NSF-AoF: Impact of user, environment, and artificial surfaces on above-100 GHz wireless communications

在过去的30年里，无线数据速率不断提高，从早期数字系统的10 kbit/s到5G的1 Gbit/s以上。这一趋势将持续到6 G系统，全息通信等新应用需要超过100 Gbit/s。如此高的数据速率将需要使用以前未使用的具有非常高载波频率的频谱，称为太赫兹频谱，因为只有在这个频率范围内才有足够的带宽来实现高数据速率。在这些非常高的频率下的一个主要挑战是，覆盖范围更加分散，并且比在较低频率下更容易被小物体，甚至是手持无线设备的人中断。因此，该项目将首先开发工具来评估这种太赫兹系统的覆盖范围和可靠性，其次，将通过开发可以重定向无线信号的智能墙壁覆盖物来创造提高性能的新技术。连同适当的部署规划工具（例如，接入点放置在何处），这些发展将构成以较低成本实现超高数据速率无线服务的重要一步。该项目将通过为本科生和研究生组成的多样化团队创造理论和实验研究经验，为劳动力发展做出贡献。在该项目中，100-500 GHz无线系统的几个方面将被涵盖：（i）在实际操作条件下便携式设备和波传播环境中的天线阵列建模;这包括用户的手、头和身体靠近天线的影响，这在高频下特别重要;设计新颖的聚合反射表面和波导表面，在非视线条件下有效地将能量从一个装置传递到另一个装置，㈢开发新的基于点云的工具，用于在合理的运行时间内大幅提高覆盖范围的准确性-这不仅对规划部署很重要，而且对提高对这些高频波传播性质的认识也很重要;以及（iv）通过神经网络和深度学习的覆盖优化-通过基于点云的工具生成的大量传播数据将用于训练这些神经网络，从而允许评估特定部署的性能，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Over the past 30 years, wireless data rates have increased continuously, from 10 kbit/s in early digital systems to more than 1 Gbit/s in 5G. This trend will continue for 6G systems, with more than 100 Gbit/s required for new applications such as holographic communications. Such high data rates will require the use of previously unused spectrum with very high carrier frequency, called the Terahertz spectrum, because only in this frequency range is there enough bandwidth to enable the high data rates. A major challenge at these very high frequencies is that coverage is much more spotty, and can be more easily interrupted by small objects, and even by the person holding the wireless device, than at lower frequencies. This project will therefore firstly develop tools to assess the coverage and reliability of such Terahertz systems, and secondly, will create new technology for improving performance, through the development of smart wall coverings that can redirect wireless signals. Together with the appropriate deployment planning tools (e.g., where to put the access point), these developments will constitute a significant step towards enabling ultra-high-data-rate wireless services at lower cost. The project will contribute to workforce development by creating research experiences, involving both theory and experiments, for a diverse team of both undergraduate and graduate students.In this project, several aspects of the 100-500 GHz wireless systems will be covered: (i) The modeling of antenna arrays in portable devices and wave propagation environments under realistic operational conditions; this includes the effects of user hand, head, and body being close to the antennas, which are particularly important at high frequencies; (ii) The design of novel aggregate reflection surfaces and waveguiding surfaces that effectively transfer energy from one device to another in non-line-of-sight (non-LOS) conditions, and the measurement of their performance; (iii) The development of new point-cloud based tools for predicting coverage with dramatically increased accuracy under reasonable runtime -- this is important not only for planning deployment but also to improve the understanding of the nature of wave propagation at these high frequencies; and (iv) Coverage optimization through neural networks and deep learning -- the massive amount of propagation data generated through the point-cloud based tools will be used to train these neural networks, thereby allowing the performance of a particular deployment to be assessed, and the locations of access points and reflective surfaces to be optimized.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.