This is an ONLINE ONLY Seminar!
Talk Title: Advancing At-Scale, Real-World Wireless Testbeds for Next Generation Communication Systems
Abstract: Wireless communication systems are transitioning toward open and programmable paradigms to drive innovation and meet the needs of future applications and services. However, the design, development, and prototyping of such systems require comprehensive deployment and integration of hardware and software components as well as rigorous testing in real-world settings, making large-scale outdoor wireless testbeds essential. In this talk, I will discuss the design and development of at-scale, real-world testbeds, in the context of the ARA Wireless Living Lab, and the ways in which the wireless resources are provisioned for users to perform their wireless experiments. In addition, the talk will discuss open challenges in 1) enabling unique resources, such as heterogeneous ARA wireless x-haul, for experiments, 2) maximizing testbed utilization through slicing, 3) scheduling experiments based on specific triggering events, such as specific weather conditions, and 4) provisioning resources in multiple modes, such as containers and bare-metal. It is also important to consider the needs of the evolving Open RAN ecosystem, including modularity, interoperability, and openness, and how the unique capabilities offered by ARA, such as mMIMO and x-haul, can be leveraged to meet both existing and future communication requirements. Solving the above-mentioned system-level challenges will be a value addition to the wireless research community as well as to society in general, which benefits from innovation in the communication domain.
Speaker Bio: Sarath Babu received his Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology in 2021. Prior to his Ph.D., he earned his master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering (Information Security) from National Institute of Technology, Calicut, India, and his bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Mahatma Gandhi University, India. Since 2021, he has been a Research Scientist with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University, USA, and has been co-leading the software working group of the ARA Wireless Living Lab. In addition to ARA, he is involved in projects such as the Open-Source Ecosystem for Broadband Prairie (OPERA), Real-time Liquid Wireless Networking, and Acceleration of Compatibility and Commercialization for Open RAN Deployments (ACCoRD). His research interests include system-level research in the design and building of next-generation networking infrastructures. Specifically, he is interested in wireless networks, Software Defined Networks (SDN), Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs), systems security, Internet of Things (IoT), and complex networks. He is a member of IEEE and ACM and has served on the technical program committees of ACM WiNTECH, IFIP Networking, COMSNETS, and IEEE FNWF.
Zoom: https://iastate.zoom.us/j/92648751871?pwd=fltfwIm2YudnvsXNe9R8p2HyPhr6Gr.1&from=addon