WiFiUS: Millimeter Wave-Based Wearable Networks in High-End IoT Applications

用于增强现实或虚拟现实等高级应用的可穿戴电子设备通常会生成大量数据。使用无线链路来传递这些数据避免了对繁琐电缆的需要，然而传统的无线技术不支持这些新兴应用所设想的每秒千兆比特的吞吐量。毫米波通信是为可穿戴电子设备提供更高数据速率和更低延迟的一种解决方案。本研究的目的是提供一个严格的和系统的设计的关键方面的毫米波可穿戴网络。重点放在设计系统的重要方面，这将允许在拥挤的区域与许多人使用可穿戴设备的操作。更广泛的影响包括教学，指导，参与的代表性不足的群体，社区外展通过演示和视频，并通过与行业合作伙伴的合作，技术转让。该研究项目解决了毫米波可穿戴链路在物理层和介质访问控制层的通信基础。在理论方面，该项目开发了新的数学工具，用于估计毫米波信道，并设计了新的算法，用于在毫米波多天线信道结合阵列约束进行通信。它还创建了新的协议，这些协议被从头开始设计，以包括现有毫米波介质访问控制协议工作中没有的多天线功能。在实践方面，该项目创建了通道模型，其中包含针对可穿戴设置的阵列几何形状，方向和阻塞效应。它还在测试平台中实现了算法的关键方面，以验证理论假设并对模型进行改进。这项研究的成果包括可穿戴设备的快速可重新配置和强大的高带宽毫米波通信链路。

Wearable electronic devices for advanced applications like augmented or virtual reality typically generate large amounts of data. Using wireless links to deliver such data avoids the need for cumbersome cables, yet conventional wireless technologies do not support the gigabits per second throughput envisioned by these emerging applications. Millimeter wave communication is one solution to provide wearable electronic devices with higher data rates and lower latency. This research is aimed at providing a rigorous and systematic design of the key aspects of a millimeter wave wearable network. The emphasis is placed on designing important aspects of the system that will permit operation in crowded areas with many people using wearable devices. Broader impacts include teaching, mentoring, participation of underrepresented groups, community outreach through demonstrations and videos, and technology transfer through collaborations with industry partners.This research project addresses the fundamentals of communication in millimeter wave wearable links at the physical layer and medium access control layers. On the theoretical side, this project develops new mathematical tools for estimating millimeter wave channels and devises new algorithms for communicating in millimeter wave multiple antenna channels incorporating array constraints. It also creates new protocols, which are designed from the ground up to include multiple antenna capabilities not found in existing millimeter wave medium access control protocol work. On the practical side, this project creates channel models that incorporate array geometry, orientation, and blockage effects tailored to the wearable setting. It also implements key aspects of the algorithms in a testbed to validate the theoretical hypotheses and provide refinements to models. Outcomes of this research include rapidly re-configurable and robust high bandwidth millimeter wave communication links for wearable devices.