CRII: CNS: Toward a Sustainable and Intelligent Air-Ground IoT Framework for Remote Monitoring

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公共法律117-2)。能源收集设备可以极大地惠及森林、农田和海洋等电力基础设施通常不可用的偏远地区的物联网(IoT)应用。然而，由于地处偏远和电力预算有限，这些以能量收集为动力的物联网设备很难将关键信息传递到物联网网络的主干。新兴的无人机(UAV)，如四轴飞行器，提供了一种可靠、可控和灵活的方式来在能源收集的背景下进行信息摆渡，无论它们可能飞越的地形如何。然而，能量采集物联网设备和无人机之间的空地一体化面临着根本性的挑战。在空中，每架无人机的覆盖范围都受到有限能量的限制。在地面上，能源采集物联网设备之间的路由很容易受到间歇性能源短缺导致的电力故障的影响。该研究旨在开发一种可持续的、智能化的空地物联网框架，以实现无人机与能量采集设备之间的高效协作，从而为远程监控提供有效的数据传感、处理和传输。该研究将为在偏远地区部署低成本、增强可靠性和能效的能量采集物联网设备奠定基础。这项研究的结果将包括新的算法、协议、优化和硬件平台，这些将显著受益于尖端物联网应用，如智能农业、野生动物跟踪、林业管理、海岸监测等。研究成果将紧密结合到学生的教育培训中。该项目将促进代表不足的群体和K-12学生参加STEM。所有设计都将公开，以供广泛采用和未来的研究进步。这一奖项反映了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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Energy harvesting devices can significantly benefit Internet of Things (IoT) applications for remote areas, such as forests, farmlands, and oceans, where electrical power infrastructures are generally unavailable. However, due to the remoteness and limited power budget, it’s difficult for those energy harvesting-powered IoT devices to deliver critical information to the backbone of the IoT network. Emerging unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as quadcopters, offer a reliable, controllable, and flexible way of conducting information ferry in the context of energy harvesting, regardless of the landscapes they may fly over. Nevertheless, the air-ground integration between energy harvesting-powered IoT devices and UAVs faces fundamental challenges. In the air, each UAV's coverage is constrained by limited energy. On the ground, routing among energy harvesting IoT devices is susceptible to power failures caused by intermittent energy shortages. This research seeks to develop a sustainable and intelligent air-ground IoT framework to enable efficient collaboration between UAVs and energy harvesting devices for effective data sensing, processing, and delivery for remote monitoring.This research will lay a foundation for the deployment of energy harvesting IoT devices in remote areas with low cost, enhanced reliability, and energy efficiency. The outcomes of this research will include novel algorithms, protocols, optimizations, and hardware platforms that will significantly benefit cutting-edge IoT applications, such as smart agriculture, wild animal tracking, forestry management, coastal monitoring, and more. The research results will be closely integrated into the education and training of students. This project will promote the participation of underrepresented groups and K-12 students in STEM. All designs will be made publicly available for broad adoption and future research advances.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.