Design and evaluation of ambient wireless networks

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The goal of this research is to realize novel physical layer designs for nodes in an "ambient" wireless network (AWN).  An AWN will consist of 100's up to 1000's of wireless nodes all communicating with each other.  This dramatic departure from traditional wireless network architectures has triggered an equally dramatic change in the types of services AWN's can support.  AWN's are being considered for applications as diverse as patient monitoring in a homecare setting, tracking wildlife or fires in a forest setting, identifying and tracking livestock and automating the tracking and sale of retail goods.  As a result, AWN research is a very active area.  However, much of the effort has been concentrated on algorithms and protocols that operate at the higher layers of the AWN protocol stack.  These algorithms are primarily responsible for network organization and control.     Physical layer design is another important aspect of AWN research that has received less attention.  The physical layer is the lowest layer of the protocol stack and deals with the algorithms and hardware required to transmit digital information from one node to another.  AWN nodes require a physical layer that can reliably communicate digital information while consuming extremely small amounts of energy.  The purpose of this research is to find new ways to meet this challenge.   The first step in this process is to characterize the unusual conditions that AWN's operate under.  A wireless channel measurement program will determine how various AWN operating environments affect the wireless signal.  This data will then be used to develop numerical models for interference between nodes.  This knowledge will serve as a foundation for developing AWN physical layer designs that will minimize energy consumption using adaptive techniques.  The end result will be AWN wireless node hardware that can operate for a year or more on a single battery.