CAREER: Realizing the Potential of Wireless Adhoc Networks Through Holistic Resource Allocation

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

The proposed research is directed towards developing networking solutions for ubiquitous computing - which has the promise to open up many new applications leading to an overall improvement of productivity at our homes and offices and would result in a better quality of life. The networking challenge is to design seamless, high quality wireless adhoc communication among a large number of small inexpensive computers. These nodes are expected to self-organize into networks capable of discharging complex computing and communication functionalities which lead to acute resource limitations. The constrained resources are bandwidth, power and buffer memory. Furthermore, the dynamic nature of the topology and the geographical separation of nodes require distributed control. The proposed research seeks to provide the desired quality of service to users in spite of the resource limitations. We note that bandwidth, memory and power are interdependent resources. The coupling is due to the fact that the temporary scarcity of one can be compensated by leveraging the availability of another. This interdependence can be exploited to design a comprehensive management scheme, for power, memory and bandwidth, which significantly enhances the traffic carrying capability of wireless networks. The next key observation is that in ubiquitous computing individual nodes are idle most of the time, but must handle occasional bursts of activity. The traffic handling capability increases many-fold if idle resources of the neighbors are leveraged. The research goal is to design an optimal distributed control framework which uses local observations and partial information of the resource requirements and availabilities at other nodes to attain (a) an efficient and comprehensive utilization of individual resources and (b) a judicious usage of others idle resources when the individuals resources are not sufficient. The resulting protocols are expected to be robust to variations in networking traffic and dynamic topological changes on account of mobility. The activity will promote the training of high caliber students to fill the expanding need for capable scientists and engineers in the information technology field. Undergraduates will be involved in wireless research through creative design projects. The design projects will target adhoc applications of societal significance such as adhoc networking of vehicles e.g., cars for preventing low-visibility related accidents. Supervision of doctoral research will be a core component of the overall activity. The overall education mission of the home institution (University of Pennsylvania) will be furthered through the design of two new courses in the wireless area at undergraduate and graduate level, and introduction of seminars and industry collaborations. The outreach activity will motivate women towards careers in engineering. The specific plan is to reach out to women students by participating in (a) girl scout activities as group leader/mentor and (b) local IEEE student branches, society of women in engineering (SWIE) and synergistic activities in local community colleges, involve them in innovative projects and subsequently proactively hire women PhD students.