Wireless Networking and the Industries of the Future�Convergence and Cross-Disciplinary Research�

Thyaga Nandagopal

Deputy Division Director,

Division of Computing and Communication Foundations

CISE, NSF

July 13, 2020

Then …

• 25 years ago

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… and now

• Advanced Wireless networks are the enabler
• WiFi, Bluetooth
• 3G 🡪 4G 🡪 and (upcoming) 5G
• Many innovations powered by academic research

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Current Status of Wireless Networking R&D

• Focus on 5G
• New codes, new/more spectrum bands, sharing, virtualization
• New sensing techniques
• Driven by backscatter
• Gesture sensing, Material detection, Vital signs monitoring, Moisture detection
• New application areas
• Agriculture, Underwater, Space Comms (i.e., extra-terrestrial), Intra-Body
• Cognition
• Wireless Power Transfer
• New PHY techniques
• Not many (e.g., Orbital Angular Momentum Multiplexing)

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Industries of the Future (IotF)

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Artificial

Intelligence

Advanced Manufacturing

Advanced Wireless

Examples of ties to IotF Sectors

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What are the Building Blocks and Why?

• Electromagnetic Spectrum
• 300 MHz to 400 GHz + optical
• Use more spectrum
• some with conflicting uses
• Better electronics
• Cooperative spectrum sharing
• Modern channel models
• Increased spectrum efficiency (higher data-speeds/Hz)
• Signal processing techniques
• Interference cancellation algorithms
• Protocols

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• Switching from hardware-heavy to software-heavy network
• Software-defined functions
• Programmability during operations to allow dynamic updates
• Integration of wired and wireless networks
• Software-defined waveforms
• Increased application of AI/ML
• Power-efficient systems
• Circuits, protocols, systems
• Biological circuit designs

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Pervading, yet ignored, R&D Thrust

• Security and Privacy
• Very much in the news – yet infrequently taught at the systems-level in undergrad or graduate curricula
• 5G networks will be the first system used by billions, be ‘mission-critical’ and yet, insecure-by-design.
• Chip design, Software Verification, Protocol Validation, Human factors integration
• Secure-by-design should be default mode of operation
• Need to make performance trade-offs a thing of the past
• Zero-Trust Design Architecture
• Understanding of information (versus data) in wireless is essential

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NSF Investments in Advanced Wireless

• On average, $100M annually
• Foundational R&D
• Core research programs (CISE, ENG)
• Cross-Disciplinary Programs
• Spectrum Innovation Initiative
• Partnerships (DARPA, Intel, PAWR Industry Consortium)
• Testing infrastructure
• Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (https://beyond5g.org)
• National Radio Dynamic Zone
• Education and Workforce Development
• National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research
• Interagency R&D Coordination

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Cross-disciplinary Connections Across NSF

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BIO

Synthetic Biology/

NEON/

Biosphere Monitoring

SBE

Spectrum Auctions/

Game Theory/Affordability

of Broadband/Security and

Human Factors

ENG

Wireless

Devices/

Circuits

MPS

Astronomy/

Quantum Communications/

Metamaterial Antennas

EHR

Workforce

Development

GEO

Cubesats/

Earth Sensing

CISE

Wireless Systems/Networking/

Theory/Algorithms/Software/

Security/CyberPhysical Systems/ Biological Computing

NSF-wide ESM Coordination Group

NSF Spectrum Innovation Initiative� - convergent research in spectrum

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(NSF-wide effort: See NSF 20-081)

I. National Radio Dynamic Zone (NSF 20-079)

II. National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research (NSF 20-557)

III. Spectrum Research Integrative Activities (NSF 20-537)

IV. Education and Workforce Development

Advanced Wireless Testbeds

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Rural Wireless Broadband Platform: expected announcement by end of 2020

NSF-Cloud

In 2045 …

• A future that we cannot see today, but here is an attempt…
• Cognitive networks that do not need humans to operate
• AI-driven design on end-to-end basis
• Wireless is the same as ‘electricity’
• Taken for granted – available anytime, anywhere, anyhow
• Basic substrate of our existence – connects everything together
• Absence can cause societal upheavals
• Humans evolve
• Communicating through wireless brain implants – no speech, no hands
• Machine-augmented information-processing and storage

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Learn More

• https://www.nsf.gov/cise/advancedwireless/ - Core Research

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• https://nsf.gov/mps/oma/spectrum_innovation_initiative.jsp – Spectrum Innovation Initiative

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• https://advancedwireless.org/ - PAWR Testbed Program

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• Contact: Thyaga Nandagopal https://www.nsf.gov/staff/staff_bio.jsp?lan=tnandago

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