NeTS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Passive Network of Tags for Smart Spaces

我们设想的未来是，我们周围空间中的所有物体都将被贴上微型无电池无线电频率供电标签。这样的标签将能够自主地在它们自己和周围环境之间进行交互。它们将能够通过低功率无线链路进行通信，而不需要有效的车载无线电或任何集中控制。这些互动将使“智能空间”成为可能，在这种空间中，物体可以协作地感知周围的空间，并识别其他物体、它们的关系和涉及它们的动态活动。由于其极低的功率设计，标签通过智能反射或后向散射相同的射频信号来进行通信。拟议的项目设想了“无源标签网络”(PNET)范例，其中标签能够在它们之间联网，并且能够在不同程度的射频功率可用性下工作。PNET将形成智能空间的基础技术，使其能够识别和跟踪对象，了解对象之间的相互作用和关联，感知和分布式处理信息，以支持未来的更高水平的应用。该项目涉及跨不同子学科的创新研究，以使拟议的智能空间PNET成为现实。拟议的项目将开发：1)自适应能源感知标签体系结构，它将允许高效率地收集能量，同时提高标签到标签链路的灵敏度和稳健性；2)测量无源接收器标签中的信道幅度和相位的技术，这将使PNET能够检测标签之间的动态交互以及标签周围的事件；3)可扩展和可适应的分布式多跳路由，用于各种PNET特定的拓扑结构，以及用于在紧张的网络、系统和信号条件下进行推理的新颖解决方案；以及4)在定制硬件平台上实现的一组标签，这些标签将体现研究成果，并将允许在真实世界的智能家居设置中进行实验和演示。该项目的更广泛影响将包括：1)调查人员将为更广泛的研究社区开发教育和培训材料。2)研究人员将与各自大学的项目合作，鼓励女性参与科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)项目，特别是为她们的课程做出贡献，并鼓励K-12学生在STEM追求职业生涯。3)该项目将有助于两所大学的课程开发和本科生研究。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。

We envision a future where all objects in spaces around us will be tagged with miniature battery-less radio frequency-powered tags. Such tags will be able to autonomously interact among themselves and the surrounding environment. They will be able to communicate over low-power wireless links without the need for an active on-board radio or any centralized control. These interactions will enable "Smart Spaces" wherein objects can collaboratively perceive the surrounding spaces and recognize other objects, their relationships and dynamic activities involving them. Due to their exceptionally low-power design the tags communicate via intelligent reflection or backscattering of the same radio frequency signal that powers them. The proposed project envisions the "Passive Network of Tags" (PNET) paradigm, where tags are able to network among themselves and are able to operate in varying degrees of radio frequency power availability. PNET will form the foundational technology for smart spaces enabling object identification and tracking, understanding inter-object interactions and associations, sensing and distributed processing of information to support futuristic higher level applications.The project involves innovative research across various sub-disciplines in order to make the proposed PNET for smart spaces a reality. The proposed project will develop: 1) An adaptive energy-aware tag architecture that will allow for high efficiency of energy harvesting along with increased sensitivity and robustness of the tag- to-tag link; 2) Techniques for measurement of channel amplitude and phase in passive receiver tags which will empower the PNET with the ability to detect dynamic interactions between tags as well as events around the tags; 3) Scalable and adaptable distributed multi-hop routing for diverse PNET-specific topologies and novel solutions for making inference under stressful network, system and signal conditions; and 4) A set of tags implemented on a custom hardware platform that will embody the research results and will allow for experiments and demonstrations in a real-world smart home setup.The broader impact of the project will include the following: 1) The investigators will develop educational and training materials for the broader research community. 2) The researchers will work with programs at their respective universities to encourage women's participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs, specifically contributing to their curriculum and encouraging K-12 students to pursue careers in STEM. 3) The project will contribute to curriculum development and undergraduate research in both universities.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.