CRII: NeTS: Towards Joint Mobile Broadband and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications for Connected Autonomous Vehicles

蜂窝车联网通信（C-V2X）是一种很有前途的解决方案，通过与联网和自动驾驶车辆（CAV）通信关键的安全和道路信息，减少未来智慧城市的道路事故和交通。为了保证CAV的安全和有效操作，新兴的蜂窝网络必须支持具有超可靠性和低延迟要求的服务（例如，紧急制动）以及需要非常高的数据速率的移动的宽带应用（例如，高清地图）。满足大量CAV的这种严格要求超出了在稀缺的低于6 GHz频率下运行的现有网络的能力。此外，虽然高频毫米波（mmWave）频带提供了大带宽，但毫米波通信在可靠性方面提出了新的挑战，这源于毫米波信号的固有传播特性。为了应对这些挑战，本研究的目标是开发一个整体框架，使异构C-V2X流量能够在聚合毫米波和低于6 GHz的频率上无缝复用，同时考虑到每个频段通信的独特限制和互补功能。这项研究伴随着一个全面的教育计划，包括指导研究生和本科生参与研究和试验台开发，以及为当地学校服务不足的学生举办的各种外展活动。这项基础研究使频率范围内的载波聚合能够通过毫米波和亚毫米波联合管理异构车联网通信（C-V2X）流量。6 GHz频段，并优化互联和自动驾驶车辆（CAV）的移动性管理，同时解决毫米波链路的关键挑战，如可靠性和稀疏性。鉴于标准化组织正在进行的努力主要集中在单一频率范围内的载波聚合，因此需要针对C-V2X通信的建模、优化和性能分析的新方案，以解决毫米波和低于6 GHz通信之间的根本差异。为此，该框架在无线网络、边缘计算、图论和可靠性理论的交叉点上提出了新的解决方案，以实现以下关键创新：1）设计新的灵活帧结构，以动态管理聚合毫米波和亚6 GHz频率范围上的异构C-V2X流量; 2）分析所提出的具有诸如RAN功能拆分和边缘计算能力的高级特征的多频带无线电接入网络（RAN）的端到端性能; 3）基于所导出的端到端性能度量来优化CAV的移动性管理;（4）建立一个综合的仿真试验平台，对所提出的方案进行评估。拟议研究的预期结果将推进C-V2X网络并加快CAV的部署。该奖项反映了NSF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。

Cellular vehicle-to-everything communication (C-V2X) is a promising solution to reduce road incidents and traffic in future smart cities by communicating critical safety and road information with connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). To guarantee safe and efficient operation of CAVs, emerging cellular networks must support services with ultra-reliability and low-latency requirements (e.g., emergency braking) together with mobile broadband applications that need very high data rates (e.g., high-definition maps). Meeting such stringent requirements for large number of CAVs is beyond the capacity of existing networks that operate at scarce sub-6 gigahertz frequencies. Furthermore, while high-frequency millimeter wave (mmWave) bands offer large bandwidth, mmWave communications pose new challenges in terms of reliability that stem from inherent propagation characteristics of mmWave signals. To address these challenges, the goal of this research is to develop a holistic framework that enables seamless multiplexing of heterogeneous C-V2X traffic over aggregated mmWave and sub-6 GHz frequencies, while taking into account unique limitations and complementary features of communications at each frequency band. This research is accompanied by a comprehensive educational plan that includes mentoring graduate and undergraduate students to participate in research and testbed development, as well as various outreach events for underserved students at local schools.This fundamental research enables inter-frequency range carrier aggregation to manage the heterogeneous vehicle-to-everything communication (C-V2X) traffic jointly over mmWave and sub-6 GHz bands and to optimize mobility management for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), while addressing key challenges of mmWave links such as reliability and sparsity. Given the ongoing efforts by standardization groups are primarily focused on carrier aggregation over a single frequency range, new schemes for modeling, optimization, and performance analysis of C-V2X communications are required that account for fundamental differences between mmWave and sub-6 GHz communications. To this end, this framework brings forward novel solutions at the intersections of wireless networking, edge computing, graph theory, and reliability theory, to achieve the following key innovations: 1) Designing new flexible frame structures to dynamically manage the heterogeneous C-V2X traffic over the aggregated mmWave and sub-6 GHz frequency ranges; 2) Analyzing the end-to-end performance of the proposed multi-band radio access network (RAN) with advanced features such as RAN function splitting and edge computing capabilities; 3) Optimizing the mobility management for CAVs based on the derived end-to-end performance metrics; and 4) Developing a comprehensive simulation testbed to evaluate the proposed schemes. The anticipated results of the proposed research will advance C-V2X networks and expedite the deployment of CAVs.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.