Modular Testbed for Characterizing Channels, Circuits and Systems in the 60-90 GHz Band

未来几十年，我们将走向一个高度互联的社会，在这个社会中，数以万亿计的设备将人与人、人与物、物与物连接起来，允许任何人或任何东西随时随地访问信息。支持这种程度的连通性将需要创建一个普遍的信息基础设施，称为第五代无线技术（5G）。与当前通信系统相比，5G技术的工作频率和系统复杂性急剧增加，这将需要完全不同的理论和技术来定义、设计和实现具有成本效益和功率效率的通信设备、协议和基础设施。 基于共同申请人在无线通信技术方面公认的良好记录，将开展一项多学科研究计划，以研究高性能电路和系统、创新的信号处理算法以及对5G至关重要的网络和调度协议。所要求的设备与现有基础设施相结合，将形成一个领先的可扩展测试平台，能够同时提供宽带信号生成和分析能力，用于在大规模分析带宽（高达4 GHz）和可扩展频率范围（60-90 GHz）内的数字调制信号。在与行业领先的解决方案提供商协商后开发的，拟议的测试床将允许研究人员使用5G通信信号研究电路，系统和空中链路的现实行为，将物理非理想性的观察与理想化的理论和假设协调起来关于电路和网络行为，并将原型设备和算法提升到更高的准备/成熟度，以便发布。并最终转移到工业中。这些设备将有助于培训下一代高素质的工程师和研究人员，以评估5G超连接的挑战，并设计可行的硬件和网络解决方案来解决这些问题。 拟议的测试平台将在新兴的5G技术领域实现具有国际竞争力的研究计划。该方案的成果新的分析、模型、算法和原型与申请人的跨国行业赞助商相关，并将加速信息和通信技术部门向5G的过渡，最终导致开发能够支持智能城市、农场和运输系统的超连接信息基础设施，以实现加拿大的社会、经济和环境效益。

In the coming decades, we will move towards a highly connected society, in which trillions of devices connect people to people, people to things, and things to things, allowing anyone or anything to access information anywhere, at any time. Supporting this level of connectedness will require the creation of a pervasive information infrastructure, referred to as fifth-generation wireless technology (5G). The drastic increase in the operating frequency and system complexity of 5G technology compared to current communication systems will require radically different theories and techniques to define, design, and realize cost-effective and power-efficient communication devices, protocols, and infrastructure. Building on the co-applicants’ recognized track record in wireless communication technologies, a multidisciplinary research program will be undertaken to investigate high-performance circuits and systems, innovative signal processing algorithms, and networking and scheduling protocols crucial for 5G. The requested equipment, when combined with existing infrastructure, will form a leading-edge, scalable testbed capable of simultaneously offering wideband signal generation and analysis capabilities for digitally modulated signals over a massive analysis bandwidth (up to 4 GHz) and scalable frequency range (60-90 GHz). Developed in consultation with industry-leading solutions providers, the proposed test bed will allow researchers to study the realistic behavior of circuits, systems, and over-air links using 5G communication signals, reconcile observations of physical non-idealities with idealistic theories and assumptions about circuit and network behavior, and elevate prototype devices and algorithms to a greater level of readiness/maturity for publishing, and eventual transfer to industry. The equipment will be instrumental for training the next generation of highly qualified engineers and researchers to assess challenges of 5G hyper-connectivity and design feasible hardware and networking solutions to address them. The proposed testbed will enable an internationally-competitive research program in the emerging field of 5G technologies. Outcomes of this program (new analyses, models, algorithms and prototypes) are of pertinence to the applicants’ multinational industry sponsors, and will accelerate the transition of the information and communication technology sector towards 5G, ultimately leading to the development of a hyper-connected information infrastructure capable of supporting smart cities, farms, and transportation systems for the social, economic and environmental benefit of Canada.