Accessibility statement

Self-Organising Intelligent Wireless Systems

This research is focusing on the development of techniques to enable wireless communication systems to intelligently self-organise in a fully distributed manner. The vision is that large numbers of devices operating with multiple standards should be able to coexist and communicate efficiently in a common environment without prior planning or regulation. In order to achieve this, artificial intelligence techniques are applied to the problems of interference management, medium access control and routing. This work is intended to significantly enhance the flexibility with which wireless devices can be deployed and coexist.

Swarm Intelligence and Distributed Artificial Intelligence is of a particular interest, where simple individual nodes (agents) operating with simple rules show some complex emergent properties when operating together (for example: Bird flocking or ant colonies). Techniques and algorithms used in Swarm Intelligence or Distributed Artificial Intelligence can be used in Wireless Sensor Networks. Certain tasks can be optimised or achieved with very simple nodes by exploiting emergence. Similar techniques would allow emergence of self-organisation in the sensor network.

This project also aims to extend these considerations for practical applications, including how best to employ hardware. From our past experience, both have highlighted otherwise unforeseen issues, factors and design trade-offs. An important objective will be to look at how Quality of Service appropriate to, for example, video, voice and dynamic control over such networks can be assured.

Members

  • Tautvydas Mickus
  • Tim Clarke
  • Paul Mitchell

Funding

  • EPSRC

Dates

  • Start: October 2013

Research