Advanced Signal Generation And Detection System For Next-generation Ultra-wideband Communication Networks
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Abstract
The research is focused on one of our society's greatest technical challenges and economic drivers with impact on knowledge, economy, society and people as well as business and government activities. It aims to transform the development of the information and communication infrastructure. A high-capacity, flexible, cost-effective and efficient telecommunications and data infrastructure is of great national and international importance. The ability to communicate seamlessly, without delay, requires intelligent communications networks with high capacity, available when and where it is needed. To achieve this requires research advances in ultrawideband wireless and optical networks, as well as intelligent transceivers, new ultrawideband optical devices and algorithms. This is a fast-moving and internationally fiercely competitive field and to maintain international leadership requires the capability of not only making theoretical advances, but the also the ability of demonstrating these experimentally.
Our vision is to create an advanced, world leading signal generation and detection test-bed for advanced communications systems research. The key feature of the proposed system are the ultra-low noise, high-resolution capture and analysis of complex broadband signals, more than quadrupling the achievable network capacity. This unique facility will allow the investigation of optical and wireless networks over a wide range of time- and length scales, including long-haul networks, data centres and enable the research into the ultra-wideband signal manipulation for the next-generation optical & wireless access networks. It will enable UCL and UK to consolidate and enhance its internationally leading position in communications systems research supporting a wide range of other areas.
Our vision is to create an advanced, world leading signal generation and detection test-bed for advanced communications systems research. The key feature of the proposed system are the ultra-low noise, high-resolution capture and analysis of complex broadband signals, more than quadrupling the achievable network capacity. This unique facility will allow the investigation of optical and wireless networks over a wide range of time- and length scales, including long-haul networks, data centres and enable the research into the ultra-wideband signal manipulation for the next-generation optical & wireless access networks. It will enable UCL and UK to consolidate and enhance its internationally leading position in communications systems research supporting a wide range of other areas.
Organisations
- University College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- NICT National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (Collaboration)
- Xtera Communications (Collaboration)
- Microsoft Research (Collaboration)
- KDDI (Collaboration)
- Corning Inc. (Collaboration)
- Polatis (Collaboration)
- Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (Collaboration)
- KDDI Foundation (Collaboration)
- Nokia (United States) (Project Partner)
- KDDI R&D Laboratories (Japan) (Project Partner)
- Xtera Communications Limited (Project Partner)
- Huawei Technologies (China) (Project Partner)
Publications
Al-Jarrah M
(2023)
A Unified Performance Framework for Integrated Sensing-Communications Based on KL-Divergence
in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications
Babu N
(2023)
Energy-Efficient Trajectory Design of a Multi-IRS Assisted Portable Access Point
in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Bayvel P
(2022)
Machine Learning for Future Fiber-Optic Communication Systems
Bigdeli M
(2023)
Noncoherent OFDM Transmission via Off-the-Grid Joint Channel and Data Estimation
in IEEE Wireless Communications Letters
Chen L
(2021)
Joint Radar-Communication Transmission: A Generalized Pareto Optimization Framework
in IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing
| Description | - Enormous progress made despite COVID19 disruptions - Carried out rigorous procurement procedures purchasing, installing and testing 110 GHz Keysight UXR oscilloscope - Specified and procured/set up and tested 110 GHz optical receiver, establishing effective collaboration with Heinrich Hertz Institute - Specified and ordered high-performance DACs/arbitrary waveform generator to enable world-leading experimental set up to be achieved - Studied the comparison of probabilistically and geometrically shaped constellations in transmission over varying transmission distances - Achieved a world-leading result 8× 26 GBd DP-GS256QAM super-channel transmission with a net data rate of 2.29 Tb/s - received after 75 km transmission using a single 211-GHz optical receiver. The use of digital pre-distortion and tailored geometric constellation shaping led to an improvement of 1.2 bit/4D-sym in the achievable information rate. - A demonstration of this signal generation and detection and its integration with the National Dark Fibre Facility was demonstrated recently at the Optical Fibre Communication Conference in San Diego in March 2023. - Results of all experiments have been fed into the TRANSNET Virtual Laboratory (TVL) database to be used for training of AI-based systems - Work is ongoing to design and develop |
| Exploitation Route | A high-speed test-bed is essential for next-generation, adaptive, low-delay, high-speed broadband & intelligent digital infrastructure. The test-bed is open to industry and academia in the UK and beyond for the testing of next-generation devices, systems and network concepts and there is expected to be significant take-up in this unique capabilities, both in UCL and remotely over the NDFF. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Electronics Financial Services and Management Consultancy Security and Diplomacy |
| URL | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10159410/ |
| Description | Findings used widely in the definition of the government policy on telecommunications, for example, on setting up the equipment diversification committee and the development of new telecommunications hubs. Major inputs into telecommunications policy and training of postgraduate/postdoctoral researchers in key skills on this unique facility. The research in this project and the technical capability have put the UK at the forefront of research capabilities in this important field and have led to many collaborations with key carriers and content providers inc Microsoft, KDDI and many others. The research has served to highlight the importance of optical communications as a critical infrastructure has directly contributed to the UK Government policy changes, the inquiry on 'UK telecommunications infrastructure and the UK's domestic capability', the formation of Telecoms Diversification Task Force and the Telecoms Supply Chain Diversification (TSCD) Advisory Council, as well as the setting up of UKTIN (The UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN) and the restructuring of DCMS. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | WHITE PAPER on Co-creating the UK's longer-term telecommunications research vision |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | The white paper proposes with a number of recommendations. (1) to create a UK Long Term Telecommunications Research Strategy Forum to advise the Government on the long-term research priorities, opportunities and risks for the telecommunication domain; (2) to create a National Centre for Translational Telecommunications Research; (3) to create a funding framework that incentivizes collaboration-for-impact excellence alongside competition-for-excellence, and finally; (4) to develop recommended frameworks and approaches to help lower the barriers to collaboration between academic institutions and industrial exploitation of academic research. Putting these into practice will improve the digital communications infrastructure and the continued R&D to sustain its development! |
| Description | Cities Partnership Grant with KTH entitled "Integrated Sensing and Communications for Perceptive Smart Cities" |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Kunliga Tekniska Hoegskolan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Sweden |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 07/2021 |
| Description | Connected Sensing Techniques: Cooperative Radar Networks Using Joint Radar and Communication Waveforms (ConSenT) |
| Amount | € 220,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Union |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 11/2023 |
| End | 10/2025 |
| Description | DASA Emerging Innovations Grant with QinetiQ entitled "Design and Testing of Low Probability Of Intercept (LPI) Waveforms For Joint Radar And Communications" |
| Amount | £98,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2021 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Design and performance analysis of network-level ISAC: More than Integration (NetISAC) |
| Amount | € 236,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Union |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 05/2023 |
| End | 05/2025 |
| Description | EPSRC D2U Pre-commercialisation Grant |
| Amount | £97,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Qinetiq |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2021 |
| End | 04/2022 |
| Description | Extremely Wideband Optical Fibre Communication Systems |
| Amount | £738,958 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/W015714/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2022 |
| End | 01/2025 |
| Description | Impact Acceleration Award |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Integrated Sensing and communications for future vehicuLAr environments - a Network of Doctoral Students [ISLANDS] |
| Amount | € 2,700,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Union |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 12/2027 |
| Description | Multiband Wireless and Optical Signalling for Integrated Communications, Sensing and Localisation [6G-MUSICAL] |
| Amount | € 4,000,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 12/2026 |
| Description | Photonically-synthesized Digital-to-Analogue Conversion |
| Amount | £368,844 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/R041792/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2018 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Transmission Channels Measurements and Communication System Design for Future MM-wave Communications (mm Wave TRACCS) |
| Amount | £551,189 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/W026252/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2022 |
| End | 04/2026 |
| Description | Ultra-low latency clock-synchronised transceivers for future 6G radio access networks |
| Amount | £625,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Royal Academy of Engineering |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2022 |
| End | 07/2027 |
| Title | Communications with Guaranteed Low Latency and Bandwidth using Frequency Referenced Multiplexing |
| Description | This is the dataset for Communications with Guaranteed Low Latency and Bandwidth using Frequency Referenced Multiplexing |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://rdr.ucl.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Communications_with_Guaranteed_Low_Latency_and_Bandwidth_usin... |
| Description | Corning |
| Organisation | Corning Inc. |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Insights on optical fibre properties for high capacity systems. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of state-of-the art optical fibre for experiments. |
| Impact | Joint experiments, joint publications. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Huber+Suhner Polatis |
| Organisation | Polatis |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Designed multi-core fibre switch in 2019-2020. Designed and demonstrated Data Center network using optical switches during the same period. Polatis is a project partner. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provided optical switches and some parameters of the switch constraints. |
| Impact | Numerous papers in top conferences and journals. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | KDDI |
| Organisation | KDDI |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Performed joint experiments to apply ultra-wideband transmission demonstrations using a variety of amplification techniques. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Major contribution of state-of-the art equipments for experiments |
| Impact | Publications in top conferences and journals |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | KDDI Research collaboration |
| Organisation | KDDI Foundation |
| Department | KDDI Research & Development Laboratories |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Knowledge and research exchange. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provided components for research experiments. Also the exchange of visiting researcher Yuta Wakayama, who contributed to a number of papers and conferences. The one year exchange came to an end in summer 2019. |
| Impact | Conference papers, already referenced in RF. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | MERL |
| Organisation | Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Ocassionally we provide our research facilities and lab equipment to partners from MERL to conduct a variety of testing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | MERL is a valuable research partner with which we exchange and share ideas particularly in the area of DSP for high-capacity optical receivers. Recently our collaboration was features in an official press release from Mitstubishi, one of 15 highly competitve press news to come out of the company during a press conference in Japan in Feb 2016 ( see http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/news/2016/0215.html?cid=rss). MERL also provides a yearly charitable donation of $20 000 to the Optical Networks Group. In March 2016, MERL pledged to donate $25,000 to the UCL Optical Networks Group every year for a 4-year period. This has now started and work is in progress with new outcomes. |
| Impact | publications, press release ( see http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/news/2016/0215.html?cid=rss), media coverage, joint experiments |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Microsoft |
| Organisation | Microsoft Research |
| Department | Microsoft Research Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Secondment of staff (UNLOC Co-Is) Dr Benn Thomsen, Dr Phil Watts and PhD students to Microsoft Research Labs Cambridge for 6/12 months and subsequent consultancy on high speed optics in high capacity data centre design. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Funding of one PhD student (fully funded studentship) |
| Impact | Joint publications and internal Microsoft Research programme on the role of optics and high-capacity data centre design. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Microsoft collaboration |
| Organisation | Microsoft Research |
| Department | Microsoft Research Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | John Nuqui, PhD student, recruited at our Cambridge site. He has made significant contributions to our research agenda. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Microsoft have provided the TRANSNET team with excellent expertise, in knowledge exchange particularly. |
| Impact | Ongoing |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | NICT - National Institute of Information and Communications Technology |
| Organisation | NICT National Institute of Information and Communications Technology |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Performed joint experiments to apply ultra-wideband transmission demonstrations using a variety of amplification techniques. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of equipments and proposed contribution in experiments |
| Impact | Publications in top journals |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Research Exchange - Dr Yuta Wakayama, KDDI |
| Organisation | KDDI Foundation |
| Department | KDDI Research & Development Laboratories |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The TRANSNET team have provided their research expertise to Dr Yuta Wakayama and facilitated access to world-class laboratory facilities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | KDDI provided their Engineer to the Programme for a period of one year, allowing active knowledge exchange between researchers across the partner academic institutions. Dr Yuya specialises in multi-core optical fibres, an important research area for our team. |
| Impact | Ongoing |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Xtera |
| Organisation | Xtera Communications |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Collaborated on a number of papers |
| Collaborator Contribution | £25,000 plus a wideband tunable laser with approximated value of £40,000, to further research into ultra-wideband transmission systems |
| Impact | Ongoing |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Xtera |
| Organisation | Xtera Communications |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Expertise on next generation on optical communication with high capacity using wide-band amplifiers. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise on wide-band Raman amplifiers in long-haul optical fibre communication transmission systems. Contributor to PhD studentship funding through industrial PhD CASE studentship. |
| Impact | Impetus to new activity on wide-band optical amplifiers, opening up new frontiers in high-capacity transmission, setting a new record on capacity. |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | DCMS 6G forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk "Learning to Communicate" to UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) / Spectrum Policy Workshop "6G: Technology Enablers for Spectrum & Energy Efficient Wireless Access" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.techuk.org/what-we-deliver/events/6g-technology-enablers-for-spectrum-energy-efficient-w... |
| Description | Huawei Lavender Summit 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The aim of this workshop was to promote exchanges among professionals from both the academia and the industry, to generate new ideas and to think about future development paths together. World-leading academic and industry researchers from different European countries shared concepts in the latest technological innovation and jointly promoted the development of the industry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Huawei's Vision Forum Europe meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on Modeling 'Nonlinearity in Ultra-wideband Optical Fibre Transmission Systems', attended by Huawei Technologies engineers and managers, and other workshop participants |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | TOPS - Telecommunications, Optics & Photonics Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Telecommunications, Optics and Photonics (TOP) Conference, took place in London from 14-15 February in London and attendees were able to find out about the latest trends in photonic integration; silicon photonics using InP, GaAs and polymer solutions; packaging solutions; hybrid integration; lasers, modulators and receivers; filters and switches and connectors. Held in Bishopsgate, London, close to Liverpool St station, the conference allowed delegates and speakers valuable in-person networking opportunities as well as time to view the poster sessions. Along with the comprehensive programme, the conference featured two workshops: UK capabilities in photonics (& new allied technologies): current status, demands and drivers, future prospects, and opportunities for growth - which reviewed the current status of UK capabilities in photonics considering present societal demands and business drivers, and examined future prospects for photonic technologies and new opportunities for short, medium, and long-term growth. UKRI Hubs & Programme Grants: recent progress in optical communications, photonic technologies, quantum communications and quantum computing - this workshop brought together world-leading researchers to exchange the latest results, ideas and to explore new opportunities for cross-fertilisation and co-working across these research fields. Over 10 research posters as well as a presentation on the TRANSNET Programme Grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://topconference.com/ |
| Description | UCL Press Release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | UCL press release on a TRANSNET Programme research paper published in the journal Scientific Report. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/iccs/news/2021/may/iccs-researchers-contribute-newly-published-research-demons... |
| Description | WAVE 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | WAVE 2022 was a one-day conference held at the BT Tower, sponsored by the Sub-Optic Foundation to attract young people to the field of subsea communications - and with prominent members of the sub-sea community - it was an important Advocacy event: https://wave.subopticfoundation.org/ TRANSNET team played a major role in the organisation of the event, and Professor Polina Bayvel was one of the prominent figures at the event. In addition to being one of the key speakers at the Round Table discussion on the range of opportunities available in Subsea, she also presented her thoughts on defining moments in the breakthrough of optical networks; followed by an engaging debate on the topic with Gary Waterworth, Network Investment EMEA at META and Maja Summers, Senior Submarine Commercial Manager at Vodafone. TRANSNET was also officially recognised as a partner of the event for supporting the organisers with planning of the event. The event was livestreamed to schools around the world, and was attended by both established and up-and-coming figures in the field of subsea communications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://transnet.org.uk/news-and-events/546-transnet-goes-to-the-bt-tower |