CAREER: Towards Metamaterial-inspired Networking for Wireless Devices in Extreme Environments

尽管在大多数地面场景中都存在无线连接，但仍有许多极端环境无法覆盖，包括地下、水下和受限空间(隧道、管道和没有网络基础设施的室内环境)。这种环境中的无线网络可以实现从环境可持续性、国土安全到军事和国防自动化的各种应用。然而，现有的无线联网技术，包括基于电磁波的解决方案、基于声波的解决方案和基于磁感应的解决方案，在上述极端环境中不起作用，特别是当目标环境具有损耗介质和复杂结构时，以及当设备较小且可移动时。在这个项目中，将开发一种新的网络范例，超材料启发网络(Metanet)，以在极端环境中无线互联便携式(或更小)设备。Metanet将通过提供一个新的网络平台来在极端环境中建立无线连接，从而产生重大影响。它可以对许多人类活动产生积极影响，并最终可以解决许多关键问题，如提高石油/天然气采收率，保护地下水，减轻自然灾害的影响，建立智能城市和智能建筑，以及加强军事和执法人员的安全。在这个项目中，教育和研究将通过一个专注于无处不在的无线网络的远程教育计划，一个新的研究生水平课程和一个高级水平的顶峰课程，以及一个面向K-12学生的技术夏令营来整合。在这个Metanet项目中，每个无线设备都配备了一个软件定义的微线圈天线阵列(即智能超材料层)，并使用超材料增强磁感应(M2I)技术来建立网络连接。M2I帮助每个节点在各种恶劣和复杂的环境中实现合理的通信范围(使用口袋大小的设备可以达到几十米)。此外，由于M2I显著增强了无线设备之间以及环境中的导电对象之间的磁耦合，因此所有节点之间以及环境之间的更紧密的交互为网络设计创造了机会和风险。该项目的目标是通过数学建模、模拟和实验评估的闭环组合，首次探索在各种极端环境中由超材料启发的网络的基本原理。该计划基于四个核心交织的研究任务：(I)基于各种环境下M2I通信的信道分析的物理层解决方案；(Ii)环境感知和跨层网络控制技术；(Iii)网络拓扑发现和定位算法；以及(Iv)通过Metanet试验床和跨层模拟器进行原型和性能评估。

Despite the presence of wireless connectivity in most terrestrial scenarios, there are still many extreme environments that cannot be covered, including underground, underwater, and confined spaces (tunnels, pipelines, and indoor environments with no network infrastructures). Wireless networks in such environments can enable various applications, ranging from environmental sustainability, homeland security, to military and defense automation. However, existing wireless networking techniques, including electromagnetic wave-based solutions, acoustic wave-based solutions, and magnetic induction-based solutions, do not work in the aforementioned extreme environments, especially when the target environment has lossy media and complex structure and when the device is small and mobile. In this project, a new networking paradigm, Metamaterial-inspired Networking (MetaNet), will be developed to wirelessly internetwork portable (or even smaller) devices in extreme environments. MetaNet will generate significant impacts by providing a new networking platform to establish wireless connection in extreme environments. It can positively impact many human activities and can eventually address many key problems, such as increasing oil/gas recovery factor, protecting groundwater, mitigating the impacts of natural disasters, establishing smart cities and smart buildings, and enhancing the safety of military and law enforcement personnel. In this project, education will be integrated with the research through a distance education program focusing on everywhere wireless networking, a new graduate level course and a senior level capstone course, and a tech summer camp to reach out to K-12 students.In this MetaNet project, each wireless device is equipped with a software-defined micro-coil-antenna array (i.e., a smart metamaterial layer) and uses the Metamaterial-enhanced Magnetic Induction (M2I) technique to establish network links. M2I helps each node to achieve reasonable communication range (tens of meters with pocket-sized devices) in various hostile and complex environments. Moreover, since M2I significantly enhances the magnetic coupling among the wireless devices as well as the conductive objects in the environment, the much closer interactions among all the nodes as well as the environment create both opportunity and risk for network design. The objective of this project is to explore for the first time the fundamentals of metamaterial-inspired networking in various extreme environments through a closed-loop combination of mathematical modeling, simulations, and experimental evaluation. This proposed plan is based on four core intertwined research tasks: (i) physical layer solutions based on channel analysis of M2I communications in various environments; (ii) environment-aware and cross-layer network control techniques; (iii) network topology-discovery and localization algorithms; and (iv) prototyping and performance evaluation through a MetaNet testbed and a cross layer simulator.