SBIR Phase I: Adaptable Ad Hoc Network Architecture for Rapid Infrastructure Development in Disaster Zones

SBIR 第一阶段：用于灾区快速基础设施开发的适应性 Ad Hoc 网络架构

• 批准号: 2136602
• 负责人: Mateo Abascal
• 金额: $ 25.09万
• 依托单位: BEAMLINK, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-03-15 至 2023-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2136602&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Adaptable; Ad; Hoc

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is reducing the cost of getting people online and connecting people in emergency situations such as natural disasters. Natural disasters often destroy cellular networks, exactly when people need communication the most. The influx of users on the limited remaining infrastructure often overwhelms existing resources, making it impossible for first responders to coordinate, for families to call their loved ones, and for volunteers to help. In other potential markets, the technology seeks to provide cellular phone access to parts of the world where it is now prohibitively expensive. This project seeks to develop small, portable cellular base stations that can provide access in both emergency and hard to reach and poorly resourced locations.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project researches and implements a small, portable cellular base station. The technological focus for the base station utilizes Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) (or 2G and 2.5G) radio for communicating with a high density of cell phones in a computationally cheap manner while utilizing WiFi for local, high bandwidth applications. The technology implements many “micro-cells” in lieu of the current macro cell approach to cellular coverage, blanketing the area with a high number of towers. This decentralized approach provides high reliability even if one or several nodes fail. This project will develop the algorithms necessary for interconnecting large numbers of base stations together and mesh the networking capabilities that provide radio links between each base station. Finally, this project will finalize the mechanical design and make the base station manufacturable at large scale.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.

该小企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是降低人们上网和在自然灾害等紧急情况下将人们联系起来的成本。自然灾害常常会在人们最需要通信的时候摧毁蜂窝网络。大量用户涌入剩余的有限基础设施，往往会压垮现有资源，导致急救人员无法协调，家人无法给亲人打电话，志愿者也无法提供帮助。在其他潜在市场，该技术旨在为世界上一些目前手机价格昂贵的地区提供手机接入服务。该项目旨在开发小型便携式蜂窝基站，能够在紧急情况、难以到达和资源匮乏的地点提供接入。该小型企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目研究并实施小型便携式蜂窝基站。该基站的技术重点是利用全球移动通信系统 (GSM)/通用分组无线服务 (GPRS)（或 2G 和 2.5G）无线电以计算成本低的方式与高密度手机进行通信，同时利用 WiFi 进行本地高带宽应用。该技术实现了许多“微蜂窝”来代替当前的宏蜂窝方法来实现蜂窝覆盖，并用大量塔覆盖该区域。即使一个或多个节点发生故障，这种分散的方法也能提供高可靠性。该项目将开发将大量基站互连在一起所需的算法，并网格化在每个基站之间提供无线电链路的网络功能。最后，该项目将完成机械设计并使基站可大规模制造。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。