NetSE:Large: MONACO: Fundamentals of Molecular Nano-Communication Networks

纳米技术为工程界提供了一套新的工具来设计和制造从1纳米到几百纳米的设备。在这个尺度上，纳米机器被定义为最基本的功能单元，它只能执行非常简单的任务，如计算、数据存储、传感和驱动。纳米网络，即网络中纳米机器的互连，将通过提供一种合作和共享信息的方式来扩展单个纳米设备的能力。传统的基于电磁波的通信技术需要进行深刻的反思，以满足这些网络的要求。此外，纳米网络在某些特定应用中，电磁波的利用是不可行的，例如在体内应用。另外，分子通信，即使用分子在纳米机器之间编码和传输信息，代表了一种全新的通信范式，需要新的解决方案，包括识别现有的分子通信机制，建立分子信息理论的基础，或开发纳米机器的架构和网络协议。本项目将解决上述挑战，以实现这种新的通信范式。智力优势：该项目旨在发展一个跨越多个领域的研究领域，包括通信与信息理论、计算机科学和生物学。具体而言，该项目将在四个方面做出贡献。首先，研究人员将发展分子纳米网络的理论基础，包括分子通信中影响发射、传播和接收过程的衰减、延迟和噪声的定义和建模。此外，他们将首先分析只有两个节点的纳米网络的信息容量，然后分析有N个节点的网络的信息容量，其中将考虑干扰和协作通信的影响。其次，研究人员将基于新原理、原语和服务的发展设计分子纳米网络协议。第三，研究人员将实现分子纳米网络的仿真工具，通过计算网络中分子间的相互作用来验证信息理论结果并评估所提出协议的性能。最后，研究人员将开发一个分子纳米网络的实验验证平台，通过使用基于细菌通信的混凝土测试平台来验证项目中开发的信息理论结果和协议的正确性。更广泛的影响：该项目将为纳米级通信的研究铺平道路。这项工作的结果预计将对纳米技术、生物学和信息与通信技术的研究产生重大影响，因为该项目将代表这三个主要社区进入这个融合的领域，并将遵循现实和综合的方法。纳米网络的潜在应用范围非常广泛，从用于健康监测、癌症检测或药物输送等的体内网络到化学攻击预防系统。主要研究人员在佐治亚理工学院教授各种课程，包括信息理论、网络算法、通信协议和生物学。他们将立即将拟议研究的成果纳入课堂。该团队将开发一个开源模拟工具来测试开发的解决方案，并将该工具提供给公众使用。该工具将代表分子纳米网络的第一个模拟工具，也将在课堂项目中用作教育工具，以提供对纳米传感器/执行器网络的见解和深入理解。科学成果将在该领域的国际会议、期刊和杂志上传播。

Nanotechnologies are providing a new set of tools to the engineering community to design and manufacture devices in a scale ranging from one to a few hundred nanometers. At this scale, a nanomachine is defined as the most basic functional unit, which is able to perform only very simple tasks, such as computing, data storing, sensing and actuation. Nanonetworks, i.e., the interconnection of nanomachines in networks, will expand the capabilities of single nano-devices by providing them a way to cooperate and share information. Traditional communication technologies based on electromagnetic waves need to undergo a profound rethinking in order to meet the requirements of these networks. Moreover, there are specific applications of nanonetworks in which the utilization of electromagnetic waves is not feasible, such as in intra-body applications. Alternatively, molecular communication, i.e., the use of molecules to encode and transmit information among nanomachines, represents a radically new communication paradigm that demands novel solutions, including the identification of existing molecular communication mechanisms, the establishment of the foundations of molecular information theory, or the development of architectures and networking protocols for nanomachines. This project will address the above challenges to realize this new communication paradigm.Intellectual Merit: This project seeks to develop a research area spanning across diverse fields, which include communication and information theory, computer science and biology. Specifically, this project will make contributions along four broad directions. First, the researchers will develop Theoretical Foundations of Molecular Nanonetworks, which include the definition and modeling of the attenuation, delay and noises affecting the emission, propagation, and reception processes in molecular communication. In addition, they will analyze the information capacity of nanonetworks first for a network with only two nodes and then for a network with N nodes, for which the effect of interference and collaborative communication will be taken into account. Second, the researchers will design Protocols for Molecular Nanonetworks based on the development of novel principles, primitives and services. Third, the researchers will implement a Simulation Tool for Molecular Nanonetworks in order to validate the information theoretical results as well as to evaluate the performance of the proposed protocols, by accounting for the interactions in the network molecule by molecule. Finally, the researchers will develop an Experimental Validation Platform for Molecular Nanonetworks by using a concrete testbed based on bacteria communication to verify the correctness of the information theoretical results and the protocols developed within the project.Broader Impact: The project will pave the way for research in nanoscale communication. The outcomes of this work is expected to have a significant impact on research in nanotechnology, biology and information and communication technologies, since this project will represent the entrance of these three main communities to this converging field and will follow a realistic and integrated approach. The range of potential applications of nanonetworks is astonishingly wide, covering from intra-body networks for health monitoring, cancer detection or drug delivery, amongst others, to chemical attack prevention systems. The principal investigators teach a variety of classes in Georgia Tech spanning information theory, network algorithms, communication protocols and biology. They will immediately incorporate output from the proposed research into their classes. The team will develop an open source simulation tool to test the solutions developed and the tool will be made available for public use. This tool will represent the first simulation tool for molecular nanonetworks and will also be used in class projects as an educational tool to provide insights and deep understanding of nanosensor/actuator networks. Scientific results will be disseminated at international conferences, journals and magazines in the field.