CAREER: Amplifying Intelligence in Mobile Networked Systems

随着移动互联网技术从第四代(4G)发展到5G甚至更高，移动互联网革命正在进行中，需要整合比目前网络中更高的智能程度。这种需求是由于观察到当前的4G系统没有提供关于网络行为的足够信息而驱动的。因此，这给性能优化、故障诊断以及虚拟和增强现实(AR/VR)、自动驾驶汽车、大规模物联网等新应用的部署带来了挑战。该项目旨在增强4G/5G信令子系统的智能化，提供关键的网络控制实用程序，如无线资源控制和移动性管理。这些新设计将为我们的社会带来移动互联网基础设施的性能和可靠性的改善。调查员将与移动网络公司密切互动，可能进行技术转让。该项目还将寻求影响即将到来的5G及以上的5G标准化。该项目将招募和培训新一代工程师和学生，包括来自该领域代表性不足的群体的工程师和学生。该项目探索了一种在移动网络系统中增强智能的新方法(称为AIM)。AIM将解决两个挑战：(1)缺乏对移动客户端的了解：移动操作系统和应用程序缺乏关于底层“黑匣子”网络操作的信息；(2)基础设施高度复杂和缺乏核实：基础设施存在复杂的设计和运作，没有适当的核实。AIM是一种将机器学习、数据科学、分布式系统和计算理论应用于移动网络的多学科解决方案。通过其数据驱动和可验证的设计，AIM在四个具体技术方面提供了可行的新解决方案套件：(T1)用于数据驱动的客户端的协议和功能分析；(T2)用于数据访问的可证明和简化的控制平面信令；(T3)增强的错误处理设计，具有新的跟踪研究能力；以及(T4)用于数据平面信令智能的移动VR。该项目是对无线接入(5G新无线电)和架构创新(例如，网络切片和网络功能虚拟化)的持续努力的补充。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The mobile Internet revolution is ongoing, as the technology evolves from the fourth generation (4G) to 5G and beyond, with a need to incorporate a substantially higher degree of intelligence than is present in networks today. This need is driven by the observation that current 4G systems do not provide sufficient information on network behaviors. Consequently, it poses challenges to optimize performance, diagnose failures, and dis-incentivizes deployment of new applications such as virtual and augmented realities (AR/VR), autonomous vehicles, massive Internet of things. This project seeks to enhance intelligence to the 4G/5G signaling subsystem, offering critical network control utilities, such as radio resource control and mobility management. These new designs will lead to improvements in performance and reliability to the mobile Internet infrastructure for our society. The investigator will interact closely with mobile network companies for possible technology transfer. The project will also seek to influence the upcoming 5G and beyond 5G-standardization. It will recruit and train a new generation of engineers and students, including those from groups under-represented in this area.This project explores a novel approach of Amplifying Intelligence in Mobile networked systems (called AIM). AIM will tackle two challenges: (1) lack of knowledge at the mobile clients: The mobile operating system and application programs lack information on the underlying "black-box" network operations; (2) High complexity and lack of verification in the infrastructure: The infrastructure suffers from complex designs and operations without proper verification. AIM is a multi-disciplinary solution that applies machine learning, data science, distributed systems and computing theory to mobile networking. Through its data-driven and verifiable design, AIM offers a viable, new solution suite in four concrete technical thrusts: (T1) protocol and function analytics for data-driven clients; (T2) provable and simplified control-plane signaling for data access; (T3) enhanced error-handling design with new investigative capability of tracing; and (T4) mobile VR for data-plane signaling intelligence. This project complements the ongoing efforts on wireless access (5G New Radio) and architectural innovations (e.g., network slicing and Network Function Virtualization).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.