Excellence in Research: Research Capacity and Partnerships Building in Next-Generation Communication Ecosystems with Vertical Intelligence

被称为第六代(6G)的下一代无线通信的演变不仅将使超高速和超可靠的通信服务成为可能，而且还将使新的用例和智能造福社会，并重新定义我们的生活和工作方式。在这个项目中，来自两所HBCU的研究人员和教育工作者团队--草原景观农工大学和德克萨斯南方大学--与休斯顿大学的团队合作，提出了一项全面的计划，以增强具有垂直智能的下一代通信生态系统的研究能力，并建立牢固的合作伙伴关系。拟议的项目将利用三个参与机构之间的研究能力和现有的合作，并极大地提高所有机构的研究能力和教育水平。与行业和政府的合作伙伴关系将使HBCU参与未来关键的6G和基础设施以外的领域，并保持劳动力的多样性。拟议的研究将探索理论进步和实验设计。如果成功，拟议的研究将有助于加快6G有前景的技术的开发和商业化，并确保美国在电信行业继续保持领先地位。教育目标包括使未被充分代表的少数群体广泛参与尖端研究，建立管道以吸引和留住他们在STEM追求职业生涯，并在关键领域培训未来劳动力，特别是为国家培训6G。拟议的研究目标是将6G地面蜂窝网络与空中接入网络(AANS)与许多卫星、高空平台(HAP)和无人飞行器(UAV)通过集成传感、通信和计算进行整合，以在下一代通信生态系统中获得垂直智能。提出了三个研究方向：1)将研究新的动态、随机和分布式优化方法，以实现稳健的资源规划和分配以及移动性管理；2)将设计分层感知体系结构，以提供通信和感知之间的互惠；3)将研究高效的隐私保护边缘计算和计算卸载策略，以联合优化通信和计算。建议的框架和策略不仅将优化资源使用，还将无缝集成感知、通信和计算，同时保护用户隐私和数据安全。所提出的方法将通过使用USRP以及NSF PASH、COSMOS和AERPAW试验台的广泛模拟和实验来验证。该项目将显著加强所有参与机构的研究、教育和推广，使未被充分代表的少数群体能够广泛参与高级研究，并在6G和更远的地方提供急需的下一代劳动力的多样性。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 evolution of next-generation wireless communications known as the sixth generation (6G) will enable not only super-fast and ultra-reliable communications services, but also new use cases and intelligence to benefit society and redefine how we live and work. In this project, a team of researchers and educators from two HBCUs, Prairie View A&M University and Texas Southern University, collaborating with the team of the University of Houston, propose a comprehensive plan to enhance research capacity in the next-generation communications ecosystem with vertical intelligence and to build strong partnership. The proposed project will leverage the research capabilities and existing collaborations among the three participating institutions, and greatly enhance the research capacity and educational excellence at all institutions. Partnerships with industry and government will engage HBCUs in future critical 6G and beyond infrastructure and maintain diversity in the workforce. The proposed research will explore theoretical advancement as well as experimental design. If successful, the proposed research will help accelerate the development and commercialization of promising technologies for 6G and ensure continued U.S. leadership in the telecommunications industry. The education goals include enabling broad participation of underrepresented minorities in cutting-edge research, building a pipeline to attract and retain them to pursue careers in STEM, and training future workforce in critical areas especially 6G for the nation.The proposed research will target integration of 6G terrestrial cellular networks with aerial access networks (AANs) with many satellites, high altitude platforms (HAPs), and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) through integrated sensing, communications, and computing to gain vertical intelligence in the next-generation communications ecosystem. Three research thrusts are proposed: 1) Novel dynamic, stochastic and distributed optimization methods will be investigated for robust resource planning and allocation and mobility management; 2) A hierarchical sensing architecture will be designed to provide mutual benefits between communications and sensing; 3) Efficient privacy-preserving edge computing and computation offloading strategies will be studied to jointly optimize communications and computing. The proposed framework and strategies will not only optimize resource usage but also integrate sensing, communications, and computing seamlessly, while protecting user privacy and data security. The proposed methods will be validated through extensive simulations and experiments using USRPs and the NSF POWDER, COSMOS and AERPAW testbeds. This project will significantly enhance research, education, and outreach in all participating institutions and enable broad participation of underrepresented minorities in advanced research, and provide the much needed diversity of the next-generation workforce in 6G and beyond.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.