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

农村城镇之间通常相距几十英里甚至更远，许多农村城镇和农场离最近的互联网骨干连接点很远。因此，大容量、长距离的无线x-haul网络作为重要的中间里程解决方案，用于连接农村城镇和农场之间以及与互联网骨干网络之间的连接。然而，现有的实践大多局限于微波频段，这些微波x-haul系统往往具有有限的通信容量。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实践仅限于卫星间数据传输，而地面FSOC仅限于近距离建筑物之间的短距离通信。为了实现基于FSOC的长距离、高容量地面x-haul网络，该项目将开发强大的多输入单输出（MISO） FSOC原型，预计将成为农村宽带解决方案的基础组件。实现的实时数据密集型农村应用，如农业自动化和基于xr的农村教育，预计将对农村工业和社区产生变革性影响。MISO FSOC原型将利用空间、偏振和波长多样性来减轻长距离地面FSOC中光束漂移和闪烁的影响，并将通过使用不同的孔径大小、空间距离和偏振状态，在1公里到10公里及以上的传输距离上进行测试。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，以优化其运行并将其集成到整体x-haul架构中。AraOptical 2.0链路将部署在ARA PAWR（美国国家科学基金会的先进无线试验台之一）中，并且，利用爱荷华州中部的四季天气，该项目将开展广泛的测量活动，以调查MISO FSOC链路以及同地毫米波和微波链路的行为，它将为MISO FSOC系统和远程、高容量x-haul网络开发机器学习模型和最佳控制。该项目将生成首个在不同天气条件和实验剖面下远距离FSOC系统的实际测量数据和模型，它们将成为更广泛的研究和教育界的重要工具。这个项目将为扩大计算机的参与创造令人兴奋的机会，它将有助于丰富本科和研究生的研究和教育，以及K-12的推广。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。

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.