这些支持OSA、支持MIMO的网络。第三，该项目实现了一个真实的，实验性的无线网状网络，是从现成的商业组件，从而开发的技术。这证明了所开发的概念的可行性和有效性。该项目为频谱稀缺问题提供了科学的解决方案。结果通过出版物、软件发布和研讨会传播。它涉及本科生在他们的类和独立的研究项目期间的研究活动;（ii）创造了机会，为K-12和少数民族学生工作的现实生活中的问题，并激发他们追求工程事业，并通过整合到新的课程开发丰富教学和学习课程。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Cognitive radios and multi-antenna systems are two recent components that each offers a great potential for improving spectrum efficiency. The former enables opportunistic spectrum access (OSA), while the latter enables multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) capability. This project develops theoretical and practical frameworks for wireless mesh networks when they are both MIMO-enabled and OSA-capable. The objective of this research is three-fold. First, it takes a bottom-up, cross-layer approach to understand, model, and characterize the optimal end-to-end network throughput while accounting for physical-layer limitations and link-layer contention constraints. Second, the project develops efficient networking algorithms by investigating new paradigms that shift away from traditional ones to suit these OSA-capable, MIMO-enabled networks. Third, this project implements the thus-developed techniques in a real, experimental wireless mesh network that is built from off-the-shelf commercial components. This demonstrates both the feasibility and the effectiveness of the developed concepts.This project provides scientific solutions to the spectrum scarcity problem. The results are disseminated via publications, software releases, and seminars. It involves undergraduate students in research activities during their class and independent study projects; (ii) creates the opportunity for K-12 and minority students to work on real-life problems and excites them to pursue engineering careers, and enriches teaching and learning curricula by integration into new course development.