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Center Overview
The Center for Fiber-Wireless Integration and Networking (FiWIN) for Heterogeneous Mobile Data Communications researches telecommunications technologies to increase mobile wireless communication bandwidth, quality of service, and distribution over long and short distances.
FiWIN conducts radio-over-fiber research and investigates technologies essential to mobile 5G access. Started in 2006, FiWIN seeks to meet the projected needs of the telecommunications industry, and ultimately, the public. FiWIN envisions multiband wireless radio frequency services being generated and carried optically over existing optical fibers through an integrated optical and wireless network that includes signal transmission, network design, control, and management. Results of the research will be disseminated among industrial members to foster the development of a competitive, widely available, high-performance, and secure communication infrastructure for advanced, high-performance mobile communication.
Center Personnel
Shiwen Mao
Center Staff
+1 334 844 4438
smao@auburn.edu
Gee-Kung Chang
Center Staff
+1 404 894 4819
gkchang@ece.gatech.edu
Research Focus
- Heterogeneous communications.
- Mobile networking.
- Networking.
- Optical networks.
Awards
The Fiber-Wireless Integration and Networking (FiWIN) Center for Heterogeneous Mobile Data Communications is an NSF Industry & University Cooperative Research Program (I/UCRC) center led by Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT). Based on recognized research leadership and accumulated expertise in integrated fiber-wireless access technologies, FiWIN is favorably positioned to explore emerging access network architectures, functional designs of network elements, and optimizing system interfaces and operations for next generation mobile communication systems. FiWIN has successfully completed two years in operation, while this project is to establish a new addition of Auburn University (AU) as a Member Site.
The addition of AU broadens both technical expertise and, inevitably, new outcomes that can only be attributed to the "synergy" between GIT and AU. The FiWIN Center will continue to grow in visionary leadership, dedicated and well-rounded students, and the expanded interdisciplinary expertise. AU will contribute supplementary expertise focusing on: i) Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) design and future generation wireless systems, ii) innovative wireless applications such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and iii) the AU Radio-frequency identification (RFID) Laboratory will contribute to Internet of Things (IoT) research with applications to storage, retail, and supply chain management.
This project is part of a broad and ambitious collaborative effort between academia and industry to develop novel techniques to harvest the potential of heterogeneous mobile data communications enabled by the fifth generation wireless. It also strives to broaden participation from underrepresented groups. Graduate students will gain first-hand experience with industrial research projects. The outcomes from this project will be introduced into AU courses and an incoming textbook, and in particular, will enhance the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited Bachelor of Wireless Engineering (BWE) curriculum at Auburn University. Various venues will be explored for industrial collaborations.
A reference library will be maintained and be accessible to center members. It will contain experimental data and research products, in addition to Center documents such as NSF Annual Reports, Level of Interest and Feedback Evaluation (LIFE) Form Reports, Center Publications, Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) Presentations and Posters, Membership Agreement document, By-Laws document, and Center Action Items. An interactive web-based server will be used for sharing scientific data produced from the project with the IAB and the public. A single Center-wide repository will be maintained for the center, at http://fiwin.org, which will be maintained throughout the project period.
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.
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The Fiber-Wireless Integration and Networking (FiWIN) Center for Heterogeneous Mobile Data Communications is an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Program (I/UCRC) led by the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) since 2015. Based on recognized research leadership and accumulated expertise in integrated fiber-wireless access technologies, FiWIN is favorably positioned to make substantial contributions to access network architectures, functional designs of network elements, and optimized system interfaces and operations for the globally competitive next generation mobile communication networks. FiWIN has successfully completed the first three years of operation. The center expands its scope with the addition of Auburn University (AU) as a Member Site in 2018.
GT has been and continues to be a leading global player in the development of fiber wireless integration and networking technologies for delivering high data rate, large capacity and low latency multi-band 5G services. The combined expertise of AU and GT will expand FiWIN's scope to develop radio frequency (RF) integrated circuits for beamforming in coordinated multi-point transmission, in mission-critical sensors for industrial and health Internet of Things (IoT) applications and in heterogeneous cell coverage with mobile edge computing. Mutual synergy will foster advances in data compression algorithms, bandwidth efficient waveform and modulation, and machine learning to autonomously mitigate nonlinear behaviors of 5G network elements.
An affordable and reliable advanced communication network will drive academic innovation and business agility for providing a vital gateway for economic and societal growth. The continuing rise of social media and artificial intelligence will revolutionize on how we interact with the internet, the machines and with one another. It will enable new kinds of data analytics to be harnessed for tangible business, education and everyday life benefits. Outcomes of our research will be innovative technologies to benefit US competitive industrial offerings for 5G systems and cloud/fog computing by teaching and fostering students to be ready for a versatile and skilled workforce.
All FiWIN Center research products are published in archival journals or conference proceedings in compliance according to the Center's Membership agreement and Bylaws. A reference library containing archival research products (Annual reports, Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) presentations, student project proposals and outcome presentations, and a list of publications) will be maintained and updated and be accessible to FiWIN Center Members, FiWIN research team members, and general public with security protection for a period of 5 years after the Center has graduated. An interactive web-based server http://fiwin.org will be used for sharing scientific data products with IAB members and the public.
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.
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Communication, information dissemination and data distribution form the backbone of the modern industrialized era. It is central to commerce, societal connectedness and societal wellbeing. Legacy communication and information networks are rapidly innovating and expanding to accommodate the projected growth of global data services over the next decades. Global mobile service providers project a 1000-fold expansion in wireless traffic by the year 2020, brought about by the growth of new users, the densification of users in expanding urban areas and service affordability. Exponential growth of communication volume is anticipated as the "Internet of Industrial Things," or the network of cyber sensor detection and monitoring systems grows and is accessed through the converged optical and wireless network infrastructure. These sensor systems may monitor aspects of human working and living environment while others may monitor natural resources or balance the power distribution network. All rely upon potentially critical data where needed through the optical and wireless information network infrastructure.
To answer the anticipated technical challenges, coordinated consortium activities are occurring across the world to develop the next generation, ubiquitous 5G communication system. Georgia Tech together with the University of Maryland (UMD) has formed the I/UCRC for Fiber-Wireless Integration and Networking for Next Generation Mobile Data Communications (FiWIN) to help meeting the urgent needs of the telecommunication industry. FiWIN aims to do so by bringing innovative technology concepts, design, architecture and software to the table based on the synergy between member universities and corporate members while preparing a skilled workforce though the development of university curricula in fiber-wireless integrated network, and stimulating interest in science and technology among the broader community.
FiWIN will bring to bear UMD's extensive innovation in free-space, directional-beam, communications and GT's long term experience in wavelength division multiplexed passive optical networks, small cell fiber wireless access architecture for frequency reuse, coordinated multi-point (CoMP) wireless joint transmission, RoF backhaul/fronthaul, channel impediment mitigation and bandwidth efficient multiplexing and modulation, to innovate optical wireless network architecture design, security, network resilience, and performance, at lower power consumption. The Center will seek to add expertise in network virtualization, resource sharing, network monitoring and coordinated distribution of services to achieve its ultimate goal of providing innovative solutions for the next generation 5G mobile data networks though an integrated network of RF, sub-THz, free space optical and optical fiber access technology.
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The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the Center author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.