Grand Challenges in Wireless

1
Grand Challenges in Wireless

• Ness B. Shroff
• Center for Wireless Systems and Applications
  (CWSA) School of ECE, Purdue University
• E-mail shroff_at_ecn.purdue.edu
• URL http//www.ece.purdue.edu/shroff

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Gazing into a Crystal Ball
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Distinguished Panelists

• Ian Akyildiz (Georgia Tech)
• Ken Byers Distinguished Chair, School of ECE
• Fellow of the IEEE, ACM many other awards
• Research Sensor/Wireless Networks,
  Inter-Planetary Internet
• Steve Gillig (Motorola Labs)
• Director, Communications Tech., Research Labs
• Holds several patents and publications in
  wireless
• Leads research teams in software defined radio,
  cognitive radio, and future broadband wireless
  applications
• Junyi Li (Flarion)
• Founding Member Senior director of Technology
• More than 60 patents in PHY, MAC, and NET layers
• Inventor of Flash-OFDM technology

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Questions (Cellular vs. WLANs)

• What is the future of 3G/4G wireless networking
  versus WLANs?
• Will these technologies coexist or will one of
  them dominate?
• Do you see another technology on the horizon that
  has the potential to dominate?

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Questions (Value of Research)

• What are the most important research challenges
  facing wireless?
• What is the role of experimental, theoretical,
  and application oriented research?
• Are there areas of wireless research that have
  the potential to yield the most benefit (e.g.,
  sensor networks, multi-hop ad-hoc networks,
  etc.)?
• Are there areas that researchers should not
  bother focusing on?

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Questions (Global Economics)

• Can current economic models (free equipment, very
  inexpensive service) allow wireless to continue
  to sustain the growth that it has seen thus far?
• Will other countries take over the lead in the
  research, development, and deployment of next
  generation of wireless services or will the U.S.
  continue to be a major world player?

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Format

• Moderator (10--15 minutes)
• Panelists present for 15 minutes each
• Order of Presentation
• Ian Akyildiz
• Steve Gillig
• Junyi Li
• Open floor for questions

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Panel Summary

• Sensors
• Cheap sensors
• Reusability
• Cross-Layer
• One Size does not fit all custom made technology
• Mathematical foundation (analytical
  characterization)
• Map system characteristics to protocol design
• Actuators or actors that act on sensors
• Protocol developments for real-time requirements

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Summary

• Wireless Mesh Networks
• Allow mesh style multihop on existing wireless
  technology
• Users become relay points (reuse)
• Increase redundancy

10
Summary

• Software Design Radio and Cognitive Radio Vision
• Reconfigurability
• Product friendly technology
• Co-existence
• Seamless Mobility continuity of experience, not
  just bits
• Seamless sensing sensing from people to people
  and things to things is going to be a big thing.
• All the time communications as well as real-time
  communications
• Cooperative systems
• MIMO systems
• Flexible power-efficient protocols

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Summary

• Future
• User centric content
• Applications

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Summary

• Challenge in WLANs
• Users perspective
• Full Mobility
• Always-on connectivity
• Predictable QoS throughput serving area
• Capacity for a given level of quality
• Operators perspective
• Toll quality voice and instant on voice
• Significnat profitability in a high usage flat
  fee environment
• WiFi falls short for ubiquity, mobility, and
  competitiveness

13
Summary

• Applications
• Online gaming streaming, push-to-talk, etc.
• Most important future applications are unknown?
• Economics
• Pricing how to induce higher network utilization
  and generate more revenue
• QoS when does it matter. Links to pricing?
• Devices
• Increase battery life without sacficing
  performance.

14
Summary

• MIMO
• How to add multiple antennas for small mobile
  devices?
• Uplink interference management
• Scheduling
• Online gaming streaming, push-to-talk, etc.
• Most important future applications are unknown?
• Economics
• Pricing how to induce higher network utilization
  and generate more revenue
• QoS when does it matter. Links to pricing?
• Devices
• Increase battery life without sacficing
  performance.