Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research Testing Platforms

PAWR Testing Platforms

POWDER-RENEW: Platform for Open Wireless Data-driven Experimental Research with Massive Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) Capabilities—Salt Lake City, Utah

Automatic spectrum sharing and massive multi-input multi-output

PAWR’s first testbed, POWDER-RENEW covers 2.3 square miles of the University of Utah campus, 1.2 square miles of downtown Salt Lake City and a two-mile corridor in between, reaching a potential population of 40,000 people. It is being used to develop an automatic spectrum sharing management system to share the electromagnetic spectrum between experimental systems and existing users, and between multiple experimental systems. It is also developing a highly programmable and flexible massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) platform. MIMO technology uses large arrays of antennas to improve coverage and throughput, particularly in millimeter-wave frequencies.

COSMOS: Cloud Enhanced Open Software Defined Mobile Wireless Testbed for City-Scale Deployment—West Harlem, New York

Millimeter wave radio communications and dynamic optical switching

Covering 1 square mile of New York City’s West Harlem neighborhood, COSMOS enables experimentation in the sub-6 GHz bands and in the millimeter wave frequency bands in a densely populated, urban setting. It focuses on ultra-high-bandwidth and low-latency wireless communications, with tightly coupled edge computing—a type of cloud computing enabling data processing at the edge of the network. It also tests dynamic optical switching technologies. The platform is an ideal environment to study the cyber-physical systems necessary for smart city technology.

AERPAW: Aerial Experimentation and Research Platform for Advanced Wireless—Raleigh, North Carolina

Unmanned aerial vehicles and mobility

North Carolina’s Research Triangle region is home to AERPAW, a first-of-its-kind aerial wireless experimentation platform built to accelerate the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles into the national airspace, and to enable new advanced wireless features for unmanned aerial system platforms, such as flying base stations for wireless connectivity. For example, a custom-built drone was equipped with a camera and local compute capacity to monitor cattle in a remote field for information on grazing patterns, with footage streamed over a 5G connection. AERPAW is the first platform nationally to combine 5G research with drones.

ARA: Wireless Living Lab for Smart and Connected Rural Communities—Ames, Iowa

Rural broadband and agriculture technology

Centered in Ames, Iowa, and spanning more than 37 miles, is ARA, the fourth PAWR platform. Currently under development, ARA will feature a wide range of wireless technologies as well as a deeply programmable infrastructure including services that directly benefit precision agriculture in both crop and livestock farms. ARA’s combination of wireless access networks, long-distance, high-throughput links and low-earth-orbit satellite networks will allow field-testing and research of new wireless technologies, while also providing experimental broadband access to homes, schools, and offices.