Collaborative Research: SWIFT: LARGE: Spectrum Sharing via Interference-resilient Passive Receivers and Passive-aware Active Services

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Scientists use radio observations of the sky to understand the evolution of galaxies and cosmic structures and answer questions about the origins of the universe. Cellular devices and other wireless technologies are vital to a modern economy but interfere with sensitive astronomical instruments. This project will develop technologies that will allow wireless devices and networks to coexist with scientific uses of the radio spectrum. These technologies include innovations in electronic systems that will make astronomical receivers more immune to interference from wireless devices; and advanced networking methods that allow wireless devices to intelligently cooperate with scientific observatories. This project includes both fundamental technical innovations and integrative system-level validation. It combines technical innovation at the passive receiver with new ideas on active transmitter management and looks at the problem in an integrative way. Technical innovations include novel hardware architecture and custom analog circuits, machine-learning-inspired design framework, cooperative wireless network protocol design, and testbed verification and evaluation. Breakthroughs in wideband beamforming, beam nulling, and interference cancellation through wideband true-time-delay arrays are proposed, which have the potential to enhance US competitiveness in various markets. A software-defined physical layer protocol brings a new approach to communication between active and passive devices, allowing for coordination between the device types. Industry interaction will enable the discussion of the practicality of ideas, placement of students in internships and permanent positions, and technology transfer. The astronomy application is a significant draw for women and minority engineering students and will allow for a significant increase in the diversity of the students involved in the project relative to historical norms in the engineering discipline. The proposed work will potentially impact the design and conception of future astronomy systems as wideband beamforming and cooperative network protocols will be available to technical standardization committees to enable practical coexistent deployment of active and passive services. The PIs' collaborations with astronomical observatories will allow for knowledge transfer and possible technology adoption in current and future instrument projects.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.