CAREER: Optimization and Design of Next-Generation Cognitive Mesh Networks: From Theory to Practice

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。认知无线电和多天线系统是最近的两个组成部分，它们都为提高频谱效率提供了巨大的潜力。前者可实现机会频谱接入（OSA），后者可实现多输入多输出（MIMO）功能。本项目为支持mimo和osa的无线网状网络开发理论和实践框架。这项研究的目的有三个方面。首先，它采用自下而上的跨层方法来理解、建模和描述最佳端到端网络吞吐量，同时考虑到物理层限制和链路层争用约束。其次，该项目通过研究新的范例来开发高效的网络算法，这些范例从传统的范式转变为适合这些具有osa功能的、支持mimo的网络。第三，本项目在一个真实的、实验性的无线网状网络中实现了由此开发的技术，该网络由现成的商业组件构建。这证明了所开发概念的可行性和有效性。该项目为频谱稀缺问题提供了科学的解决方案。结果通过出版物、软件发布和研讨会传播。它包括本科生在课堂上的研究活动和自主学习项目；（ii）为K-12和少数族裔学生创造解决现实问题的机会，激励他们从事工程职业，并通过融入新课程开发来丰富教学课程。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Cognitive radios and multi-antenna systems are two recent components that each offers a great potential for improving spectrum efficiency. The former enables opportunistic spectrum access (OSA), while the latter enables multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) capability. This project develops theoretical and practical frameworks for wireless mesh networks when they are both MIMO-enabled and OSA-capable. The objective of this research is three-fold. First, it takes a bottom-up, cross-layer approach to understand, model, and characterize the optimal end-to-end network throughput while accounting for physical-layer limitations and link-layer contention constraints. Second, the project develops efficient networking algorithms by investigating new paradigms that shift away from traditional ones to suit these OSA-capable, MIMO-enabled networks. Third, this project implements the thus-developed techniques in a real, experimental wireless mesh network that is built from off-the-shelf commercial components. This demonstrates both the feasibility and the effectiveness of the developed concepts.This project provides scientific solutions to the spectrum scarcity problem. The results are disseminated via publications, software releases, and seminars. It involves undergraduate students in research activities during their class and independent study projects; (ii) creates the opportunity for K-12 and minority students to work on real-life problems and excites them to pursue engineering careers, and enriches teaching and learning curricula by integration into new course development.