Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Wireless networks are expected to provide unlimited connectivity to a growing number of heterogeneous devices. Future wireless networks (beyond fifth-generation (5G)) will accomplish this in 3D space by integrating terrestrial and aerial networks. However, effective resource management in future wireless networks is a challenge because of massive resource-constrained devices, diverse quality-of-service (QoS) requirements, and high density of heterogeneous devices. Traditional resource management schemes are unable to cope with the complexity of these challenges. Despite significant research efforts, a sophisticated technical approach to support massive connectivity through sustainable terrestrial and aerial networks has not yet been developed. The long-term goal of my research program is to develop efficient and low-complexity resource management schemes to tackle the challenges of seamless connectivity of heterogeneous devices anytime and anywhere. The short-term objectives in the next five years are to develop resource management schemes for massive connectivity in future terrestrial networks, aerial networks, and self-sustainable networks (SSNs) while considering different objectives and constraints, including network scalability, reliability, latency, efficiency (spectral usage and energy consumption), and complexity. To achieve short-term objectives, the research program is composed of three themes that will enable impactful training of six graduate (MSc) and six undergraduate Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP). 1. Develop Resource Management Strategies in Future Terrestrial Networks: We will develop predictive and context-aware resource management schemes for massive connectivity of heterogeneous devices in terrestrial networks to deal with varying QoS requirements. 2. Investigate Placement and Resource Management Schemes in Future Aerial Networks: On-demand deployment of aerial base stations can provide dynamic and flexible networks, which leads to more complex interference management and requires holistic resource management. We will investigate low-complexity techniques for the mobile aerial networks to meet changing requirements of dense heterogeneous devices. 3. Enable Proactive Schemes for Self-Sustaining Terrestrial and Aerial Networks: SSNs can intelligently adapt radio parameters and sustain their resource usage and management (by power transfer, exploiting spectrum). We will develop proactive schemes to serve massive heterogeneous devices in terrestrial and aerial SSNs autonomously. The proposed research will advance knowledge in resource management for the massive connectivity of heterogeneous devices and lead to the development of robust networks for practical applications in dynamic settings. Moreover, the proposed research will benefit users with effective connectivity in dense environments. The program will train students with fundamental knowledge and background in research and development in wireless networks.