EAGER: SC2: A Systems Approach to Spectrum Collaboration

无线频谱是一种宝贵的资源，只有在访问受到控制的情况下才能有意义地使用。目前的控制机制主要是立法机制，赋予组织和个人排除其他组织和个人的权利。在时间和空间上独占使用频率范围可能是非常低效的--拒绝不受干扰的潜在用户访问，尽管版权所有者利用不足。频谱协作是一种替代控制机制，其中收发设备部分的智能被用来同时管理接入和最大限度地提高利用率。这种智能以复杂的算法和支持灵活的无线电和计算硬件的形式表现出来。这项提议采用了一种系统的方法来进行频谱协作。PI提出了新的方法来理解和分类一系列频率内的活动，并研究和发展既主动(让数据通过)又礼貌(帮助其他人完成让他们的数据通过的任务)的通道接入协议。更广泛地说，研究人员试图创建新的协议和工具来促进频谱共享。拟议的研究建立在三个支柱上：(A)通过波束成形和干扰消除等物理层优化技术改善频谱共享；(B)使用强化学习和信号分类来学习射频环境和频谱使用模式；以及(C)定义频谱共享模型，称为信道即社会(CAS)。研究人员认为，这三个领域的进展直接适用于频谱协作的实践，特别是DARPA频谱协作挑战(SC2)。研究人员正在进行的关于低功耗广域网络(LP-WAN)的联合工作作为与SC2相关的一些概念的试验台，既向拟议的研究提供信息，也从拟议的研究中获得信息。此外，研究人员计划共同教授一门专门针对SC2问题陈述的无线网络和移动计算专题课程，让学生参与创造新的SC2概念和技术。

Wireless spectrum is a precious resource that can only be meaningfully used when access is controlled. Current mechanisms for control are largely legislative, granting organizations and individuals the right to exclude others. Exclusive use of frequency ranges over time and space can be highly inefficient - denying non-interfering, would-be users access despite under-utilization by rights holders. Spectrum collaboration is advanced as an alternative control mechanism in which intelligence on the part of transceiver equipment is used to simultaneously govern access and maximize utilization. Such intelligence is manifested in the form of sophisticated algorithms and supporting flexible radio and computing hardware. This proposal takes a systems approach to spectrum collaboration. The PIs propose new approaches to understand and classify activities within a range of frequencies and to study and evolve channel access protocols that are both proactive (getting data through) and polite (assisting others in the mission of getting their data through). More broadly, the investigators seek to create novel protocols and tools to facilitate spectrum sharing.The proposed research is built on three pillars: (a) improved spectrum sharing through PHY-layer optimization techniques such as beamforming and interference cancellation, (b) mechanisms to learn the RF environment and spectrum usage patterns using reinforcement learning and signal classification, and (c) defining a model for spectrum sharing, called channel-as-society (CAS). The investigators contend that advances in these three domains have direct applicability to the practice of spectrum collaboration and the DARPA Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) in particular. The investigators' ongoing joint work on Low-Power Wide-Area Networking (LP-WAN) serves as a testbed for some of the concepts relevant to SC2, both informing and being informed by the proposed research. In addition, the investigators plan to co-teach a Special Topics course in Wireless Networks and Mobile Computing specifically targeting the SC2 problem statement, engaging the students in the creation of novel SC2 concepts and techniques.