NeTS: Small: The MOLES: Enabling Wireless Sensor Networks in Underground

无线地下传感器网络（WUSN），即，在地面下工作的无线传感器节点网络是许多新兴应用的使能技术，例如智能农业、地下管道和电网监测、油藏监测、隐蔽边界巡逻、地震和滑坡预测以及地下矿山灾害预防和救援等。尽管它们具有潜在的优势，但WUSN的实现非常具有挑战性。地下环境的特殊性阻止了大多数（如果不是全部的话）现有无线通信和联网解决方案的直接使用，这主要是由于地下环境中电磁（EM）波的非常高的路径损耗、小的通信范围和高动态。该项目的目标是解决在具有挑战性的地下环境中实现WUSN的独特挑战。拟议的研究是建立在新的基于磁感应（MI）的通信机制以及地下土壤介质，油藏，矿山和隧道的系统架构之上。这个特殊的项目有沿着四个主要的推力的贡献。首先，提出了一种基于MI信道特性的跨层通信框架，以实现高吞吐量、节能、可靠的井下通信。其次，提出了一种新的基于接收磁场强度（RMFS）的定位模式，以利用基于MI的信号的独特的多径和无衰落传播特性，这保证了定位策略的准确性，简单性和方便性。第三，提出了一个最佳的基于MI的网络部署策略，为不同的WUSN应用的目标，以最小化线圈密度，同时保持所需的带宽约束和可靠性要求。最后，一个物理的MI为基础的WUSN测试平台的开发，其中包括我们自己设计的MI为基础的传感器设备和一个工程的地下环境，以验证我们提出的解决方案。预计拟议的研究将为新兴WUSNs应用的实现和实施铺平道路，这些应用将在工业生产力和国土安全方面带来重大进步，例如，隐蔽的边境巡逻该项目将汇集信息理论，无线电设计和网络领域的研究人员，并建立新的研究联系和解释。该项目将资助两名研究生。该项目的解决方案还将为所提出的技术和新颖的系统架构带来专利。研究成果将在该领域的重要科学会议、期刊和主要杂志上传播。开发的仿真工具和物理测试平台将作为研究界的评估平台。

Wireless Underground Sensor Networks (WUSNs), i.e., networks of wireless sensor nodes that operate below the ground surface, are the enabling technology of many emerging applications, such as intelligent agriculture, underground pipelines and power grid monitoring, oil reservoir monitoring, concealed border patrol, earthquake and landslide forecasting, and underground mine disaster prevention and rescue, amongst others. Despite their potential advantages, the realization of WUSNs is very challenging. The peculiarities of the underground environments prevent the direct use of most, if not all, existing wireless communication and networking solutions, mainly due to the very high path loss, small communication range, and high dynamics of electromagnetic (EM) waves in the underground environment. The objective of this project is to address the unique challenges for the realization of WUSNs in challenging underground environments. The proposed research is built on top of novel Magnetic Induction (MI)-based communication mechanisms as well as system architectures in underground soil medium, oil reservoirs, and mines and tunnels. This particular project has contributions along four major thrusts. First, a cross-layer communication framework based on the MI channel characteristics is proposed to achieve high-throughput, energy-efficient, and reliable underground communications. Second, a new Received Magnetic Filed Strength (RMFS)-based localization paradigm is proposed to exploit the unique multi-path and fading-free propagation properties of MI-based signals, which guarantees the accuracy, simplicity, and convenience of the localization strategy. Third, an optimal MI-based network deployment strategy is proposed for different WUSNs applications with the objective to minimize the coil density while maintaining the required bandwidth constraint and reliability requirements. Finally, a physical MI-based WUSN testbed is developed, which consists of our own designed MI-based sensor devices and an engineered underground environment, to validate our proposed solutions. The proposed research is expected to pave the way for the realization and implementation of emerging WUSNs applications, which bring significant advances in the industrial productivity and homeland security, e.g., concealed border patrol. This project will bring together researchers in the areas of information theory, radio design, and networking, and enable the establishment of new research connections and interpretations. The project will support two graduate students. The solutions of the project will also result in patents for the proposed techniques and novel system architectures. The research results will be disseminated in important scientific conferences, journals and premier magazines of the field. The developed simulation tool and physical testbed will serve as the evaluation platform for the research community.