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

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力正在降低让人们上网和在自然灾害等紧急情况下连接人们的成本。自然灾害往往会破坏蜂窝网络，而这正是人们最需要交流的时候。有限的剩余基础设施上涌入的用户往往会淹没现有资源，使得急救人员无法协调，家人无法打电话给亲人，志愿者也无法提供帮助。在其他潜在市场，这项技术寻求为世界上一些现在昂贵得令人望而却步的地区提供手机接入。该项目旨在开发小型便携式蜂窝基站，能够在紧急情况下以及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现了一个小型便携式蜂窝基站。基站的技术重点是利用全球移动通信系统(GSM)/通用分组无线业务(GPRS)(或2G和2.5G)无线电以计算廉价的方式与高密度手机通信，同时将WiFi用于本地高带宽应用。这项技术实现了许多“微蜂窝”，而不是目前的宏蜂窝覆盖方法，覆盖了该地区的大量塔楼。这种分散的方法即使在一个或多个节点发生故障时也能提供高可靠性。该项目将开发将大量基站互连在一起所需的算法，并提供在每个基站之间提供无线电链接的联网能力。最后，该项目将最终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优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.