Collaborative Research: ECCS-CCSS Core: Resonant-Beam based Optical-Wireless Communication

该项目涉及利用谐振光束技术的创新光学无线通信，其中红外光束在光学腔配置的发射器和接收器之间建立在开放的空气中。虽然基于谐振束的无线充电技术已经取得了进展，但通过谐振束信道的高数据速率通信在很大程度上仍未被探索。由于激光机制固有的非线性，以及振荡信号操作产生的大延迟传播，独特的信道特性给激光系统带来了巨大的挑战。该项目将通过基于模型和数据驱动的学习方法进行信道建模和收发器设计，并将开发一个性能评估的实验测试平台。得益于通过“无线光纤”链路进行数据通信的前景，以及与共存的无线电设备之间没有干扰的事实，该项目开发的技术将找到需要高数据速率和超低延迟的新兴“杀手级应用”，如增强现实（AR）、虚拟现实（VR）和工业物联网（IIoT）。该项目的进展将为智能家居、智能医院和智能制造做出贡献，并将对社会产生深远影响。该项目将教育本科生和研究生，提高代表性不足群体的参与度，并扩大到高中生。谐振波束通道不同于迄今为止研究的所有通道，包括无线红外、可见光、毫米波和太赫兹等无线电通道。变革性研究沿着三个相互交织的方向进行。(i)对于接入点与用户设备或传感器之间的下行链路和上行链路，将探索自驱动非线性和时变Volterra系列以及（多）核泛化，用于非线性信道建模和学习；（ii）收发器设计将从传统的通断键控（OOK）和正交频分复用（OFDM）波形开始，以适应谐振波束信道的非线性和大延迟扩展。新的端到端信号设计将通过人工智能（AI）工具进一步研究；（iii）独特的光学设计，包括自适应光学元件，如空间光调制器（SLM），这将允许系统扩展到多个用户/客户端，补偿环境干扰，并支持信息传输。将收集实验数据以支持算法设计和性能验证。对这一未知领域的研究将利用跨学科的方法，融合光学工程、无线通信、信号处理和统计学习。新的信道模型和信号波形将通过算法和相应的最先进的通信原型来丰富无线通信和信号处理工具箱。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。

This project deals with innovative optical wireless communications leveraging the resonant beam technology, where an infrared light beam is established in open air between a transmitter and a receiver in an optical cavity configuration. While progress has been made on resonant-beam based wireless charging, high-data-rate communication through the resonant-beam channel remains largely unexplored. The unique channel characteristics pose grand challenges due to the inherent nonlinearity of the lasing mechanism, and the large delay spread emerging from the oscillatory signaling operation. The project will pursue channel modelling and transceiver designs through both model-based and data-driven learning approaches and will also develop an experimental testbed for performance evaluation. Thanks to the promise of data communication through the “wireless fiber” link, and the fact that there is no interference to and from coexisting radio devices, the technology developed in this project will find emerging “killer applications” requiring high data rate and ultra-low-latency latency such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Advances from this project will contribute to smart homes, smart hospitals, and smart manufacturing, and will make a profound impact to the society. This project will educate undergraduate and graduate students, improve the participation of under-represented groups, and outreach to high school students.The resonant beam channel is distinct from all channels investigated so far, including wireless infrared, visible light, radio channels including millimeter Wave and TeraHz. The transformative research is performed along three intertwined thrusts. (i) Self-driven nonlinear and time-varying Volterra series along with (multi-) kernel generalizations will be explored for nonlinear channel modelling and learning, for both the downlink and the uplink between the access point and the user equipment or sensors; (ii) Transceiver designs will start with legacy waveforms on-off-keying (OOK) and orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM) for resilience to the nonlinearity and large-delay spread of the resonant beam channel. Novel end-to-end signal designs will be further investigated through artificial-intelligence (AI) tools; and (iii) Distinct optical designs with the inclusion of an adaptive optical element such as a spatial light modulator (SLM) will be pursued, which allows the system to scale to multiple users/clients, compensate for environmental disturbances, and support information transfer. Experimental data will be collected to support algorithm design, and performance validation. Investigation of this uncharted territory will leverage interdisciplinary approaches at the confluence of optical engineering, wireless communications, signal processing, and statistical learning. Novel channel models and signaling waveforms will be delivered to enrich the toolbox of wireless communications and signal processing with algorithms and the corresponding state-of-the-art communication prototypes.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.