Next Generation Wireless Systems

Next Generation Wireless Systems

Researchers at the University of Florida, North Carolina State University and State University of New York (SUNY) Stony Brook are collaborating to create novel frameworks to enable 5G/6G network interoperability, under a project award from the National Science Foundation.

The main contribution of the project is the design and implementation of a novel spectrum orchestrating framework, referred to as MAC-on-MAC (MoM), such that MAC solutions can be viewed in a panoramic way to coordinate spectrum access through a `centralized’ control plane. This design approach is fundamentally different from single-system single-layer solutions. An SDN-like flow-based approach is being designed for layer 2 to handle access and resource requests from both upper and lower layers, for both single-RAT-assigned user frames and multi-RAT MoM controller processed frames.

MAC-on-MAC: A Spectrum Orchestrating Control Plane for Coexisting Wireless Systems

Project Website

Project Sponsor:National Science Foundation
Collaborative Research Award #’s:
2030122, 2030134, and 2030063

Mac-on-Mac Architecture

 

Personnel:
Janise McNair, University of Florida, Software-defined MAC control
Yong-Kyu Yoon, University of Florida, Bio-inspired spectrum sensing
Collaborators:
Wenye Wang, North Carolina State University, Spectrum Mapping
Xin Wang, State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook, Spectrum Monitoring

Students:
UF: Pavan Mangipudi, Sharon Boamah, Suk-il Choi, Peyman Pahlavan


Project Goal:
Wireless systems with different radio access technologies (RATs) are becoming packed tightly in the space of radio spectrum. The carrier frequency and channel bandwidth of these systems, however, are drastically different across the spectrum domain, e.g., the IEEE 802.11 family that operates at 900 MHz, 2.4/5 GHz, and 60 GHz (mm-wave) bands, the 3GPP 5G family that spans 6-100 GHz, and more. This project mitigates the incoherent and disassociated frequency bands of the multi-RAT coexisting environments by exploiting the potential of cross-layer design from the circuits of transmitter and receiver, to the MAC layer with an innovative MAC-on-MAC spectrum control plane. This project has four major thrusts: (i) design of innovative transmitter and receiver techniques for energy-efficient multi-band spectrum monitoring; (ii) using custom bio-inspired spectrum sensors to create a multi-band sensing solution; (ii) methods to acquire complete spectrum occupancy information with a limited number of measurements; (iii) algorithms for obtaining a sorted ranking of paths that map a data flow to a range of spectrum slips; and (iv) creating MAC-Flow, a flow based network protocol that is capable of handling networking demands from both upper and lower layer, for both traditional user frames and for MAC-on-MAC controller processed frames.

Publications
  • Submitted
    1. P. Mangipudi, E. Lichtenfels Riccio, S. Boamah, and J. McNair (2022). SDN enabled Mobility Management in Heterogeneous 5G networks: A Survey.
    2. A. Starke, Z. Nie and J. McNair (2021). Survey of Next Generation SDN Controller Architectures for Security and QoS in Heterogeneous Systems.
  • To Appear
    1. A. del Aguila, J. Valdez, S. B. Mandavilli, and J. McNair, “Remote and Rural Connectivity via Multi-tier Systems through SDN-Managed Drone Networks,” to appear in IEEE Military Communications Conference, December 2022.
  • Published
    1. S. Choi and Y.K. Yoon, “Compact frequency reconfigurable array antenna based on diagonally placed meander-line decouplers and PIN diodes for multi-range wireless communications,” accepted to 2022 IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), San Diego, California, June 2022.
  • Invited Talks
    1. J. McNair. Invited speaker. Talk title: “Securing the Insecure: Developing Software-Defined Network Frameworks for Securing Wireless Sensing IoT Applications,” IEEE Internet of Things (IoT) Vertical and Topical Summit held in conjunction with IEEE Radio & Wireless Week, January 13, 2021.
    2. J. McNair. Invited panelist. Panel title: The Future of Integrated Wireless Sensors Systems and Wireless Networks and Summit. IEEE Internet of Things (IoT) Vertical and Topical Summit held with IEEE Radio & Wireless Week, January 16, 2021.
    3. J. McNair, Invited Panelist, “Distinguished Expert Panel: Edge Computing towards Beyond 5G / 6G Era: Frontiers, Challenges and Platforms,” IEEE International Conference on Network Softwarization, hosted in Tokyo, Japan, July 1, 2021.
    4. J. McNair, Invited Panelist, “Leadership in 5G Technologies: What’s at Stake for Florida and the US?” Bob Graham Center for Public Service, October 6, 2021. (Other speakers: Honorable Brendan Carr of the Federal Communications Commission, UF President Fuchs).
  • Educational Activities
    1. 2022 Student Research Advising
      Supervised
    2. 2021 Student Research Advising
      Supervised 6 undergraduate students (3 URM students), 1 undergraduate honors thesis, 1 international undergraduate thesis, 1 REU student
      Supervised 4 graduate students (2 URM students), 3 PhD students, 1 international MS project
    3. Y.K. Yoon and J. McNair participate in the University of Florida Scholars Program to offer research expereinces to undergraduate students
    4. 2021 Courses Taught
      Spring 2021, Spring 2023: Wireless and Mobile Networks(McNair), Semiconductor Device Fabrication Laboratory (Yoon)
      Summer 2021, Summer 2022: Computer Communications (McNair),
      Fall 2021, Fall 2022: Internet of Things (McNair), Introduction to RF Circuits (Yoon), Semiconductor Device Fabrication Laboratory
  • Outreach Activities
    1. Student Activities:
      Y.K. Yoon is faculty advisor for UF Korean Student Association (KSA)J and is a mentor in the UF University Minority Mentor Program (UMMP)
      McNair is faculty advisor for African-American, African, and African Diaspora students in ECE (A3ECE)
    2. Administrative Activities
      J. McNair is the committee chair for the ECE Committee on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access