Wireless technology has enormous potential to change the way people and things communicate. Future wireless networks will allow people on the move to communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time, using a range of multimedia services. Wireless communications will also enable a new class of intelligent home electronics that can interact with each other and with the Internet. A wireless communications infrastructure is needed for automated highways and for sensor networks, and wireless video will support applications such as distance learning and remote medicine.
Fortunately for us researchers, there are many technical challenges that must be met in order to make this vision a reality. These challenges transcend all levels of the overall system design, including hardware, communication link design, and networking. In addition, synergies between the hardware, link, and network designs must be exploited in order to meet the demanding performance requirements of these future systems.
The Wireless Systems Lab (WSL) investigates broad areas of wireless system design to meet these technical challenges. Specific research areas within the lab include