Exploring Cellular Network Performance in The POWDER Platform
Use a remote platform of software-defined radios to learn about realistic wireless network performance, and deploy an algorithm to fairly, efficiently, and dynamically share network resources between human users and IoT devices.
Project description
The National Science Foundation has created POWDER - a platform at the University of Utah to help researchers study wireless network performance. This platform contains several software-defined radios that can communicate with one another wirelessly, over the air, offering a much more realistic approach to performing research on wireless networks when compared to simulation. We are looking to use the POWDER platform to study the coexistence between human users (e.g. cell phones), and Internet of Things (IoT) equipment (e.g. wireless sensors). Human users and IoT devices use different protocols to facilitate communication, which demands us to find ways to fairly, efficiently, and dynamically share network resources (i.e. time and bandwidth) between the two types of users. This process is known as Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS). Overall, the goal of this project is to use the POWDER platform to better understand the performance of each of these types of users and subsequently design and deploy a DSS algorithm, automating the process of dividing network resources between these types of users. More information on the POWDER platform can be found at https://docs.powderwireless.net/.
Project outcome
Deploy a DSS algorithm, comparing its performance on the POWDER platform with other standard approaches and methods.
Project details
| Length of commitment | About a semester; 3-5 months |
| Start time | Summer (May/June) Anytime |
| In-person, remote, or hybrid? | Hybrid Project |
| Level of collaboration | Individual or team |
| Benefits | Academic credit |
| Who is eligible | All undergraduate students who have general coding experience (Python and C++ preferred), Familiarity with Linux. |
Core partners
- Faculty: Dr. Malandra
- Partners: University of UTAH, POWDER platform developers
- Wireless Networks for Smart Systems (WN4SS) Lab
Project mentor
Filippo Malandra
Assistant Professor of Research
Electrical Engineering
Phone: (716) 645-1151
Email: filippom@buffalo.edu
Start the project
- Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
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Preparation activities
Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase.
Send an email to the faculty to express your interest and apply for this opportunity. Please share your resume and course transcripts. You will then be contacted and an initial meeting will be set up.
Keywords
Wireless Networks, Communication, LTE, 5G, IoT, Internet, Cellular Networks, Software-Defined Radios, Reinforcement Learning