NeTS: Small: Collaborative Research: LAWN: Scaling Up Cellular Data Networks using a Large Number of Antennas

移动数据的指数级增长是蜂窝网络运营商面临的主要挑战。超越传统的容量提升方法，如增加更多的小区和获取更多的频谱，该项目寻求从根本上提高蜂窝数据网络的频谱效率。该项目研究了基于天线的无线网络（LAWN, Large number of Antenna based Wireless Networking），这是一种全新的蜂窝网络架构，其中大量天线同时使用多用户波束成形为相对较少数量的无线终端服务。该项目有两个相互关联的重点。第一项研究研究了一种新颖的LAWN基站设计和原型，可以经济有效地扩展到数百个天线，并利用物理层在计算复杂性和网络容量之间的权衡。第二个重点研究由此产生的新网络架构，该架构有效地调度终端，智能地分配传输功率，并协调导频信号传输以减轻小区间干扰。该项目的目标是将蜂窝网络的频谱和功率效率提高数倍，不仅可以实现快速的无线数据网络，还可以延长移动终端的电池寿命。该项目的结果可能会为新的理论发展提供新的见解，使大规模多用户波束形成向蜂窝数据网络的实际部署迈出了重要的一步。除了学术出版物外，该项目还将制作一个开放平台，包括硬件、软件和在线文件，用于基站设计的教学和研究。它将积极吸引本科生以及来自代表性不足群体的学生。

The exponential growth of mobile data is a major challenge to the operators of cellular networks. Looking beyond conventional capacity-improving approaches such as adding more cells and acquiring more spectrum, this project seeks to fundamentally improve the spectral efficiency of cellular data networks. The project investigates LAWN (Large number of Antenna based Wireless Networking), a radically new cellular network architecture, in which a large number of antennas simultaneously serve a relatively much smaller number of wireless terminals using multiuser beamforming. The project has two inter-related thrusts. The first investigates a novel LAWN base station design and prototype that can cost-effectively scale to hundreds of antennas and exploit physical-layer tradeoffs between computational complexity and network capacity. The second thrust studies the resulting new network architecture that efficiently schedules terminals, intelligently allocates transmission power, and coordinates pilot signal transmissions to mitigate inter-cell interference.The project targets improving the spectral and power efficiency of cellular networks by many fold, leading to not only fast wireless data networks but also longer battery lifetime of mobile terminals. Results from the project are likely to provide fresh insights for new theoretical development, bringing large-scale multi-user beamforming one significant leap closer to practical deployment in cellular data networks. In addition to academic publications, the project will produce an open platform, including hardware, software, and documentation available on-line, for teaching and researching base station design. It will actively involve undergraduate students as well as students from under-represented populations.