EAGER: Networked Aerial Base Stations for Enabling Emergency Communications During Disaster Recovery

EAGER：用于在灾难恢复期间实现紧急通信的网络空中基站

• 批准号: 1622978
• 负责人: Kamesh Namuduri
• 金额: $ 21.36万
• 依托单位: University of North Texas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-07-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1622978&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Networked; Aerial; Base; Stations

This Smart and Connected Communities research project focuses on developing an innovative solution for enabling emergency communications during disaster recovery. An aerial base station can substitute for a damaged cell tower and provide cellular connectivity among the first responders and citizens who were impacted by a natural or manmade disaster until the damaged cell tower is restored. The project will lead to fundamental understanding of the science and engineering aspects of the design and deployment of aerial base stations. It will result in a proof-of-concept for a deployable communication system. Aerial base stations have the advantage of higher altitude compared to regular cell towers. They provide better coverage and connectivity to the users. They can be deployed more quickly after a disaster when compared to Cells on Wheels which are traditionally deployed by cellular providers during disaster recovery.This project addresses the capability to quick deploy a communication system, which is a technology gap in today's emergency communication systems. The proposed research investigates efficient strategies for providing cellular coverage in areas where the coverage is not available or lost due to loss of cell towers. It brings the network closer to the disaster victims and relays the voice calls and data between the first responders and victims. The immediate need for quickly deployable communication systems during disaster recovery times makes this project a high-risk and high-reward project. Graduate and undergraduate students, who are participating in this research project will gain hands-on experience in developing innovative solutions for communities effected by disasters. This smart and connected community project engages local communities including the Fire Department and the Civil Air Patrol in the City of Denton, Texas, as well as private organizations in Telecommunications and Aviation industry. The project will be demonstrated in two phases during the Global City Team Challenge Exhibitions (2016 and 2017) organized jointly by the U.S. Ignite and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

该智能互联社区研究项目的重点是开发创新解决方案，以在灾难恢复期间实现紧急通信。 空中基站可以替代损坏的手机信号塔，并为受自然或人为灾难影响的急救人员和公民提供蜂窝连接，直到损坏的手机信号塔恢复。该项目将带来对空中基站设计和部署的科学和工程方面的基本了解。它将产生可部署通信系统的概念验证。与常规手机信号塔相比，空中基站具有海拔更高的优势。它们为用户提供更好的覆盖范围和连接性。与传统上由蜂窝提供商在灾难恢复期间部署的“车轮上的蜂窝”相比，它们在灾难后可以更快地部署。该项目解决了快速部署通信系统的能力，这是当今应急通信系统中的技术差距。拟议的研究调查了在无法使用或因蜂窝塔丢失而导致覆盖的区域提供蜂窝覆盖的有效策略。它使网络更接近灾难受害者，并在急救人员和受害者之间中继语音呼叫和数据。灾难恢复期间对快速部署通信系统的迫切需求使得该项目成为高风险和高回报的项目。参与该研究项目的研究生和本科生将获得为受灾害影响的社区开发创新解决方案的实践经验。 这个智能互联社区项目吸引了当地社区的参与，包括德克萨斯州丹顿市的消防局和民用空中巡逻队，以及电信和航空行业的私人组织。该项目将在美国Ignite和美国国家标准与技术研究所联合举办的全球城市团队挑战赛展览（2016年和2017年）期间分两个阶段进行展示。