PAWR Platform POWDER-RENEW: A Platform for Open Wireless Data-driven Experimental Research with Massive MIMO Capabilities

该项目为先进的无线研究创建了一个城市规模的平台，将于2018年至2023年期间在犹他州盐湖城部署。该开放式无线数据驱动实验研究平台（POWDER）支持在sub-6 GHz频段对新型先进无线宽带和通信技术进行大规模实验。该项目的特点是与区域网络的互动，包括公共交通、宽带交付、教育和卫生服务提供，以及通过在相关技术领域创建一个由100家小公司组成的生态系统来推进科学、技术和研究。早期采用者公司/初创公司和应用程序开发人员使用该平台来评估其预商用阶段的技术的能力，将对数据网络和应用程序领域的创新速度产生重大的积极影响。这一努力也将使学习传播学相关学科的各级教育工作者和学生受益。该平台的一个关键特点是与莱斯大学的下一代端到端无线可重构生态系统（RENEW）项目合作，开发高度可编程和灵活的大规模多输入多输出（MIMO）平台，这是5G和超5G无线网络的基本特征。该平台将具有(i)由可编程基站、移动设备和静态传感器组成的异构系统；（ii）最先进的大型MIMO基地台；（iii）在不同频谱范围（从50 MHz到3.8 GHz）进行研究的能力，以及（iv）与现有nsf资助的云测试平台集成的大规模软件定义无线网络测试平台，从而实现端到端实验。该平台的另一个独特之处是支持基于无线移动性的研究，通过使用具有可预测的移动模式（例如，公共汽车）、不可预测但有限的移动性（例如，维修车辆）和可控的信使（例如，现场志愿者）来提供。每个部署的单元都将包含“基础”功能，包括用户可编程软件定义的无线电，“自带设备”（BYOD）实验，并将通过一个复杂的平台控制框架连接起来。现有的光纤链路将无线基站连接到大约六个边缘计算平台。这将使复杂的设备供应和一组用于科学工作流管理、协作和工件共享的工具成为可能，其目标是促进该领域中可再现性的严格标准。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project creates a city-scale platform for advanced wireless research that will be deployed over the period 2018 - 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This Platform for Open Wireless Data-driven Experimental Research (POWDER) supports at-scale experimentation of novel advanced wireless broadband and communication technologies in the sub-6 GHz band. The project features interactions with regional networks encompassing initiatives on public transportation, broadband delivery, education and health service delivery as well as advancement of science, technology and research by creating an ecosystem of a hundred small companies in allied technical domains. The ability to use this platform by early adopter companies/startups and application developers to evaluate technologies in their pre-commercial phase will have a significant positive impact on the speed of innovation in the data networking and application domains. This effort will also benefit educators and students at all levels of study in communications-related disciplines. A key feature of the platform is the partnership with the Reconfigurable Eco-system for Next-generation End-to-end Wireless (RENEW) project at Rice University to develop a highly programmable and flexible massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) platform that is an essential feature of both 5G and beyond-5G wireless networks. The platform will feature (i) heterogeneous systems composed of programmable base stations, mobile devices and static sensors; (ii) state of the art massive MIMO base-stations; (iii) ability to conduct research over a diverse spectrum range (from 50 MHz to 3.8 GHz), and (iv) a large-scale software defined wireless networking testbed integrated with an existing NSF-funded cloud testbed, thereby enabling end-to-end experimentation. Another unique aspect of the platform is support for wireless mobility-based studies, provided by using couriers with predictable movement patterns (e.g., buses), less predictable but bounded mobility (e.g., maintenance vehicles), and controllable couriers (e.g., on-site volunteers). Each of these deployed units will consist of "base" functionality that includes user-programmable software defined radios, "bring your own device" (BYOD) experiments, and will be connected via a sophisticated platform control framework. Existing fiber links will connect the wireless base stations to about half a dozen edge compute platforms. This will enable complex device provisioning and a set of tools for scientific workflow management, collaboration, and artifact sharing, with a goal towards promoting rigorous standards for reproducibility in this field.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.