Network Of Excellence in
Wireless Communications
Prepared: 24 April 2003
Network of Excellence
Partners: Istituto Superiore Mario Boella, National Kapodistrian University of Athens - Institute of Accelerating Systems and Applications, University of Thessaly, Intracom, Technion, Bilkent University, ISIK University, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Telecommunications Technological Centre of Catalonia, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Telefónica, University of Catania., University of Pisa, Politecnico di Torino - CERCOM, I3P Politecnico, ST Microelectronics, Groupe des Ecoles de Télécommunications, SUPELEC, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Cooperative Lab. “Telecommunications for Space and Aeronautics” (TeSA), France Télécom, Philips France, Thales Communications, Motorola Labs - France, TurboConcept, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Elektrobit, Munich University of Technology (TUM), Institute of Communications Engineering (LNT), RWTH of Aachen, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, German Aerospace Center - DLR, IMST GmbH, Vodafone, Vienna Telecommunications Research Centre, Budapest University, Poznan University of Technology, Ghent University., Université Catholique de Louvain, IMEC, European Space Agency, Aalborg University, Chalmers University of Technology, Karlstad University, Uppsala University, Lund University, Ericsson, University of Oulu, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University of Bergen, Nera Research, University of Southampton, University of Surrey, University of Edinburgh, Central Research Labs Ltd.
Coordinator
Prof. Sergio Benedetto
Istituto Superiore Mario Boella
Fax: +39 011 5645909
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 2
Proposal summary page 5
Proposal Abstract 5
B0. Introduction 6
B0.1 Preliminary remarks 6
B0.2 The resources required 7
B0.3 The resources available 7
B0.4 The choice 7
B0.5 The outcome 7
B1. NEWCOM Objectives 8
B1.1 Introduction 8
B1.2 NEWCOM strategic objectives and targets 8
B1.3 NEWCOM plan 8
B1.3.1 Research plan 9
B1.3.2 Dissemination plan 10
B1.3.3 Exploitation plan 10
B2. Relevance to the objectives of the IST priority 18
B2.1 Introduction 18
B2.2 Scientific Relevance 18
B2.3 Technical Relevance 18
B2.4 Socio-economic Relevance 19
B3. POTENTIAL IMPACT 21
B3.1 NEWCOM’s potential contributions to standardization efforts 21
B3.2 Europe's need for cohesion and coordination 22
B3.3. NEWCOM’s contribution to the strengthening of the European position in wireless communications 22
B3.4 Experience of NEWCOM partners in collaborative programmes 23
B3.5 Summary and conclusions 24
B4. Degree of Integration and the joint programme of activities 25
B4.1 Integrating Activities 25
B.4.2 Program for Jointly Executed Research Activities 28
Description of Departments 29
Department 1: Analysis and Design of Algorithms for Signal Processing at Large in Wireless Systems 29
D1.1 Introduction 29
D1.2 Research activities 30
D1.3 Integration 33
Deparment 2: MIMO Radio Channel Modelling for Design Optimisation and Performance Assessment of Next Generation Communication Systems 34
D2.1 Introduction 34
D2.2 Research activities 34
D2.3 Integration 36
Department 3: Design, Modeling and Experimental Characterisation of RF and Microwave Devices and Subsystems 36
D3.1 Introduction 36
D3.2 Research activities 36
D3.3 Integration 38
DEPARTMENT 4: Analysis, Design and Implementation of Digital Architectures and Circuits 38
D4.1 Introduction 38
D4.2 Research activities 38
D4.3 Integration 40
Department 5: Source Coding and Reliable Delivery of Multimedia Contents 41
D5.1 Introduction 41
D5.2 Research activities 41
D5.3 Integration activities 42
Department 6: Protocols and Architectures, and Traffic Modeling for (Reconfigurable/ Adaptive) Wireless Networks 43
D6.1 Introduction 43
D6.2 Research activities 43
D6.3 Integration 44
Department 7: QoS Provision in Wireless Networks: Radio Resource Management, Mobility, and Security 45
D7.1 Introduction 45
D7.2 Research activities 45
D7.3 Integration 47
Description of Projects 48
pROJECT A. Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks 48
PA.1 Introduction 48
PA.2 Research activities 48
PA.3 Integration 49
pROJECT b. Ultra-wide Band Communication Systems 50
PB.1 Introduction 50
PB.2 Research activities 51
PB.3 Integration 51
pROJECT C. Functional Design Aspects of Future Generation Wireless Systems 51
PC.1 Introduction 51
PC.2 Research activities 52
PC.3 Integration 53
project D. Reconfigurable Radio for Interoperable Transceivers 54
PD.1 Introduction 54
PD.2 Research activities 54
PD.3 Integration 55
PROJECT E. Cross Layer Optimisation 55
PE.1 Introduction 55
PE.2 Research activities 56
PE.3 Integration 56
B4.3 Activities to spread excellence 57
B4.4 Management Activities 59
B5. Description of the network and the excellence of the participants 62
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens 65
(Institute of Accelerating Systems and Applications) 65
Telecommunications Technological Centre of Catalonia (CTTC) 68
B5.1 Curricula vitae of Advisory Board members 84
B.5.2 New participants 86
B.5.3 Other countries 86
B6. Quality OF INTEGRATION 87
B6.1 General Remarks 87
B6.2 Indicators of Integration 87
B6.3 Quantitative indicators of integration produced by NEWCOM 87
B6.4 Qualitative indicators of integration produced by NEWCOM 88
B6.5 Commitment of the partners 89
B7 Organisation and management 90
B7.1 Introduction 90
B7.2 Governing bodies 91
B7.3 Procedures 93
B7.4 Quality Control and Reporting 94
B7.5 Knowledge and IPR management 94
B7.6 NEWCOM Website 95
B7.7 Sustainability of the network after the end of EU funding 95
B7.8 Handling of EC funds 95
B7.9 CVs of key ISMB personnel 95
B8. Joint Programme of Activities – First 18 months 97
B8.1 Integration Activities 97
B8.2 Joint research activities 99
NEWCOM Departments 99
B8.3 Activities to Spread Excellence 125
B8.4 Management Activities 127
B9. Other IssuES 128
B.10 GENDER ISSUES 129
B.10.1. Gender Action Plan 130
B.10.2. Specific Gender Issues in NEWCOM 130
Appendix I: List of Activities (as separate document)
Appendix II: Work Package Forms (as separate document)
Appendix III: Gantt Chart of all Work Packages (as separate document)
Appendix IV: Letters of Intent (as separate document)
Proposal summary page
Proposal Full Title
Network of Excellence
in Wireless COMmunications
Proposal acronym: NEWCOM
Strategic Objective Addressed
Mobile and Wireless Systems Beyond 3G
Proposal Abstract
The NEWCOM (Network of Excellence in Wireless COMmunications) proposal aims at creating a European network that links in a cooperative way a large number of leading research groups addressing the Strategic Objective “Mobile and wireless systems beyond 3G”, a frontier research area of the Priority Thematic Area of IST.
The main objectives of NEWCOM are the following:
· Strengthening, development and integration of research in the field
· Empowerment of groups and individuals via dissemination activities
· Effective use of produced knowledge via exploitation-commercialisation strategies.
To achieve those objectives, NEWCOM has created an elaborate plan of initiatives which revolve around the key notion of a Virtual Knowledge Centre: in other words, NEWCOM will effectively act as a distributed (decentralised) university, organised in a matrix fashion. The columns represent the seven NEWCOM (Disciplinary) Departments, characterised by basic research on well-established topics and grouping leading European researchers active in those topics. The rows represent NEWCOM Projects, identified by important, “hot” problems whose solution requires multidisciplinary skills drawn from NEWCOM Departments and aggregated in a meaningful way to promote the problem solution.
NEWCOM’s Joint Programme of Activities involves researcher exchanges, organisation of workshops and conferences, the preparation of graduate courses coordinated with the PhD programs of the academic partners to be diffused via NEWCOM high-speed network, the broad dissemination of scientific results, the promotion of entrepreneurship among its researchers, by setting up a policy of IPR encouragement and their exploitation through the creation of start-ups inside its distributed campus.
The “glue” that holds this construct together are the tools of Integration, the unifying thread making all objectives and goals a feasible vision, and Management, that maintains a clear separation, reflected in the foreseen governing bodies, between “administrative” and “scientific” tasks.
NEWCOM objectives are scientifically and socio-economically relevant to the Information Society Technologies (IST) 2003-2004 Work Programme issued by the European Commission, with particular reference to the focuses and outcomes listed in its Section 2.3.1.4 “Mobile and Wireless Systems beyond 3G”.
B0. Introduction
B0.1 Preliminary remarks
A reading of recent technological history seems to indicate that mobile communication systems create a new “generation” (that is, technological version) roughly every 10 years. First-generation analogue systems were introduced in the early 1980’s, then second-generation digital came in the early nineties with Europe-originating Groupe Speciale Mobile (GSM) as the clear winner, and now third-generation Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is slowly unfolding all over the world. Intensive conceptual and research work toward the definition of a future (fourth-generation) system started some time ago. However, calling it a “4-G” system does not seem quite appropriate and agreed upon, therefore different terminology has been used, such as “Wireless World” (see the Book of Visions 2001 prepared by the Wireless World Research Forum), or “Systems beyond 3G”, as in the VI Framework Information Society Technologies (IST) 2003-2004 Programme issued by the European Commission. The reason for this stems from several facts:
- The change of business focus from 2G to 2.5-3G systems, which shifted from voice services to multimedia communication services over the Internet, thus requiring much higher transfer rates and better visual representation.
- The paradigm shift brought about by the rapid (and, as usual, unexpected) diffusion of high-speed wireless Local Area Networks (LAN) that is apparently competing with the successful deployment and business rationale of 3Gcellular networks.
- The yearning to communicate freely and flexibly, inspired by the widespread use of the wired Internet, which points to a structure of multi-layered ad hoc networks, as opposed to a rigid cellular architecture.
Yet, from this rather foggy landscape, a few clear paths are likely to emerge soon:
a) The core network, still constrained in 3G systems by the legacy of 2G networks, will evolve toward a TCP/IP-based core network, serving a wireless Internet radio access based on packet switching for all services, including voice.
b) The frequency bands to be occupied will most likely move above 5 GHz, with the consequence of requiring a nano-cell (or even pico-cell) structure. This, in turn, will make it difficult, if not impossible, to design the network on the basis of the standard cellular concept to provide continent-wide coverage.
c) The network will evolve towards an ad-hoc wireless network, where base stations are installed where they are needed, and connected to each other in a self-configuring way to transfer TCP-IP traffic, similarly to the present Internet wired architecture; the resulting structure would then be a distribution of high-speed wireless LANs serving local hot spots (airports, shopping centers, etc.), inter-connected by a backbone cellular network overlaying them.
The picture outlined above, which is nowadays widely accepted (with lots of subtle distinctions) as the prevailing paradigm for “beyond 3G” systems, requires a deep and innovative research effort from the scientific community, in order for the latter to successfully solve problems such as: the inter-technology mobility management between 3G and ad hoc wireless LANs, the coexistence of a variety of traffic/services with different and sometimes conflicting Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, new multiple-access techniques in a hostile environment like a channel severely affected by frequency selective fading, the quest for higher data rates also in the overlay cellular system, scaling with those feasible in a wireless LAN environment and permitting seamless handover with the same degree of service to the user, the cross-layer optimisation of physical coding/modulation schemes with the medium access control (MAC) protocols to conform with fully packetised transmission as well as the TCP/IP rules of the core network, and the like.
The proposal of NEWCOM (Network of Excellence in Wireless COMmunication) addresses the complicated, stimulating environment outlined above, imbued with the ambition to provide a significant and quantifiable contribution to European leadership in the field of wireless communications. The network we propose is a fairly large one, and we are cognisant of the difficult challenges involved in its successful management and overall direction. Its size, however, has been the end result of an extensive process of evaluation of various alternatives undertaken by the “fathers” of this proposed endeavour. This rationale is sketched here to aid in the evaluation of the proposal.
B0.2 The resources required
The scientific resources required to face the challenges of the design of future wireless (and mobile) systems must be very broad and interdisciplinary, spanning the implementation of hardware/software devices and subsystems, expertise in the design of signal processing algorithms that deal with various sub-systems like modulation, channel coding, diversity and multi-input multi-output antennas, beam-forming algorithms, their performance and complexity optimisation, the design of multi-access strategies and MAC protocols, multimedia source coding and its interaction with channel coding, and higher-layer protocols for safe and efficient content delivery, to name a representative sample. The systems and physical networks that this proposal addresses are notoriously complex and elaborate, and the size both of this proposal and the (human) network it outlines inevitably mirror this reality.
B0.3 The resources available
In all of the above required expertise, European universities, research centers and industries offer excellent research groups with world-wide visibility, albeit in a dispersed fashion; that is, they are spread across Europe, and none of them can offer true research excellence in more than a few of the required fields. Having identified highly experienced and effective research groups covering all requisite expertise, an identification based on personal knowledge and acquaintance with international conferences, journals, and societies, we were facing two alternatives: the first suggested splitting the large group into smaller subsets, under criteria of more narrow and “homogeneous” interests, and thus to propose a few NoEs on different aspects of the wireless communication world. The second, instead, pointed to a large NoE, grouping all expertise under one umbrella so as to exploit inter-disciplinary cross-pollination and “knowledge-of-scale”.
B0.4 The choice
The first solution certainly facilitates the design and management of activities, but then, since the problems to solve are inherently “broadband” and multi-faceted, it would simply shift the coordination/ integration problems to a higher stratum. This would, in turn, make things more difficult since different NoE’s are not meant, and might not plan, to collaborate toward the solution of problems lying above and beyond the activities and objectives defined in their individual proposals.
Thus, we opted for the second solution, with a clear understanding of its inherent difficulties, but determined to face them, and to use as a proof-of-concept the process of preparing the present proposal. In these challenging times, we have bet on a bold and ambitious step.