NeTS: Small: Location, Location, Location: Maximizing Network Performance in the mmWave Era

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Next-generation wireless networks will rely heavily on millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications, which take place in frequency bands of 28 to 300 GHz, in contrast with current networks that operate in bands below 10 GHz. mmWave communications achieve multi-gigabit per second data rates and low latencies under ideal conditions, meaning they could support emerging applications such as wireless virtual reality and intelligent real-time traffic control. However, mmWave signals degrade more rapidly with distance than lower-frequency signals, particularly in poor weather conditions, and the signals cannot propagate through obstacles such as walls and even human bodies. These characteristics can result in dramatically different performance when the position of the sender or receiver of a mmWave communication is changed by only a few feet. This research seeks to address this limitation by designing wireless networks that adapt to changing conditions to maintain necessary levels of performance. The project envisions networks that employ components which are not fixed like today's access points and cellular base stations but rather have a modest amount of mobility and can dynamically configure themselves to optimize performance depending on the locations of the current users and environmental constraints. The research seeks to both demonstrate and quantify the benefits that optimizing location of network components has on the performance of these next-generation networks. The project is also working with Georgia Tech's CREATE-X entrepreneurship program, which fosters student-driven start-up activities, to facilitate technology transfer.This project investigates how the location sensitivity of mmWave communications can be exploited, both at network design time and during network operation, to improve performance. Two techniques are considered for optimizing location in mmWave networks, mobility and relay nodes. In case no suitable communication path exists, nodes can reposition themselves to establish communication if they have that capability or they can make use of strategically placed relay nodes to help them communicate. For two specific scenarios, namely wireless backhaul and indoor access, the project investigates ways in which these two techniques can be used by themselves and in combination to optimize performance. Problems studied will include the design, optimization, characterization, and control of mmWave backhaul networks employing relay nodes; analysis of reconfigurability and design and evaluation of relay reconfiguration protocols for mmWave backhaul networks; and design, evaluation, and optimization of systems of self-positioning indoor mmWave access points and relays. The problems will be studied using algorithm design and analysis techniques, analytical and numerical evaluation, network simulation, and prototyping.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.