NEDG: Cooperative Wireless Networks: From Theory to Urban-Scale Trials

本项目研究一种模式，其中节点通过共享功率和带宽资源进行合作，并且流机会主义地相互作用以避免干扰并提高网络利用率。PI将利用他们在合作和机会主义通信方面的现有专业知识，分析对更广泛的通信节点网络的影响。特别是，他们将以三种方式实例化他们的设计理念：节点信息管理：虽然以前的网络分析只考虑节点的孤立方面（例如，信道增益），该项目研究了一个全面的网络状态信息，它不仅捕获物理层条件，而且捕获更高层的信息，如队列状态，处理能力和转发路由的可用性。新网络表示：而不是把网络看作一个简单的连接图，PI将引入和开发一个网络表示，其中包括节点之间的时间和空间关系。PI将其称为网络的网格表示，它将使我们能够描述广域网中的协作和机会通信。网格将提供一个结构，在其中识别物理层合作的机会，确定对相邻节点和流的合作的影响，并伺机调度和路由竞争流在细粒度的时间scale.Distributed合作Discovery：传统的发现协议，用于确定网络连接无法识别合作链路。 将开发新技术，利用现有的发现协议，以有效地定位潜在的合作拓扑结构，这是一个关键的机会通信。这些发现协议将恢复网络状态信息，并使网格表示的使用，以确定通过网络的最佳合作路由。有了这些工具，PI将开发和分析协议，协调合作和机会通信在异构网络。新协议将扩大服务不足地区的接入，同时增加现有网络的吞吐量。 这项研究将通过在赖斯多媒体通信中心（CMC）实验室吸引本科生和研究生，对教育产生广泛的影响。合作通信将被纳入Rice在无线通信和网络领域的几门课程。软件和固件模块以及出版物将通过WARP开放访问存储库（\href{http：//warp.rice.edu/trac}{http：//warp.rice.edu/trac}）分发。

This project studies a paradigm in which nodes cooperate by pooling power and bandwidth resources and where flows interact opportunistically to avoid interference and increase network utilization. The PIs will leverage their existing expertise in cooperative and opportunistic communications to analyze the implications for broader networks of communication nodes. In particular, they will instantiate their design philosophy in three ways: Node Information Management: While previous network analyses considered only isolated aspects of a node (e.g., channel gain), the project studies a comprehensive network state information, which captures not only physical-layer conditions but also higher-layer information such as queue state, processing power, and availability of forwarding routes. Novel Network Representations: Instead of regarding the network as a simple connectivity graph, the PIs will introduce and develop a network representation which incorporates both temporal and spatial relationships between nodes. The PIs refer to this as the trellis representation of the network, and it will enable us to describe cooperative and opportunistic communication in a wide area network. The trellis will provide a structure in which to identify opportunities for physical layer cooperation, determine the impact of cooperation on neighboring nodes and flows, and opportunistically schedule and route competing flows at fine grained time scales.Distributed Cooperative Discovery: Traditional discovery protocols for determining network connectivity are unable to identify cooperative links. New techniques will be developed that leverage existing discovery protocols to efficiently locate potential cooperative topologies, which are a key to opportunistic communication. These discovery protocols will recover network state information and enable the use of the trellis representation to identify the optimal cooperative route through the network.With these tools, the PIs will develop and analyze protocols for coordinating cooperative and opportunistic communications in heterogeneous networks. The new protocols will expand access in underserved areas while increasing throughput in existing networks. This research will have a broad impact on education by engaging undergraduate and graduate students in the Rice Center for Multimedia Communication (CMC) laboratory. Cooperative communication will be integrated into several courses at Rice in the wireless communication and networking areas. Software and firmware modules as well as publications will be distributed through the WARP open-access repository(\href{http://warp.rice.edu/trac}{http://warp.rice.edu/trac}).