RAISE: AraOptical 2.0: MISO Free-Space Optical Communications for Long-Distance, High-Capacity X-Haul Networking

RAISE：AraOptical 2.0：用于长距离、高容量 X-Haul 网络的 MISO 自由空间光通信

• 批准号: 2336057
• 负责人: Hongwei Zhang
• 金额: $ 100万
• 依托单位: Iowa State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard 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=2336057&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAISE; AraOptical; 2.0; MISO; Free

Rural towns are usually tens of miles or even farther away from one another, and many rural towns and agriculture farms are far away from their nearest Internet backbone connection points. Thus high-capacity, long-distance wireless x-haul networks serve as important middle-mile solutions for connecting rural towns and agriculture farms with one another and with the Internet backbone. However, the existing practice has been mostly limited to microwave bands, and these microwave x-haul systems tends to have limited communication capacity. Free-space optical communications (FSOC) have been explored for high-capacity wireless x-haul networks. However, the existing practice in long-distance FSOC has been limited to inter-satellite data transfers, and terrestrial FSOC has been limited to short-distance communications between close-by buildings. To enable FSOC-based long-distance, high-capacity terrestrial x-haul networking, this project will develop robust Multi Input Single Output (MISO) FSOC prototypes that are expected to become foundational components of rural broadband solutions. The enabled real-time data-intensive rural applications, such as agriculture automation and XR-based rural education, are expected to have transformative impact on rural industries and communities. The proposed MISO FSOC prototype will leverage spatial, polarization, and wavelength diversity to mitigate the impact of beam wandering and scintillation in long-distance terrestrial FSOC, and it will be tested for transmission distances from 1km to 10km and beyond by using different aperture sizes, spatial distances, and polarization states. This project will also develop the AraOptical 2.0 programmable networking system whose controller manages the control, monitoring, and data planes of the MISO FSOC system to optimize its operation and to integrate it into a holistic x-haul architecture. An AraOptical 2.0 link will be deployed in ARA PAWR (one of NSF’s advanced wireless testbeds), and, leveraging the four-season weather in Central Iowa, this project will conduct extensive measurement campaigns to investigate the behavior of MISO FSOC links together with co-located mmWave and microwave links, and it will develop machine learning models and optimal controls for MISO FSOC systems and long-distance, high-capacity x-haul networks in general. This project will generate first-of-its-kind real-world measurement data and models of long-distance FSOC systems under different weather conditions and experiment profiles, and they will serve as important tools for the broader research and education community. This project will create exciting opportunities for broadening participation in computing, and it will help enrich undergraduate and graduate research and education as well as K-12 outreach.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.

乡村城镇之间通常相距数十英里甚至更远，许多乡村城镇和农场距离最近的互联网骨干连接点也很远。因此，高容量、长距离无线 X 传输网络可作为重要的中英里解决方案，用于将乡村城镇和农场相互连接以及与互联网主干网连接。然而，现有的实践大多局限于微波频段，并且这些微波x-haul系统的通信容量往往有限。自由空间光通信 (FSOC) 已被探索用于高容量无线 x-haul 网络。然而，现有的远距离FSOC实践仅限于星间数据传输，而地面FSOC仅限于邻近建筑物之间的短距离通信。为了实现基于 FSOC 的长距离、大容量地面 x 传输网络，该项目将开发强大的多输入单输出 (MISO) FSOC 原型，该原型有望成为农村宽带解决方案的基础组件。农业自动化和基于 XR 的农村教育等实时数据密集型农村应用预计将对农村工业和社区产生变革性影响。所提出的MISO FSOC原型将利用空间、偏振和波长分集来减轻远距离地面FSOC中光束漂移和闪烁的影响，并将通过使用不同的孔径尺寸、空间距离和偏振状态来测试1公里至10公里甚至更远的传输距离。该项目还将开发 AraOptical 2.0 可编程网络系统，其控制器管理 MISO FSOC 系统的控制、监控和数据平面，以优化其操作并将其集成到整体 x-haul 架构中。 AraOptical 2.0 链路将部署在 ARA PAWR（NSF 的先进无线测试台之一）中，并且利用爱荷华州中部的四个季节天气，该项目将开展广泛的测量活动，以研究 MISO FSOC 链路以及同地毫米波和微波链路的行为，并将为 MISO FSOC 系统和长途、 一般而言，高容量 x 传输网络。该项目将在不同天气条件和实验概况下生成远距离 FSOC 系统的首个真实测量数据和模型，它们将成为更广泛的研究和教育界的重要工具。该项目将为扩大计算机领域的参与创造令人兴奋的机会，并将有助于丰富本科生和研究生的研究和教育以及 K-12 的推广。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。