The central theme of this project is to investigate methodologies and theories to enhance throughput, delay, and fairness of cognitive radio networks via integrated dynamic spectrum access. The research will develop new methods to: 1) Extend spectrum sensing beyond just the presence and absence of the primary spectrum users' activities at certain spectrum bands/channels, but also their locations and transmit powers 2) Predict the primary spectrum user's activity and its interval using game theoretic and statistical learning approaches 3) Perform delay-aware spectrum management with a very comprehensive delay model considering all the factors that may affect the delivery latency of a packet, including the spectrum sensing delay, the transmission delay, the queuing delay, and the spectrum negotiation and scheduling delay 4) Share spectrum in a fair manner considering the tradeoff between fairness and throughput 5) Propose a delay-aware fair routing protocol for throughput optimization which jointly considers throughput, delay, and fairness along with dynamic spectrum management.
The project's focus on dynamic spectrum access is of high national interest and can create significant impact on spectral usage policies and related industries in the telecommunication and information technology sectors. The project will also encourage and include under-represented and minority students to be part of this activity, while extending education and outreach plans to undergraduates and K-12 students.
