MRI:Acquisition: A Software-Defined Radio Based Testbed for Next Generation Wireless Networks Research

Prairie View A&M Research Foundation, Prairie View TX

Investigators

Abstract

Proposal #: 10-40207 PI(s): Qian, Lijun; Annamalai, Annamalai Institution: Prairie View A&M University Title: MRI/Acq.: A Software-Defined Radio-Based Testbed for Next Generation Wireless Network Research Project Proposed: This project from an MSI, principally undergraduate university, acquiring/building software-defined radio (SDR) platforms for wireless monitoring and surveillance, aims to test and verify theoretical results for synthetic Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems. The work will - Enhance PHY and MAC visibility of operational wireless networks by distributed acquisition of RF signals and decodable frames and - Facilitate evaluation and repeatable experimentations in ongoing research projects in the area of wireless communications and networking, The project involves - Development of software tools for trace collection and replay for repeatable experimentation; - Collection of extensive wireless traces in campus environments to understand propagation characteristics, device types, and co-existence issues; - Construction of device fingerprint database for commonly used wired devices; and - Performance of synthetic MIMO experiments in a fully controlled environment. Broader Impacts: The experimental facility is likely to advance research in wireless monitoring and diagnosis by collecting comprehensive wireless traces and supporting design, analysis, and optimization of distributed space-time processing in both controlled and real-world deployment conditions. Complementing the existing apparatus for telecommunication system design within two centers, it should greatly strengthen and broaden wireless activity. Consequently, it will help students to obtain hands-on experience and expertise in theory and practice of experimental wireless and cognitive radio techniques. Thus it contributes to train highly skilled personnel in a critical area.