IMR: MT: AirScope: A Versatile and Programmable UAV Platform for End-to-End Cellular Network Measurements in Rural Environments

IMR：MT：AirScope：用于农村环境中端到端蜂窝网络测量的多功能可编程无人机平台

• 批准号: 2323189
• 负责人: Morteza Hashemi
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2025-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2323189&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IMR; MT; AirScope; Versatile; Programmable

Collecting accurate data on cellular network performance in rural areas is challenging due to several factors. Firstly, rural areas have a more dispersed population and a lower population density, which makes it difficult and expensive for cellular providers to establish and maintain sufficient infrastructure, resulting in variations in performance across different rural areas. Secondly, the limited number of people using network performance apps in rural areas makes the collected data less representative. Lastly, Large measurement areas with difficult terrains (agricultural fields, hills, etc.) complicates at-scale cellular measurement using existing tools. Despite these challenges, it is crucial to collect reliable and comprehensive measurement data at scale in rural areas, particularly with the emergence of novel use cases such as precision-ag, remote work, tele-health, online education, etc. Using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) opens new possibilities to perform measurements more efficiently. The goal of this project is to design, build, and publicly release hardware and software components for UAV-aided cellular radio access network (RAN) and end-to-end network measurements in rural areas. This project is aimed at designing and building several versatile and programmable UAV-based measurement platforms (dubbed AirScope) with integrated cellular modems and automatic flight controller for beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) scenarios. Through an integrated hardware and software design, command and control (C2), telemetry, and payload data are communicated through the commercial cellular network, thereby enabling both radio access and end-to-end cellular network measurements in rural areas. Furthermore, to enhance the efficiency of the data collection tool, a novel concept of measurement-aware trajectory design will be developed and implemented. Extensive evaluation campaign and data curation effort will result in an unprecedented dataset of cellular measurement data that can be used for a wide range of data-driven research projects.This project will introduce a unique symbiosis between the wireless communication and the aerospace engineering communities by creating a set of hardware and software tools that unify the knowledge and practical expertise of these two fields. As a result, this project will (i) enhance the undergraduate and graduate curriculum at the University of Kansas, (ii) involve undergraduate and underrepresented students in research, and (iii) introduce engineering fields to schoolchildren. Furthermore, a major outcome of this project will be software implementations and hardware development, which will be publicly released to the broader research community. This project will result in a systematic cellular measurement methodology for rural areas that be used for policy makers and the broader user community.All project outcomes, including software and hardware designs, integration steps, algorithms, and collected measurement data, will be made publicly available on the project website: https://hashemi.ku.edu/airscopeThis project is jointly funded by the Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.

由于几个因素，收集农村地区蜂窝网络性能的准确数据具有挑战性。首先，农村地区的人口分布更高，人口密度较低，这使得蜂窝提供者难以建立和维持足够的基础设施，从而导致不同农村地区的绩效变化。其次，在农村地区使用网络绩效应用程序的人数有限，使收集的数据降低了代表性。最后，具有困难的地形（农田，丘陵等）的大型测量区域使使用现有工具的尺度蜂窝测量变得复杂。尽管面临这些挑战，但在农村地区进行大规模收集可靠和全面的测量数据至关重要，尤其是在新型用例的出现（例如精确使用，远程工作，电信，在线教育等）中，使用无人驾驶汽车（UAVS）打开了新的可能性，可以更有效地进行测量。该项目的目的是设计，建立和公开释放用于农村地区的无用蜂窝无线电访问网络（RAN）和端到端网络测量的硬件和软件组件。该项目旨在设计和构建具有集成的蜂窝调制解调器和自动飞行控制器的几个通用和可编程的基于无人机的测量平台（称为Airscope），以实现超出视觉线（BVLOS）方案。通过集成的硬件和软件设计，命令和控制（C2），遥测和有效载荷数据通过商业蜂窝网络传达，从而使无线电访问和农村地区的端到端蜂窝网络测量既可以进行。此外，为了提高数据收集工具的效率，将开发和实施一个新颖的测量轨迹设计概念。 广泛的评估活动和数据策划工作将导致蜂窝测量数据的前所未有的数据集，可用于广泛的数据驱动的研究项目。该项目将通过创建一组硬件和软件工具来统一这些两个领域的知识和实践知识，从而引入无线通信与航空航天工程社区之间的独特共生。结果，该项目将（i）增强堪萨斯大学的本科和研究生课程，（ii）涉及研究生和代表性不足的学生，以及（iii）向学童介绍工程领域。此外，该项目的一个主要结果将是软件实施和硬件开发，该项目将公开发布给更广泛的研究社区。 This project will result in a systematic cellular measurement methodology for rural areas that be used for policy makers and the broader user community.All project outcomes, including software and hardware designs, integration steps, algorithms, and collected measurement data, will be made publicly available on the project website: https://hashemi.ku.edu/airscopeThis project is jointly funded by the Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program and启发竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCOR）。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子和更广泛影响的评论标准来评估值得支持的。