NeTS: Small: Mobile mmWaves: Addressing the Cellular Capacity Crisis with 60 GHz Picocells

NeTS：小型：移动毫米波：利用 60 GHz 微微蜂窝解决蜂窝容量危机

• 批准号: 1317153
• 负责人: Upamanyu Madhow
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-10-01 至 2017-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1317153&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NeTS; Small; Mobile; mmWaves; Addressing

Smart phones and tablets enable consumers to enjoy rich audio and video content on the go, but the proliferation of such increasingly sophisticated mobile devices has created a capacity crisis for mobile operators. It is estimated that supporting rich media content for a rapidly increasing fraction of mobile users requires a 1000-fold increase in cellular network capacity, which current cellular bands simply cannot support. The research pursued under this grant explores an alternative, and potentially transformational, approach to cellular data, using unlicensed spectrum in the 60 GHz band, where the available bandwidth is orders of magnitude higher than those used in existing systems, at the level of multiple Gigabits per second throughput on the downlink to the mobile devices. Base stations for the envisioned network will be deployed opportunistically (e.g., on lampposts and rooftops). Due to the small carrier wavelength, many antenna arrays with a very large number (e.g., 1000) of elements can be built into base stations which are no larger than a typical WiFi access point. Such antenna arrays can be used to direct pencil beams at mobile users, with peak data rates of multiples of Gigabits per second (order of magnitude higher than the highest WiFi data rates available today). However, the small carrier wavelength also implies that the radio waves are easily blocked by obstacles such as buildings, walls, and humans, including the body of the person carrying the mobile device. In order to handle such rapid changes in the propagation environment, novel techniques are developed for multiple base stations to coordinate, such that they can adapt their beams to maintain connectivity with a given mobile device, and can ensure that the data destined for the mobile follows it around. A novel asymmetric network architecture is employed, with low-bandwidth 60 GHz beaconing and multi-Gbps data on the downlink, and LTE feedback and lower-speed data on the uplink. The base stations employ compressive signal processing for rapid channel estimation and beam adaptation, based on the feedback from the mobiles. Distributed base station coordination mechanisms are developed for seamlessly switching base stations or paths. The architecture minimizes complexity and power consumption in the mobile device: the device's 60 GHz radio only needs to receive, and the device is oblivious of handoffs.The mobile broadband capacity crisis is the greatest challenge facing cellular providers today, hence the success of this project can impact a multi-billion dollar industry. In order to maximize the potential for impact, the results and models will be widely disseminated to both industry and academia. The investigators plan significant efforts for recruitment and mentoring of female undergraduate and graduate students, organized around the concept of a caring community.

智能手机和平板电脑使消费者能够随时随地享受丰富的音频和视频内容，但这种日益复杂的移动设备的激增给移动运营商带来了容量危机。 据估计，为快速增长的移动用户比例支持富媒体内容需要将蜂窝网络容量增加 1000 倍，而当前的蜂窝频段根本无法支持。 这笔赠款下进行的研究探索了一种替代性的、潜在变革性的蜂窝数据方法，使用 60 GHz 频段的免许可频谱，其中可用带宽比现有系统中使用的带宽高出几个数量级，达到多个千兆位级别到移动设备的下行链路每秒的吞吐量。 设想的网络的基站将择机部署（例如，在灯柱和屋顶上）。由于载波波长较小，许多具有大量（例如 1000 个）元件的天线阵列可以内置到不大于典型 WiFi 接入点的基站中。 此类天线阵列可用于将笔形波束定向到移动用户，峰值数据速率可达每秒数千兆位（比当今可用的最高 WiFi 数据速率高出一个数量级）。然而，较小的载波波长也意味着无线电波很容易被建筑物、墙壁和人体等障碍物阻挡，包括携带移动设备的人的身体。 为了应对传播环境中如此快速的变化，开发了用于多个基站进行协调的新技术，以便它们可以调整其波束以保持与给定移动设备的连接，并可以确保发往移动设备的数据遵循它周围。采用新颖的非对称网络架构，在下行链路上具有低带宽 60 GHz 信标和多 Gbps 数据，在上行链路上具有 LTE 反馈和低速数据。基站根据移动设备的反馈，采用压缩信号处理来进行快速信道估计和波束自适应。分布式基站协调机制是为了无缝切换基站或路径而开发的。该架构最大限度地降低了移动设备的复杂性和功耗：设备的 60 GHz 无线电仅需要接收，并且设备无需考虑切换。移动宽带容量危机是当今蜂窝提供商面临的最大挑战，因此该项目取得了成功可以影响价值数十亿美元的行业。为了最大限度地发挥影响潜力，研究结果和模型将广泛传播给工业界和学术界。调查人员计划围绕关爱社区的概念，大力招募和指导女本科生和研究生。