Project full title: WiMAX Extension to Isolated Research Data networks
Grant agreement no.: IST-034622-IP
Coordinator: Elsag-Datamat (I)
Consortium: Elasg-Datamat (I), CRAT (I), Alcatel-Lucent (I), WIND Spa (I), Consorzio Pisa Ricerche (I), Portugal Telecom Inovacao (PT), Univ. of Coimbra (PT), VTT (FI), Italtel (I), DAS Photonics (ES), INGV-OV (I), Orange Romania (RO), University of Bucharest (RO), IMO (IS), Socrate Mediacal (I)
Duration: 24 Months
Starting Date: June 2006
Ending Date: May 2008
Key Persons: Prof. Francesco Delli Priscoli, Dr. Marco Castrucci, Dr. Silvano Mignanti, Ing. Gabriele Tamea, Dr. Emiliano Guainella, Dr. Ilaria Marchetti, Ing. Fabio Mitrano, Ing. Cristina Nardini
Project Description:
WEIRD is a 24 month integrated project aiming at implementing research testbeds using the WiMAX technology in order to allow isolated or impervious areas to get connection to the GEANT2 research network. The WEIRD project consortium is made up of: prestigious key players – in the world of wireless communications and next generation networking -, scientific demanding user communities – that will drive and test the WEIRD system -, and sponsoring European national research networks – that will give connectivity, support and will exploit project results.
WEIRD aims to play a prime role in contributing to the standardization of WiMAX integration into next generation networks. This result will be achieved by building 4 European testbeds connected through GEANT2. The implementation plan foresees a requirement analysis that will be mainly supported by the scientific user communities, academia and network operators. The application scenarios demanded by the user communities and that will be among the main drivers of the system are categorized into 3 groups: the Volcano and seismic activities monitoring, the fire prevention and the tele-medicine.
WEIRD will deploy the application scenarios into the implemented testbeds and will prototype and validate enhanced Network Control and Management Entities and improved versions of WiMAX. The features that the WEIRD system will validate during the project include: QoS, resource and access management, authentication authorization and accounting (AAA) and security, environmental awareness and full mobility support. Therefore, the state of the art of next generation networking will be improved and the WiMAX specific layers will be deeply analyzed and enhanced. The consortium expect the project outputs to have a strong impact on ongoing international activities, for this reason it has already planned an effective and pragmatic dissemination and exploitation plan both for the internal companies and for the outside world.
CRAT Contributions:
Starting from the definition of system requirements and specification, CRAT contributed to the design of the system architecture, in line with WiMAX Forum guidelines, able to provide end-to-end Quality of Service. In addition, CRAT contributed to the implementation of the project test-bed. Finally, as Dissemination WP leader, CRAT contributed to the dissemination of project results submitting paper in international book, journals and conferences, realizing project leaflets, CD-ROMs and developing an e-leraning platform for multimedia training.
Relevant Publications:
[1] Guainella, Borcoci, Katz, Neves, Curado, Andreotti, Angori, “WiMAX extension to isolated research data networks”, book chapter in “Advances in Mobile WiMAX”, ed Wiley, February 2008
[2] Bohnert, Castrucci, Ciulli, Landi, Marchetti, Nardini, Sousa, Neves, Simoes, “QoS management and control for an all-IP WiMAX network architecture: design, implementation and evaluation”, Journal for Mobile Information Systems, IOS Press, June 2008
[3] Castrucci, Castellano, Bianco, Bestetti, Angori, Martufi, Landi, “Using WiMAX to improve volcano monitoring during an emergency: a feasibility study of the WEIRD system applied to the Campi Flegrei volcanic area scenario (Southern Italy)”, Seismological Research Letters; May 2009; v. 80; no. 3; p. 411-419
[4] Castrucci, Ciulli, Ichimescu, Landi, Marchetti,Nardini, Neves, “A Framework for Resource Control in WiMAX networks”, 1st Broadband Wireless Access Workshop, Cardiff, September 2007
[5] Martufi, Katz, Neves, Curado, Castrucci, Simoes, Piri, Pentikousis, “Extending WiMAX to New Scenarios: Key Results on system Architecture and Test-beds of the WEIRD project”, EUMOB 2008, Oulu, July 2008