Collaborative Research: CCRI: New: SpecScape: Enabling a Global Spectrum Observatory through Mobile, Wide-band Spectrum Sensing Kits and a Software Ecosystem

随着无线通信对无线频谱需求的持续增长，频谱政策的发展速度比以往任何时候都要快得多。频谱现代化工作的核心是，以经济高效和准确的方式，准确测量各种宽带和广域的频谱活动，以便能够以数据驱动的方式仔细评估这些变化的影响并采取行动。SpecScape项目的重点是设计、实现、部署和提供低成本的频谱传感和测量套件。特别是，该团队正在构建端到端基础设施，其中包括测量频谱活动的移动传感器、支持软件生态系统、管理收集到的测量数据的云托管基础设施，以及用户可以访问此类信息的机制。该项目最重要的广泛影响是，它提供了一种社区驱动的方式来了解不同频段的频谱使用情况，包括通信、天文学、天气预报、定位系统等。这些信息将有助于研究人员、行业从业者和政府机构，包括决策者。在教育方面，该团队参与了为多个机构（威斯康星大学和加州大学圣地亚哥分校）的本科生创建动手无线课程，让本科生参与与研究相关的活动，并基于频谱传感平台创建在线课件。该项目还通过多种研究成果传播渠道吸引广大受众，旨在通过参与研究活动的机会鼓励女性和少数族裔学生从事STEM职业。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

With continued growth in the demands on wireless spectrum for wireless communication, spectrum policies are evolving at a pace far more rapid than ever before. Central to efforts of spectrum modernization is a critical need to accurately measure spectrum activities across diverse, wide bands and across wide areas in a cost-effective and accurate manner, so that impacts of such changes can be carefully evaluated and acted upon in a data-driven manner. The focus of this project, SpecScape, is to design, implement, deploy, and make available low-cost kits that allow spectrum sensing and measurement. In particular, the team is building an end-to-end infrastructure that includes mobile sensors to measure spectrum activity, a supporting software ecosystem, a cloud-hosted infrastructure to manage collected measurements, and mechanisms by which users can access such information.The most significant broader impact of this project is that it provides a community-driven way to understand spectrum use across different spectrum bands -- across communications, astronomy, weather prediction, localization systems, etc. This information will aid researchers, industry practitioners, and governmental agencies, including policymakers. On the educational side, the team is involved in creating a hands-on wireless curriculum for undergraduates across multiple institutions (UW and UCSD), engaging undergraduates in research-related activities, and creating online courseware based on the spectrum sensing platform. The project also engages a broad audience through multiple dissemination channels of research outcomes and aims to encourage women and minority students to pursue STEM careers through opportunities in research activities.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.