Exploiting Interference in Wireless Networks: Protocol Design, Analysis and Implementation

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A major performance limiting factor in wireless networks is interference. Current wireless networks are designed based on the principle of interference avoidance, which advocates for eliminating concurrent nearby transmissions to avoid collisions, as collisions result in waste of scarce wireless bandwidth. The key issue is that a network design that blindly prevents interference is sub-optimal and results in severe inefficiencies in bandwidth-limited wireless networks. With recent advances at the physical layer of wireless networks, concurrent transmissions of nearby links can be successfully decoded if controlled properly. If transmitters and receivers are aware of the interference structure, they can exploit it to better decode their transmissions, and thus greatly improve network performance. ****This proposal makes a fundamental shift from the traditional protocol design in wireless networks: it designs network protocols that systematically encourage and exploit interference to improve network performance. Specifically, it utilizes three physical layer mechanisms for exploiting interference: multi-packet transmission based on superposition coding, multi-packet reception based on successive interference cancellation, and cooperative communication to design wireless network protocols (specifically, scheduling at link layer and routing at network layer) that turn interference into an advantage.****The proposed research will produce techniques that can have substantial impact on the design of future wireless networks. The scope of the proposal includes protocol design, network modeling and analysis, and implementation of selected protocols on an experimental testbed. In addition to potential impacts on the theory and practice of new wireless technologies, the proposed research is an excellent training ground for undergraduate and graduate students in all aspects of wireless networks.****