Integrated transmission and resource optimization for massive content distribution in future wireless networks

随着智能设备的激增和基于云的技术的发展，新的无线服务正在快速扩展，以满足用户和我们社会日益增长的需求，预计将通过无线网络提供海量数据，以服务于增强的移动宽带、物联网支持的智能城市和任务关键型应用。在需求和严格要求的推动下，无线蜂窝网络作为被动的信息管道已经不能满足需求，需要一场无线通信技术革命，使海量数据能够随时随地、高效率、低成本地传播到可能数以百万计的设备上。 拟议的研究计划旨在将未来的无线通信网络转变为主动资源提供商的长期目标，通过促进以内容为中心的通信模式，将先进的传输技术和网络边缘的存储机会相结合，以消除干扰并打破带宽限制，从而在广大用户和设备之间实现超高速海量内容共享和访问。我们的目标是在数据传输和存储管理方面采取一体化的方法，以优化系统运行。我们将攻克关键挑战，包括大规模MIMO系统的高效组播波束形成，用于降低负载和传输质量的边缘缓存管理，以及无线蜂窝网络中的联合缓存、协作和组播波束形成。这一研究计划的结果有望促进我们对网络存储资源的内容分发能力的基本理解。它还将在实用的传输技术、存储和缓存策略以及它们的无缝集成方面产生重大创新，以便在无线网络上高效地分发内容。预计它们将对加拿大的技术创新产生持续的影响，并为加拿大带来重大的科学、经济和社会效益。

With the proliferation of smart devices and the development of cloud-based technologies, new wireless services are fast expanding to meet the growing demands from users and our society, with massive amounts of data that are anticipated over the wireless networks to serve enhanced mobile broadband, smart cities enabled by Internet-of-Things, and mission-critical applications. Driven by the needs and stringent requirements, wireless cellular networks can no longer meet the demand as a passive information pipeline, and a revolution of wireless communication technologies is needed to enable massive data dissemination at ultra-high speeds to possibly millions of devices anywhere, anytime, and at high efficiency and low cost. The proposed research program aims at the long-term goal of transforming future wireless communication networks into a proactive resource provider to enable ultra-high-speed massive content sharing and access among vast users and devices, by promoting a content-centric communication paradigm combining advanced transmission technologies and storage opportunities at the network edge to eliminate interference and break the bandwidth limitation. We aim at an integrated approach in data transmission and storage management to optimize the system operation. We will tackle key challenges, including highly-efficient multicast beamforming for large-scale systems with massive MIMO, edge caching management for load reduction and delivery quality, and joint caching, cooperation, and multicast beamforming in wireless cellular networks. The outcome of this research program is expected to advance our fundamental understanding of the content distribution capacity with network storage resources. It will also generate significant innovations in practical transmission techniques, storage and caching strategies, and their seamless integration for efficient content distribution over wireless networks. They are expected to have sustained impact on the technological innovation, and bring significant scientific, economic, and social benefits to Canada.