SBIR Phase I: Adaptable Ad Hoc Network Architecture for Rapid Infrastructure Development in Disaster Zones

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是降低人们上网和在自然灾害等紧急情况下连接人们的成本。自然灾害经常破坏蜂窝网络，而这恰恰是人们最需要通信的时候。用户涌入有限的剩余基础设施往往会占用现有资源，使第一响应者无法协调，家庭无法呼叫亲人，志愿者无法提供帮助。在其他潜在的市场，这项技术试图为世界上那些现在价格高得令人望而却步的地区提供蜂窝电话接入。本项目旨在开发小型便携式蜂窝基站，可在紧急情况下以及难以到达和资源匮乏的地区提供接入。本小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一期项目研究并实现了小型便携式蜂窝基站。基站的技术焦点利用全球移动的通信系统（GSM）/通用分组无线电服务（GPRS）（或2G和2.5G）无线电，用于以计算上便宜的方式与高密度的蜂窝电话通信，同时利用WiFi用于本地高带宽应用。该技术实现了许多“微小区”，以代替当前的宏小区方法来实现蜂窝覆盖，用大量的塔覆盖该区域。这种分散的方法提供了高可靠性，即使一个或多个节点发生故障。该项目将开发将大量基站互连在一起所需的算法，并将在每个基站之间提供无线电链路的联网能力结合起来。最后，该项目将完成机械设计并使基站可大规模制造。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。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is reducing the cost of getting people online and connecting people in emergency situations such as natural disasters. Natural disasters often destroy cellular networks, exactly when people need communication the most. The influx of users on the limited remaining infrastructure often overwhelms existing resources, making it impossible for first responders to coordinate, for families to call their loved ones, and for volunteers to help. In other potential markets, the technology seeks to provide cellular phone access to parts of the world where it is now prohibitively expensive. This project seeks to develop small, portable cellular base stations that can provide access in both emergency and hard to reach and poorly resourced locations.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project researches and implements a small, portable cellular base station. The technological focus for the base station utilizes Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) (or 2G and 2.5G) radio for communicating with a high density of cell phones in a computationally cheap manner while utilizing WiFi for local, high bandwidth applications. The technology implements many “micro-cells” in lieu of the current macro cell approach to cellular coverage, blanketing the area with a high number of towers. This decentralized approach provides high reliability even if one or several nodes fail. This project will develop the algorithms necessary for interconnecting large numbers of base stations together and mesh the networking capabilities that provide radio links between each base station. Finally, this project will finalize the mechanical design and make the base station manufacturable at large scale.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.