SBIR Phase I: Simultaneous Transmit-Receive and Full-Duplex Millimeter-Wave Massive Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MIMO) Systems

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响解决了商业和国防领域数字化转型所推动的对高速、安全、可靠、无处不在的无线连接的需求。毫米波(毫米波)频谱的广泛使用对于满足这一需求是必不可少的，尽管发布了低于10 GHz的新频谱(这在短期内会有所帮助，但本身不能满足总体需求)。在过去的几年中，MmWave系统的第一代部署主要用于智能手机的移动访问应用。然而，由于在覆盖范围、容量、可靠性、部署简易性和总拥有成本方面仍然存在重大痛点和挑战，毫米波网络尚未普及。此外，目前5G系统的高能耗估计将对全球碳排放和网络运营商的能源成本产生重大影响。该项目包括三个要素：为所有美国人提供高速宽带接入；在制造业、工业和能源基础设施领域部署可靠、高速、低延迟的无线连接；以及与学术界建立合作伙伴关系，以增强美国的STEM劳动力。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将开发在高频频段运行的高效、实用和低成本的多输入多输出(MIMO)全双工无线电技术，并将为它们在未来无线网络中的最终商业实施铺平道路。该项目将采用全面、跨学科的方法来开发硬件-软件系统解决方案，包括新的硅片和新的算法，以更好地利用空间、时间和频率资源。如果成功，开发的解决方案最终可以带来更大的覆盖范围、更高的可靠性、更低的延迟、更高效的频谱使用，以及更高的性能、更低的功率和成本。该团队正在构建毫米波系统(软件+硅)解决方案，这些解决方案可以有效地形成波束并智能地引导波束，从而更好地利用空间域。这些解决方案可以带来更大的覆盖范围、更高的可靠性、更低的延迟、更高效的频谱使用，以及更高的性能、更低的功率和成本。为此，MmWave MIMO无线电基于两个核心原则：通过设计先进的数字/混合MIMO无线电而创建的“数字化”硬件，以及紧密集成在无线电/物理层中的基于人工智能(AI)/机器学习(ML)的算法。虽然上述目标本身就是相对于最先进技术的重大进步，但第一阶段的目标是专门专注于解决在未来无线网络中实施毫米波全双工MIMO通信的技术挑战，并最终推动该技术走向商业采用。该奖项反映了NSF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 broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the demand for high-speed, secure, reliable, ubiquitous wireless connectivity, driven by digital transformation in the commercial and defense sectors. The widespread use of the millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum is essential to meet this demand, despite the release of new spectrum below 10 GHz (which will help in the short term, but not by itself be able to satisfy overall demand). The last few years have seen first-generation deployments of mmWave systems mainly for mobile access applications to smartphones. However, mmWave networks have not become widespread, due to significant pain points and challenges that remain in terms of coverage, capacity, reliability, ease of deployment, and total cost of ownership. Moreover, the high energy consumption of current 5G systems is estimated to have a significant impact on global carbon emissions and network operators’ energy costs. This project comprises three elements: enabling high-speed broadband access for all Americans; deploying a reliable, high-speed, low-latency wireless connectivity in the manufacturing, industrial and energy infrastructure sectors, and building partnerships with academia to enhance the American STEM workforce. Optimized solutions have an annual market estimate of $10 billion.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop technologies for efficient, practical and low-cost Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MIMO) full-duplex radios operating in high frequency spectral bands and will pave the way for their eventual commercial implementation in future wireless networks. This project will adopt a holistic, inter-disciplinary approach to develop hardware-software system solutions encompassing novel silicon and novel algorithms to enable better use of spatial, temporal and frequency resources. If successful, the developed solutions can eventually lead to greater coverage, higher reliability, lower latency, more efficient spectrum usage, and also higher performance, lower power and cost. The team is building mmWave system (software + silicon) solutions that efficiently form and intelligently steer beams to enable better use of the spatial domain. The solutions can lead to greater coverage, higher reliability, lower latency, more efficient spectrum usage, and also higher performance, lower power and cost. To this end, the mmWave MIMO radios are based on two core principles: “digitalized” hardware created by designing advanced digital/hybrid MIMO radios and integrated artificial intelligence (AI)/ machine learning (ML)-based algorithms tightly into the radio/physical layer. While the above goals are by themselves a significant advance over the state-of-the-art, the aim in Phase I is to specifically focus on solving technical challenges to implement mmWave full-duplex MIMO communication in wireless networks of the future, and to eventually drive this technology towards commercial adoption.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.