ProjectsCurrent ProjectsNational Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), United States Department of AgricultureBroadband Connectivity for Rural Communications and Smart Livestock Management Funding Source: 2023-67021-41368. Role: Principal Investigator (with Co-PIs Dr. Yijie Xiong at UNL and Dr. Xiaoqian Wang at Purdue University). Duration: Sept. 15, 2023 – Sept. 14, 2025. Abstract: Wireless broadband and networking technologies have progressed tremendously in past years. However, most of these advancements are focused on densely populated urban areas. Rural communities are largely overlooked, causing a disparity known as the digital divide. Such a digital divide leads to long-term impacts that include the uneven distribution of educational and economic opportunities. A primary challenge for farmers is the inherent lack of terrestrial infrastructure covering extensive grazing systems. The goal of this collaborative project with Prof. Yijie Xiong from UNL’s Department of Animal Science and Department of Biological Systems Engineering and Prof. Xiaoqian Wang from Purdue University's Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering is to design a hybrid broadband communication scheme and prototype to achieve intelligent animal identification for livestock systems in rural communities. The hybrid communication system will be designed and prototyped based on link requirements and environmental factors. Extensive image data will be aggregated with various cattle patterns from extensive livestock production systems and fed to the proposed communication system for reliable transmission. Novel object recognition algorithms will then be designed based on the image data to facilitate timely and accurate management decisions. The solutions are expected to transform conventional experience-based and labor-intensive livestock management practice into an automatic and data-driven approach with connectivity characterized by broad coverage and low cost. Student(s) Supported:
Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), National Science FoundationCNS Core: Medium: Field-Nets: Field-to-Edge Connectivity for Joint Communication and Sensing in Next-Generation Intelligent Agricultural Networks Funding Source: CNS-2212050. Role: Co-Principal Investigator. Duration: Oct. 1, 2022 – Sept. 30, 2025. Abstract: Available here. Student(s) Supported:
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Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), National Science FoundationMRI: Development of a Terahertz Measurement Facility for Wireless Communications, Electronics and Materials Funding Source: CNS-2216332. Role: Co-Principal Investigator. Duration: Oct. 1, 2022 – Sept. 30, 2026. Webpage: engineering.nyu.edu/THzLAB. Abstract: Available here. Student(s) Supported:
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Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), National Science FoundationREU Site: Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Unmanned Systems Foundations and Applications Funding Source: CNS-2244116. Role: Senior Personnel. Duration: March 1, 2023 – Feb. 28, 2026. Webpage: Summer Program on Unmanned Systems. Abstract: Available here. Students Supported:
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Finished ProjectsNebraska EPSCoR FIRST AwardTransforming Rural Last-Mile Wireless Connectivity with Reconfigurable Metasurfaces at Millimeter-Wave Frequencies Funding Source: Nebraska EPSCoR funded by NSF Grant OIA-2044049. Role: Principal Investigator. Duration: Dec. 1, 2021 – Nov. 30, 2022. Overview: Over the last few years, wireless data traffic has drastically increased due to a substantial growth that the world creates, shares, and consumes information. In contrast to the massive growth of the wireless broadband market in major cities, there has been an ever-deepening digital divide between the rural and urban areas, which has led to uneven economic growth and unbalanced educational resources. To bridge this gap, new solutions in both communications and computing are necessary. This project aims to design and develop metasurface-based reconfigurable transmit and reflect arrays that can effectively transmit wideband signals at millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies, and aims to increase the coverage range and spectral efficiency for last-mile connectivity in rural areas. The proposed solution in this project is expected to bring wireless broadband connectivity to rural communities with a faster and more reliable Internet access. Student(s) Supported:
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