GBSense: GHz Bandwidth Sensing from Smart Antennas to Sub-Nyquist Signal Processing

在过去十年中，人、机器和事物之间交换移动信息的数据速率呈指数级增长。根据经验，这些数据速率与无线电频谱可用性有关。过高的拍卖价格，例如英国23亿GB的4G频谱，突显了竞争市场力量的力量，但也突显了这一宝贵资源的稀缺。在频谱稀缺的推动下，英国通信监管机构(Ofcom)于2016年1月在超高频(UHF)电视频段上进行了创新的免牌频谱共享，这在全球尚属首例。这些320 MHz带宽的频谱使认知无线电的研究从理论研究过渡到实际应用。此外，当局正考虑进一步统一28 GHz、39 GHz、60 GHz、带宽至少为1 GHz的毫米波(mm波)频谱，以应付用户所需的高数据速率无线应用和服务。卫星和雷达应用在这些毫米波频谱中共存，因此，任何免许可证使用这些频谱都必须首先确定要使用的频谱尚未被所谓的“主要用户”使用。因此，从UHF的几百MHz带宽到毫米波的GHz带宽的侦听以获得这些频谱的清晰访问是至关重要的，同时也给奈奎斯特速率模数采样带来了巨大而复杂的挑战。本奖学金项目提出了一种新的设计GHz带宽感知(GBSense)系统的方法，通过开发亚奈奎斯特采样算法和重新利用智能天线和可重构传输线的现有专业知识来克服奈奎斯特速率采样的瓶颈。GBSense在实时实验平台框架上提供了新的创造性和可实现的可能性，而不需要奈奎斯特采样率。GBSense使用户能够访问灵活的硬件平台和应用软件，从而实现在低于6 GHz和毫米波频段的空中GHz带宽信号实时检测、分析和通信。它还将与托管SubNyquist算法的低成本计算单元(例如Raspberry PI)连接，以实现更好的人机交互，并促进SubNyquist抽样理论的当前知识，并给软件和硬件工程师带来一系列新的挑战。将通过讲习班、以变革为主导的竞赛、开放源码计划和外联活动，向软件和硬件学术研究人员、工业界和公众传播成果。

Data rate for exchanging mobile information among people, machines and things has been exponentially increasing over the past decade. These data rates are empirically linked to radio spectrum availability. The exorbitant auction prices, e.g., £2.3 Billion for 4G spectrum in the UK, highlights the strength of the competitive market forces but also the scarcity of this precious resource. Driven by the scarcity of spectrum, the UK communications regulator (Ofcom) has made an innovative licence-exempt spectrum sharing on the ultra-high frequency (UHF) TV bands in January 2016, which is the first of its kind worldwide. These spectra of 320MHz bandwidth have enabled the transition from research on cognitive radio theory into practical applications. Furthermore, the millimetre-wave (mm-wave) spectrum on 28GHz, 39GHz, 60GHz with at least 1GHz bandwidth are being considered to be further unitised to cope with high data rate wireless applications and services demanded by users. The satellite and radar applications are co-existing in these mm-wave spectra, and thus any licence-exempt use of this spectra must first ascertain that the spectra to be used is not already in use by the so called "primary users". Therefore, sensing from several hundreds of MHz bandwidth in UHF to GHz bandwidth in mm-wave to gain a clear access to these spectra is critical, while resulting in formidable and complex challenge on the Nyquist-rate analog-to-digital sampling.This fellowship project proposes a new approach to design GHz bandwidth sensing (GBSense) systems to overcome the bottleneck of Nyquist-rate sampling by developing sub-Nyquist sampling algorithms and repurposing the existing expertise of smart antennas and reconfigurable transmission lines. The GBSense offers new creative and implementable possibilities over a framework of real-time experimental platform without requiring Nyquist-rate sampling. The GBSense gives users access to a flexible hardware platform and application software that enables real-time over the air GHz bandwidth signal sensing, analysis and communication at both sub-6GHz and mm-wave frequency bands. It will also interface with a low-cost computing unit, e.g., Raspberry PI, where sub-Nyquist algorithms are hosted, for enabling better human-computer interaction and advance the current knowledge in sub-Nyquist sampling theory and bring a new set of challenges to both software and hardware engineers. Results will be disseminated to both software and hardware academic researchers, industry and the public through workshops, change-led competitions, open-source plans and outreach activities.