Solutions - Networking & Communications
- Ultra High Reliability and Low Latency
- Smart Antennas and Cognitive Satellite Radios
- Dynamic Spectrum Access and Optimization
- Network Coding and MIMO
Low‐Latency High‐reliability Wireless Protocol for Advanced Manufacturing Applications
Advanced manufacture requires low-latency and high-reliability wireless communications between the sensors/actuators and the central controller. However, the current wireless protocols cannot meet such stringent latency and reliability requirements. In this project, InfoBeyond advocates L2Wireless (Low-Latency High-reliability Wireless Protocol Using Cooperative Relaying and Network Coding) to address this problem.
It can simultaneously address the stringent requirements on latency (close-loop sense-to-actuation time < 1ms) and reliability within a factory cell with at least 10 sensor/actuators. For this goal, L2Wireless modifies the MAC and PHY layers of IEEE802.11ac, which includes radio diversity, scheduling, baseband processing, RF band selection, antenna selection, modulation and error coding, etc. The key technical features are:
- L2Wireless PHY layer is developed based on the PHY techniques of IEEE802.11ac with adjustments to adapt to the latency/reliability requirements and radio environments of manufacturing applications;
- L2Wireless MAC layer utilizes cooperative relay and network coding to ensure successful information exchange between the controller and sensors/actuators with constrained latency and reliability;
The L2wireless protocol is able to support the communications of a sufficient number of devices within a work cell and simultaneously achieve the desired latency and reliability for advanced manufacturing applications.
System Communications
Building a reliable, high-bandwidth, and low-latency network are crucial to a distributed mission defense system in which the sensors are operated from thousand-mile distances. This is more significant for satellite links which connect sensors distributed in a large area. In this project, we propose Reducing Data Latency and Increasing Network Bandwidth and Reliability (RDLINBR) for missile defenses using network coding. Network coding is a proven technology, and with this technology, RDLINBR can effectively reduce communication latency and increase bandwidth without modification to hardware while also maintaining reliable and secure communications.
A Range Segment Upgrade for Air Force Satellite Control Network with Smart Antennas and Cognitive Satellite Radios
A range segment upgrade for Air Force satellite control network (AFSCN) will significantly improve system effectiveness via spectrum sharing and seamless interoperation. However, the upgraded system requires new capabilities such as real-time and accurate RF interference detection and mitigation, array antenna backlobe/sidelobe suppressions, accurate performance degradation prediction, robust link power budget under uncertainty, etc. Accomplishing those goals is main keys enabling a range segment upgrade for AFSCN, however, the existing techniques provide only limited such capabilities. InfoBeyond advocate an Efficient Range Segment Upgrade (ERSU) for AFSCN using stochastic interference prediction and context-aware smart antenna control to address these challenges. Firstly, ERSU provides a robust and accurate statistical interference estimation algorithm based on the tools of the Gaussian Markov Random Field. The proposed algorithm offers a real-time interference estimation given erroneous/corrupted spatial-temporal observations. Secondly, a hidden semi-Markov model-based channel prediction algorithm is proposed for robust and accurate channel prediction. It is able to predict not only channel states but also the state duration. Finally, ERSU offers a context-aware stochastic decision making given the input uncertainties. The proposed scheme allows the transmitter efficient selects and controls array antenna enabling reliable multi-satellite receptions.
Decision Making under Uncertainty for Dynamic Spectrum Access
Due to the scarcity of spectrum, Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) becomes a needed technology to improve the utilization of the electromagnetic spectrum for DoD satellite communication. However, current DSA approaches are developed for terrestrial communications without addressing the unique challenges for SATCOM environments such as error-prone spectrum sensing, high mobility, and large coverage. InfoBeyond proposes novel Efficient and Robust Dynamic Spectrum Access under Uncertainty (ERDSAU) algorithms. ERDSAU models the DSA in the SATCOM environment as a problem of Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP). Partial observation indicates that a LEO satellite is only able to sense a part of spectrum channel. Under partial observation and imperfection awareness of channel, POMDP is an optimization problem that allows a LEO satellite to optimally take action on the spectrum channel. In a collaborative way, ERDSAU tracks each spectrum channel by a probability distribution over the set of possible states that are evaluated on a set of observations and observation probabilities and the underlying Markov decision process, providing high accuracy on decision making. Furthermore, ERDSAU prioritizes the LEO satellites in detecting spectrum holes to improve the resource allocation between multiple satellites. ERDSAU also provides computational efficiency in response to the change of spectrum status.
Our dedicated efforts encompass prototyping, developing, commercializing new and useful solutions to enhance the capabilities of wireless mobile communications (Industry communication systems, sensor networks, satellite, remote sensing, mesh, and cognitive radio networks).