THz Industrial Mesh Networks in Smart Sensing and Propagation Environments

Future wireless networks are envisioned to support novel applications that require similar performance as wired networks in terms of data rate (Tbps), ultra-low-latency (well below 1 ms), sensing (e.g., mm-level localization accuracy), and reliability (e.g., 1 in a billion transmission error). The current 5G approaches have a hard time keeping up with such envisioned applications. TIMES addresses this problem by combining novel radio channel propagation measurements and modeling approaches, spectrally efficient and reliable communications at Terahertz (THz) spectrum bands with intelligent mesh networking protocols and smart sensing and shaping of the propagation environment through reconfigurable meta-surfaces. While the fundamental technologies developed will be applicable to different beyond-5G scenarios, TIMES will focus on an industrial setting, since many of the envisioned applications in this complex scenario (e.g., cooperative robots, predictive maintenance, real-time closed-loop control) require concurrent high performance, reliability, and sensing capabilities. To tackle the challenge, TIMES extends the state-of-the-art on three fronts: 1) Propagation channel measurements and characterization in THz bands, including measurement and modeling of meta-surfaces and electromagnetic leakage in complex scenarios; 2) Developing technological enablers for reliable THz communications (e.g., smart beam management, ultra-massive MIMO, THz-tailored PHY and MAC design, meta-surfaces, and new mesh-based architecture); and 3) Implementation of a THz mesh network prototype, including design and fabrication of both active (transceivers) and passive (meta-surface) nodes, to validate selected technological enablers developed in TIMES.