NeTS: Small: A Wireless Backhaul for Multi-Gigabit Picocells Using Steerable Free Space Optics

人们普遍预计，我们对数据访问和消费的需求将继续快速增长;一些预测估计，十年内网络需求将增长1000倍。为了跟上这种增长的步伐，迫切需要开发能够为大多数地区带来高数据速率访问的网络基础设施和技术。 该项目建议通过开发一种无线网络架构来应对这一挑战，该架构有助于轻松部署短程蜂窝网络，从而提供非常高的数据速率（高达几Gbps）覆盖范围。 这种易于部署是特别有用的临时使用的应用程序，如自然灾害，战时地区等建议的网络架构是基于自由空间光（FSO）技术，旨在提供高带宽和高可用性网络，通过使用新的光技术和一个丰富的连接设置的短程链路。 这项工作有可能影响未来蜂窝的设计（例如，5G+）网络，这将为最终用户提供丰富的新服务和应用。预期下一代蜂窝网络将使用具有大约100 m范围和多Gbps容量的微微小区。本项目考虑为这些微微蜂窝设计回程网络，将其连接到远程网关。不幸的是，已知的基于RF的回程解决方案不太可能能够在期望的范围内提供所需的数据速率。该项目探索了一种基于自由空间光（FSO）链路的回程架构，该架构可以在长距离无线传输高数据速率，而不会产生任何无线干扰，从而实现高容量网络。为了设计一个基于FSO的微微蜂窝回程网络，可以有效地处理室外影响，该项目采用了两种策略，即，使用许多坚固的短（100米）链路，可以处理大多数天气影响，并使用“可操纵”的FSO链路，以最小的节点接口嵌入足够的网络冗余。 该项目将设计不同范围（100- 500米）的室外双向可操纵链接并制作原型，并开发一种基于接收功率强度的新型跟踪和指向机制，以处理由于部署平台或大气湍流引起的未对准。该项目解决了区域覆盖，连接到枢纽，并通过开发有效的算法与可证明的保证，建立在研究人员的初步的生态学为基础的工作，和设计技术，以估计非平凡的上限，在实践中开发的技术评估的天气影响的容忍度。对于动态网络重构的运行时间问题，该项目提出了开发一个理论框架，该框架将用于研究针对各种设置和目标的可证明有效的算法的设计。最后，该项目将建立和评估所提出的架构的端到端仿真，与其他可行的方法进行彻底的比较，并执行需求和成本性能分析。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

It is widely expected that our need for data access and consumption will continue to grow rapidly; some projections estimate a 1000-fold increase in network demand within a decade. To keep pace with this increase, there is a pressing need to develop network infrastructure and technologies that can bring high data rate access to most geographies. This project proposes to address that challenge by developing a wireless network architecture that facilitates easy deployment of short range cellular networks which can provide very high data rates (up to multiple Gbps) coverage. Such ease of deployment is particularly useful for temporary-use applications such as natural disasters, wartime zones, etc. The proposed network architecture is based on free-space optical (FSO) technology and is designed to provide both high bandwidth and high availability networks through the use of novel optical technologies and a richly-connected set of short range links. This work has the potential to impact design of future cellular (e.g., 5G+) networks, which will enable a rich new set of services and applications for end-users. It is anticipated that next generation cellular networks will use picocells with ranges around 100 m and with multi-Gbps capacity. This project considers design of backhaul networks for such picocells to connect them to remote gateways. Unfortunately, known RF based backhaul solutions are unlikely to be able to provide the required data rates at desired ranges. This project explores a backhaul architecture based on free space optical (FSO) links, which can wirelessly deliver high data rates at long ranges, without creating any wireless interference, and thus enable a high-capacity network. To design an FSO-based picocell backhaul network that can effectively handle the outdoor effects, the project employs two strategies, viz., use of many robust short (100m) links that can handle most weather effects, and use of 'steerable' FSO links to embed sufficient network redundancy with minimal node interfaces. The project will design and prototype outdoor bi-directional steerable links of varying range (100-500m) and develop a novel tracking and pointing mechanism based on received power strength to handle misalignments due to deployment platforms or atmospheric turbulence. The project addresses area coverage, connectivity to hubs, and tolerance of weather effects by developing efficient algorithms with provable guarantees building upon the researcher's preliminary heuristic-based work, and design techniques to estimate non-trivial upper-bounds for evaluation of developed techniques in practice. For the runtime problem of dynamic network reconfiguration, the project proposes to develop a theoretical framework which will be used to investigate design of provably efficient algorithms for various settings and objectives. Finally, the project will build and evaluate an end-to-end simulation of the proposed architecture, conduct a thorough comparison with other viable approaches, and perform requirements and cost-performance analysis.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.