SBIR Phase I: Beam Steering Full Duplex Wireless Systems

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to enable the efficient use of wireless spectrum. Over the last decade, the world has seen a sharp increase in the number and diversity of mobile devices. With this surge in mobile devices, access to spectrum has become an overarching issue impacting the everyday life of citizens. The demand is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, with the rapid adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) linking everything we interact with in daily life. The technology developed under this project will allow communication devices to listen and broadcast simultaneously, on the same frequency, thus effectively doubling spectrum utilization by operating in Full Duplex (FD) mode. By improving spectral efficiency and simplifying frequency planning, the results from this project will enable newer paradigms for the rapid design, development and deployment of mobile devices. Society as a whole will benefit from the increased array of applications enabled by robust, spectrally efficient communication devices. Furthermore, valuable spectrum assets will be released and can be redirected to create new opportunities for growth. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate a practical Full-duplex communication system prototype. The goal of the project is to develop a functional prototype showing the ability of fast cancellation that enables reliable full duplex operation at transmit powers suitable for outdoor deployment. While Full Duplex has been shown to be achievable under static channel conditions, maintaining the desired isolation between transmit and receive path in a dynamic channel is difficult, mainly due to the high level of reflected power into the radio system that can limit its performance. By deploying novel and efficient cancellation methodologies the prototype will be able to track and compensate for moving targets as they appear in the radiation space of the FD system. Innovative co-designed spatial, analog and digital approaches will be used to converge on the optimal parameters for cancellation, while ensuring a rapid response time. All proposed algorithms under this project will be tested on a real-time FD prototype system, under realistic wireless channel condition, to ensure that practical issues are accounted for.