Collaborative Research: CIRC: Planning-C: O-Milli-RAN - An O-RAN-compliant, Softwarized mmWave Radio Stack with Flexible PHY and MAC

This planning project will engage the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) community on millimeter-wave (mmWave) and advanced wireless research to gather feedback and gauge support for a new research infrastructure that introduces the principles of open, disaggregated, and “softwarized” radio access networks to mmWave systems. This planning project will analyze research priorities, platforms, and interfaces to inform the development of an experimental research infrastructure combining flexible radio capabilities and control loops based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) within mmWave systems. The intent is to enable adaptive wireless experimentation over high-frequency systems, offering new opportunities for creating, training, evaluating, and improving mmWave systems on realistic, over-the-air scenarios. The goal of this planning effort is to (1) understand the needs of the CISE community; (2) scope enabling technologies and architectural building blocks; and (3) lay out the design for an adaptive mmWave system that would spur experimental research and development exploring high-frequency bands for 6G and beyond. This planning project will provide an initial assessment of the need and potential for an adaptive mmWave research infrastructure, adopting the principles of open and softwarized radio access networks to mmWave systems. The planning activities involve (1) mapping and interviewing relevant stakeholders, including members and officers of the O-RAN Alliance, the Next G Alliance, and PAWR (Platform for Advanced Wireless Research) facilities; (2) conducting community surveys across academic, industry, and government participants to understand their research priorities, needs, and pain points; and (3) visiting existing wireless testbeds to gather insights into their capabilities and limitations, as well as to identify enabling technologies and architectural building blocks. This project will co-design the research vision and infrastructure architecture with the CISE research community and contribute back by disseminating its findings, potential use cases, and designs to help support and motivate additional research and important standardization and regulatory decisions related to high-frequency bands for 6G and beyond. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.