Towards an information- and communication-theoretic understanding of molecular communication

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Recent work in micro/nano electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) have demonstrated the feasibility of manufacturing devices with very small dimensions. Meanwhile, developments in systems biology have demonstrated the feasibility of engineering microorganisms to perform arbitrary tasks. Both these techniques may enable revolutionary applications, such as in advanced lab-on-chip systems, environmental monitoring, targeted drug delivery, and many others. However, these applications generally require swarms of micro/nanoscale devices, so before any new and disruptive applications can be realized, ways must be found for these swarms to communicate in order to coordinate their actions and report their findings. The emerging discipline of molecular communication, which mimics the existing control and communication mechanisms among microorganisms, provides a solution to the communication problem. Until recently, molecular communication was unknown in the engineering literature, but in the past few years a growing body of experimental literature has focused on molecular communication: many recent works have proposed (and implemented) practical systems. On the other hand, from a theoretical standpoint, remarkably little is known about information rates and system design. Addressing this gap, the proposed research will explore molecular communication from an information-theoretic and communication-theoretic perspective, with two specific objectives: (1) find physically realistic and mathematically tractable system models for molecular communication, in order to apply mathematical tools from information and communication theory; and (2) find practical and low-complexity communication techniques, while analyzing them to find the information rates that they can support. These objectives will demonstrate the feasibility of molecular communication, and influence system construction by providing a theoretical basis for future designs. The proposed project builds on my preliminary work, and represents a unique opportunity for a Canadian research team to take a leading role in this rapidly emerging field.