Collaborative Research: CNS Core: Medium: OneDegree: Foundations and Methods for Imaging in mmWave Wireless Networks

下一代无线网络设计正在经历一场有趣的蜕变。无线领域的传统重点一直是网络容量和不断增加的带宽。然而，随着5G的出现，聚光灯现在被不断增加的容量和对新应用的支持所分享。智能城市、智能家居、无人机、增强现实/虚拟现实(AR/VR)和物联网(IoT)等新的潜在市场的出现，在一定程度上推动了对网络设计中应用的共同关注。随着无线行业寻求增长，这种转变也是很自然的，从主要为个人设备上的用户服务，到未来服务于整个环境。该项目着眼于5G及以上，并提出问题，未来的无线网络可以利用哪些核心功能来支持通信以外的新应用？该项目将展示无线网络成像是这样一种核心能力，整合到下一代网络设计中，可以为许多新的应用领域提供支持。这个与莱斯大学和加州大学洛杉矶分校的研究人员合作的项目名为One Degree，旨在强调使用未来一代无线通信网络进行成像时达到临界角分辨率的重要性。该项目的技术重点是：(A)开发研究毫米波(毫米波)无线通信网络上的联合成像和通信的基本理论框架，并确定使用这些网络进行成像的基本限制；(B)开发达到并超过1度角分辨率的系统和方法；(C)制造定制的毫米波前端芯片组并使用通信网络演示成像；以及(D)收集涵盖智能家居和智能城市环境的数据集。该项目将实现新的成像能力，并成为紧急服务、城市规模的信息学、智能家居、智能城市和个人服务等应用的发射台。该项目将遵循开放实验政策，共享(I)用于执行实验的代码库，(Ii)所有生成的数据和(Iii)数据分析代码，遵循WARP(无线开放接入研究平台)节点和软件的成功传播模式。该项目还将涉及强有力的教育和传播，包括开发新的本科生和研究生课程，让本科生参与研究，遵循开放实验的原则，并将获得的大量设计和数据集公开。该项目将通过有针对性的学生工作坊和K-12教师培训计划直接参与K-12项目的努力。项目细节、出版物、报告、演示文稿和数据集将在项目结束后至少5年内在http://computationalimaging.rice.edu/onedegree上提供。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 next-generation of wireless network designs are undergoing an interesting metamorphosis. The traditional focus in wireless has been on network capacity, and increasing bandwidths. However, with 5G, the limelight is now shared between the increasing capacity and support for novel applications. The shared focus on applications in network design is partially fueled by the emergence of new potential markets, e.g., smart cities, smart homes, drones, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and Internet of Things (IoT). This shift is also natural as the wireless industry looks for growth, from largely serving a user on their personal device, to serving their whole environment in the future. This project looks at 5G and beyond and asks, what are core capabilities that future wireless networks can leverage, to empower novel applications beyond communications? The project will demonstrate that wireless network imaging is such a core capability, which, integrated into the next generation network designs, could empower many new application domains.This collaborative project with investigators from Rice University and the University of California-Los Angeles is called ‘One Degree’ to highlight the importance of reaching the critical angular resolution for imaging using future-generation wireless communication networks. The technical thrusts of this project are: (a) development of the foundational theoretical framework to study the joint imaging and communications on a mmWave (millimeter wave) wireless communications network and determine the fundamental limits to imaging using these networks, (b) development of systems and methods to achieve and surpass one degree angular resolution, (c) fabricate a custom mmWave front-end chipset and demonstrate imaging using communication networks, and (d) collect a dataset covering smart-home and smart-city contexts. This project will enable new imaging capabilities and become a launchpad for applications such as emergency services, city-scale informatics, smart-homes, smart-cities and personal services. The project will follow an Open Experiments policy, sharing (i) the codebase used to perform experiments, (ii) all generated data and (iii) data analysis code, following the successful dissemination model of WARP (wireless open access research platform) nodes and software. The project will also involve robust education and dissemination that includes the development of new undergraduate and graduate courses, engaging undergraduate students in research, following principles of open experiments, and making much of the designs and datasets obtained publicly available. The project will directly engage meaningfully with K-12 efforts through both targeted student workshops and K-12 teacher training programs.The project details, publications, reports, presentations and datasets will be available at http://computationalimaging.rice.edu/onedegree for a period of at least 5 years after project end-date.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.