Collaborative Research: CISE-MSI: RCBP-RF: CNS: Enabling Secured and Artificial Intelligence Assisted Cell-Free Communications

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。尽管第五代（5G）新无线电（NR）正在广泛应用于蜂窝通信中的多模态用例，包括大规模物联网和超可靠的低延迟通信，但随着社会经济需求的不断发展，新的用例已经出现，而5G NR无法适应这些用例。以蜂窝为中心的无线网络模式受到蜂窝间干扰的限制，正在向无处不在的无蜂窝基础设施过渡，这种基础设施更加以用户为中心，抗干扰，同时为用户提供宏观多样性。低复杂性、高吞吐量、超可靠和低延迟应用使无蜂窝架构成为下一代通信系统的基本要素。空中通信网络已经成为超越5G通信的有前途的拓扑，其中空中通信节点，例如无人机等，将分别从蜂窝或无蜂窝架构中的传统基站或地面接入点与地面用户一起提供服务。该CISE-MSI项目将研究下一代通信系统的无蜂窝空中地面综合网络（CF-ATIN）的潜力、可行性、基础设施和安全性。该项目还将发展教育和招聘能力，从历史上代表性不足的工程群体中培训工程师。本项目将对CF-ATIN进行基础研究，解决安全通信协议设计中的几个挑战，并探索如何在网络中集成先进技术以提高系统性能，同时确保低计算复杂度。特别是，该项目将(1)解决CF-ATIN固有的物理层信号处理挑战，并开发人工智能驱动的解决方案方法，(2)探索无蜂窝网络如何与下一代无线通信系统的其他新兴应用（如自由空间光学）协同集成，(3)为安全消息传输进行数据清理，并开发信任评估算法。(4)开发CF-ATIN原型以实现所设计的创新算法。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 award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Although fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) is being extensively implemented for multi-modal use-cases in cellular communications, including massive internet of things and ultra-reliable low-latency communications, new use cases have emerged as socio-economic needs continue to evolve, and 5G NR is unable to accommodate them. The cell-centric paradigm of wireless networks, constrained by inter-cell interference, is transitioning toward a ubiquitous cell-free infrastructure that is more user-centric and interference-resistant while providing users with macro-diversity. Low-complexity, high-throughput, ultra-reliable, and low-latency applications make the cell-free architecture an essential element of the next generation of communication systems. The aerial communication network has emerged as a promising topology for beyond 5G communications, where aerial communication nodes, e.g., drones, etc., will be served from the conventional base stations or terrestrial access points in a cellular or cell-free architecture, respectively, in conjunction with terrestrial users. This CISE-MSI project will investigate the potential, feasibility, infrastructure, and security of the cell-free aerial terrestrial integrated network (CF-ATIN) for the next generation of communication systems. The project will also develop the educational and recruiting capacity to train engineers from historically underrepresented engineering groups.This project will conduct a fundamental study on CF-ATIN, address several challenges in secured communication protocol design, and explore how to integrate advanced techniques in the network to enhance system performance while assuring low computational complexity. In particular, this project will (1) address physical layer signal processing challenges inherent to CF-ATIN and develop artificial intelligence-driven solution approaches, (2) explore how cell-free networks have synergic integration with other emerging applications for the next generation of wireless communication systems, such as free-space optics, (3) conduct data sanitization for secured message transmissions and develop trust evaluation algorithm, and (4) develop a prototype for CF-ATIN to implement the designed innovative algorithms.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.