Workshop on Low Llatency Wireless Networks

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

Wireless networks have become ubiquitous and we have come to depend on wireless access for a wide-range of applications. However, current wireless networks are very unpredictable in one critical aspect: communication delay. It is well-known and widely observed that the delays incurred in accessing a wireless network, regardless of which flavor we choose, can vary widely. The issue of unpredictable and often high latencies precludes wireless networks from being used in mission-critical environments. Even common applications, such as real-time video-conferencing, suffer from poor performance due to the unpredictable nature of these delays. Providing consistent low-delay wireless access will further enable mission critical applications as well as a host of real-time applications such as video and audio. The workshop will bring together thought leaders in the wireless field and help shape the research agenda in this area. The proposed workshop will help identify key impediments toward low-delay wireless networks. In particular, given the huge leaps made in wireless communications over the past decade, the workshop will revisit foundational principles, identify gaps in existing architecture, design and practice of wireless networking systems to enable consistent low-delay wireless networks, and specify future research directions in this area. The workshop will be inter-disciplinary, involving researchers and practitioners from the wireless space ranging from the macro-scale satellite/cellular networks to the micro-scale on-chip wireless networks, as well as experts in the theoretical and systems aspects of wireless networks and communications. The outcome of this project will be a set of key technical issues that will need to be addressed and research directions to pursue in order to ensure low-delay wireless access for a large number of wireless devices.