Ongoing Projects
- EUWB (EU-FP7 IP)
The goal of EUWB—Coexisting Short Range Radio by Advanced Ultra-Wideband Radio Technology, is: i) to explore the enormous economic potential of the innovative and disruptive radio technology embodied in Ultra-Wideband (UWB), ii) to combine the innovative UWB concept with advanced methods of wireless technology such as cognitive signalling, intelligent multiple antenna and mutltiband/multimode UWB system concepts, and finally iii) to enable the introduction of advanced services and competitive applications using the radio spectrum in a highly sophisticated manner by applying devices based on next generation UWB.
CREATE-NET is the main contributor and leader of WP2 Cognitive UWB Radio and Coexistence with the following topics in focus: i) spectrum sensing and monitoring, ii) identification and classification of interferers, iii) distribution of spacial interference, iv) coexistence and mitigation of interference, v) networking cooperation and negotiation, vi) concepts for cognitive signalling and vii) experimental cognitive radio test bed.
Moreover, CREATE-NET is also active member of ETSI TC RRS (Reconfigurable Radio Systems), where we contribute to the standardization activities within WG3: Functional Architecture and Cognitive Pilot Channel
- DICONET (EU-FP7 STREP)
The main scope of DICONET is to examine and develop a novel approach to optical networking, providing a disruptive solution for the development of the core network of the future. The proposed solution offers ultra high speed end to end connectivity with quality of service and high reliability through the use of optimised protocols and routing algorithms that will complement a flexible control and management plane providing flexibility for the future network infrastructure.
The key innovation of DICONET is the development of a dynamic network planning tool residing in the core network nodes that incorporates real-time measurements of optical layer performance into IA-RWA algorithms and is integrated into a unified control plane. This tool serves as the key enabler for providing automated rapid network reconfiguration capability as oppose with currently deployed slow planned provisioning and reconfiguration mechanisms. In addition our approach provides advance network resiliency features not currently available by any equipment vendor.
CREATE-NET is leading the T2.3 investigation of techniques for disseminating physical impairments info across the network. In this task, different architectures (routing-based, signaling-based, and PCE-based) will be investigated for carrying the physical impairments in GMPLS control plane by considering both linear and nonlinear impairments, the trade-off between control overhead and efficiency of the network, etc. Create-net is also the leader of WP5 for network management and control protocols. Specially, Create-net is leading T5.2 implementation of modifications to GMPLS control plane protocols via emulated nodes, in which the modifications/extensions of GMPLS control protocols to incorporate and disseminate the impairment information will be defined and implemented in a real GMPLS stack. The extensions of the GMPLS control protocols will be validated through emulation. - Ming-T (EU-FP6 STREP)
The goal of MING-T (Multistandard Integrated Network Convergence for Global Mobile and Broadcast Technologies) is to research, develop, prototype, integrate and validate the interoperability and handover issues of the mobile digital broadcast standards developed in China and Europe. MING-T will address the issues of convergence between broadcast standards and mobile communications network technologies. A further goal is to foster cooperation between Europe and China in both industry and research communities.
CREATE-NET is the main contributor in Scalable coding and Middleware design. CREATE-NET is the leader of WP3.3 on scalable and adaptive coding to provide guidelines for scalability parameter selection in a relevant scenario where DVB-H and DMB-T technologies are deployed, by trading codec complexity for visual quality. CREATE-NET also take part in WP2.1 on middleware design in order to provide a set of algorithms to optimize the allocation of the DVB-H/DMB-T broadcasts and mobile networks capacity, and handle the problems raised by user mobility between different networks. WP5 on dissemination and standardization is also led by CREATE-NET. - I-CHIP (MAE, ITALY)
The goal of IChip (Italy-China International Project) is to set up a joint R&D lab by CREATE-NET, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT) and Tsinghua University to explore the Ultra Wideband wireless-over-fiber communications.
The scientific and engineering aims of I-Chip are to i) build up an integrated demonstration system which can provide technical approaches and solutions on the very high speed (beyond 1Gbits/s) in-door broadband communications and networking by integrating UWB technologies with wireless gigabit Ethernet extension, ii) develop the dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) algorithms that jointly consider the quality of service (QoS), duplex mode of mobile terminals (MTs), handover, and system performance, iii) integrate 60 GHz with UWB and RoF for a scalable and flexible high data rate communication environment for homes and offices and iv) demonstrate in-door high speed communication system by developing the required software as well as hardware prototype platforms.
CREATE-NET is leading and coordinating activities in I-Chip. - MATRIGO (INDUSTRIAL COLLABORATION)
The rapid technological advances in optical components such as wavelength cross-connects (WXCs), higher bit-rate transponders, and developments in various modulation formats and error correcting codes are making it possible to faster and easy deployment of high-speed fully transparent WDM optical networks. The physical layer impairments (PLIs) in these networks and their significance depends on network type-opaque, translucent, and transparent network; the reach-access, metro, and core/long-haul network; the number and type of network elements-fiber, wavelengths, amplifiers, switching elements, etc.; and the type of applications-real-time, non-real time, mission critical, etc. In transparent optical networks, the PLIs incurred by non-ideal optical transmission media accumulate along the path and the overall effect of individual PLIs determines the feasibility and reach of an optical path. Hence, the development of optical components/sub-systems and distributed optical control plane (OCP), which are aware of PLIs, is of paramount importance for on-demand lightpath provisioning.
In MATRIGO-I CREATE-NET developed and investigated several architectural approaches for OCP considering lower bit-rate channels and linear impairments through simulation; selected a best performing architecture; and developed a preliminary prototype based on commercially available GMPLS protocol stack. Handling non-linear impairments is much more difficult due to inherent dynamic nature of nonlinear-PLIs which changes with topology and the set of adjacent active channels. MATRGO-II considers full set of PLIs (both linear and non-linear) at higher bit-rate 40G channels. Several architectural options are under investigation through simulation experiments. The ultimate goal of MATRIGO-II is to implement a selected architecture in commercial GMPLS protocol and develop a proof-of-concept for demonstration.
Past Projects
- PULSERS II (EU-FP6)
The PULSERS (Pervasive Ultra-wideband Low Spectral Energy Radio Systems) project aims at exploring the enormous potential of the innovative and disruptive radio technology embodied in Ultra-Wideband (UWB) and at enabling introduction of new services, applications and devices based on this technology.
The R&D works by CREATE-NET will contribute to realize more ambitious performance targets than the current mainstream industrial developments in the area of UWB communications and networks. These advances can be attained by virtue of a cross layer system approach, and combining the benefits of various innovative solutions on all layers. Specific investigations of the PHY for VHDR (very-high-data-rate) UWB applications will be conducted, which surely go beyond the previous works within former PULSERS and well beyond the work in major UWB standardisation efforts, as for example the IEEE working groups 802.15.3a and 802.15.4a.
- SAFESPOT (EU-FP6)
The main aim of the SAFESPOT project is to develop a "Safety Margin Assistant" which will extend "in space and time" the safety information available to car drivers by using both the infrastructure and vehicles as sources (and destinations) of safety-related information, developing the key enabling technologies (e.g. relative localization) and a new generation of infrastructure-based sensing techniques.
- INFRANET (INDUSTRIAL COLLABORATION - SIEMENS)
In this project, we aim at developing an IR (infrared)-based multi-hop sensor network, exploiting the intrinsic properties of wireless optical links, for those scenarios where wireless RF network cannot be deployed due to environmental constraints. The envisioned application scenarios include, but are not limited to, the bio-medical field (e.g. hospitals), factory automation, and the aviation industry.