Wireless Communication

Mission

The mission of the wireless communication group is to foster high quality theoretical, methodological and experimental research in wireless communication and wireless power transmission, to teach advance topics on electromagnetics, antennas, and modern techniques over wireless channels. In the framework of wireless communications, we explore new solutions for personal and large-scale wireless networks to satisfy the needs of both mobility and connectivity. An important part of our research activities is currently devoted to the development of innovative methodologies and techniques for the design and realization of wireless systems for power transmission and distribution from space and in ground connections.

We support the creativity of young minds and the active participation to the scientific community, we aim at developing a strong synergy between research, industry and society.

Research Areas

We are involved in innovative interdisciplinary researches in the area of wireless communications and wireless power transmission pursuing a cross-layer approach and in the area of non-invasive sensing and vision through electromagnetic techniques. We combine activities at physical level of wireless transmission and reception with those related to communications such as representation of information, modulation and coding.

We explore practical design strategies based on metaheuristic methodologies, hybrid (deterministic and stochastic) approaches, convex programming procedures, and learning-by-example strategies for solving optimization problem concerned with wireless systems and networks, including:

• design and prototyping of smart antennas and arrays, in which we integrate reconfigurable devices with signal processing strategies to experience radiating systems able to self adapt to complex scenarios (autonomous identification of desired signals and suppression of interferences);
• array beamforming in structures with different geometries (linear, planar, and conformal) and sizes (small, large) as well as switched beam antennas to be used in multi-functional radars and in ground-based, airborn, and satellite stations for wireless communications and wireless power transmission. We are also studying space, time and frequency diversity transmissions systems, multicarrier modulations, and multi-user receivers based on non conventional techniques;
• synthesis of miniaturized, multi-standard, ultrawideband (UWB) and MIMO antennas pursuing a cross-layer approach for studying the new opportunities provided by cognitive radio interfaces, software defined radio and UWB communications;
• design of static and mobile (robot) sensor networks and smart devices for developing advanced Sensor Web technologies. Tools are being developed to optimally design wireless networks in complex environments;
• study of the physics of the propagation through stochastic approaches and numerical methods based on ray-tracing techniques for the characterization of wireless channels for electromagnetic planning;
• exploitation of the challenging possibilities offered by wireless technologies for the diagnostics of material anomalies. We investigate new imaging methodologies bases on narrow band and UWB systems in a variety of contexts such as subsurface prospecting, medical diagnosis, non-destructive testing.

Applications Areas

The activities of the research program cover several application areas related to wireless sensing and networking. We explore the capabilities of emerging sensor web technologies in the areas of environmental monitoring, precision agriculture (efficient management of the water resources) and homeland security in order to contribute to the realization of infrastructures dedicated to wirelessly collect, process and share in a distribute fashion a huge amount of information in real time. Several works are currently dedicated to investigate new approaches for the realization and the unsupervised planning of wireless networks for short-range personal communications (e.g., UWB-based) as well as wideband mobile and satellite systems. We also focus our researches in the context of the automotive scenario where we investigate new communication technologies for smart vehicles in smart road infrastructures to address the need of safety and connectivity in modern transportation systems.

The frontiers of our research are involved in the study and the introduction of innovative design methodologies for the design of antenna systems to be used for the transmission and reception of power.

We investigate wireless technologies for detection and tracking applications. Experimental activities are carried out to explore the potentialities of the radio frequency identification in logistic and supply chain. Moreover, we apply array synthesis techniques to design effective radars for surveillance systems of air traffic.

The research program is also carrying out experimental activities on wireless technologies for imaging purposes.

UWB sensing systems are being applied to subsurface testing and a clinical prototype has being developed to explore the capabilities of active microwave biomedical imaging techniques for breast cancer detection and characterization.

Related links

http://www.eledia.ing.unitn.it/
http://mmlab.science.unitn.it/

Members

Further Information

Research Program's Technical reports
Research Program's Published papers

The Resaerch Program is member of

• Muovi! (Application Lab)
• e-Environment (Application Lab)

Projects

Dec 31, 2009		CLIMB Climate Induced Changes on the Hydrology of Mediterranean Basins: Reducing Uncertainity and Quantifying Risk through an Integrated Monitoring and Modelling System
May 20, 2009		Cubit-DISI Agreement of cultural, educational and scientific cooperation between Cubit Consortium and DISI