Events Calendar

ECE Seminar: Next-Generation Wireless Networks for Billions of IoT Devices

Speaker: Dr. Ali Abedi, Research Lecturer, Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo

Talk Title: Next-Generation Wireless Networks for Billions of IoT Devices

Abstract: It is estimated that the total number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices will grow to 80 billion devices in a few years. Unfortunately, existing wireless networks cannot satisfy the diverse requirements of IoT applications in terms of power consumption, data rate, and privacy. Some IoT devices, such as contact sensors used in intrusion detection systems, transmit only a few bytes of data occasionally, while other devices such as virtual reality headsets require a continuous stream of data with a high data rate. Moreover, many IoT devices run on a battery; therefore, they have very strict power consumption requirements. The battery in many IoT devices has to be changed every few months, which is time consuming and costly. Furthermore, old batteries have adverse environmental effects, if not disposed of properly. In addition to these problems, bringing many IoT devices to our smart homes and offices creates many privacy concerns. How can users be confident that their privacy is not violated in smart environments?

In this talk, I present the design of next generation wireless networks that satisfy the diverse requirements of IoT applications. To enable low-power wireless networking for IoT applications that require low data rates, I present a system that enables a battery-free IoT device to transmit its data to nearby WiFi devices. Next, I describe the design of a low-power and low-cost millimeter wave network for IoT devices that require up to 100 Mbps of bandwidth. Finally, I discuss privacy issues caused by wireless signals transmitted by many IoT devices in a smart environment.

Biography: Ali Abedi is currently a research lecturer at the University of Waterloo. His research interests are in the areas of wireless networks and mobile systems with a special focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart environments. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Waterloo. His work has been published in top systems and networking venues such as SIGCOMM, MobiCom, and HotNets. He was awarded the gold medal in the Student Research Competition (SRC) competition at Mobicom 2018. His research projects have been featured in ACM GetMobile, ACM Tech News, and Science Daily. He has received multiple grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). His research has resulted in multiple patents, and has attracted interests from companies such as Google, Qualcomm, and ecobee.

Host: Dr. Konstantinos Psounis, kpsounis@usc.edu

Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96468306783?pwd=cmJGWE91d1M0VDM1aGhaaXJNdDFPZz09

WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96468306783?pwd=cmJGWE91d1M0VDM1aGhaaXJNdDFPZz09

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Mayumi Thrasher