TOPICS INCLUDE:
• Ubiquitous networks
• Access networks
• Intelligence at the edge
• Centralized vs. distributed functions
• Fixed and mobile wireless
• Optical networks
• 3G and GPRS
• New developments in ultrawideband
• Self-organizing/mesh networks
• Cellular networks
• New VoIP networks/services
• New protocols and IP routing platforms
• Cognitive radio
• Policy/economic/political considerations
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
After years of chatter, networks are truly on their way to becoming ubiquitous. They are poised to permeate things small (toasters, refrigerators, cars, homes), large (World Wide Web), and nearly everything in between (coffee shops, parks, and airport lounges). Sensors will soon be deployed in many of our infrastructures and will provide real-time data about the physical and logical world around us.
How do we make sure all of these different networks operate seamlessly with one another, have the ability to communicate among themselves, and self-organize in appropriate ways? Those who seek anytime, anywhere Internet access face trade-offs today between 3G service over cell phones and high-speed WiFi data hot spots and home networks. Could high-quality phone calls over wireless networks tip the scales in favor of WiFi? Will VoIP displace the traditional telephone network service? What are the business models, the deployment models, and the technical issues that must be addressed as ubiquitous networks appear?
How should we structure and build our future networks? Two current choices include a top-town centralized approach, and a bottom-up, grass-roots deployment. WiFi fits that second model, and the result has created an explosion of interest, experimentation, and usage.
This conference will delve into what we should look for in our future networks. We’ll look at the possibilities for ultrawideband, and where and how fast wireless will go. The issue of unlicensed spectrum is a political and economic mine field. We’ll examine the ways in which VoIP networks will evolve, consider their economic and policy impacts, and touch on the status of Bluetooth, WiMax, and the whole 802.11x soup.
This field trip to the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) will concentrate on faculty/student research initiatives. IIT’s faculty and students are in the position of developing leading technologies while collaborating with national research laboratories. Current research strengths include fluid dynamics and aerospace, synchrotron radiation science, environmental engineering, polymer science, and transportation. IIT scientists and engineers have made some of the 20th century’s most important technological advances, including the invention of magnetic recording and the development of re-entry technology for spacecraft.
www.iit.edu
The field trip will include demonstrations and presentations from multiple initiatives:
INSTITUTE OF DESIGN
The Institute of Design (ID) is an international leader in teaching systemic, human-centered design. Graduate studies at ID focus on the development of advanced design methods and theories, and on the practical demonstration of their utility. Together, faculty and students at ID approach design problems from many perspectives, employing analytic and synthetic design methods to identify current and future needs and to humanize the technology needed to solve those problems.
www.id.iit.edu
ARTIFICIAL VISION
Dr. Phil Troyk’s research interests cover a broad range of areas related to neuroprostheses, i.e. implanted electronic devices that interface with the biological nervous system for the purpose of compensating for deficit, or disease, by mimicking normal sensory or motor function. Examples are neuromuscular stimulators for functional electrical stimulation (FES), implantable sensors for FES control, and cortical interfaces in which hundreds or thousands of electrodes sense and stimulate neurons within the central nervous system. The research work is highly interdisciplinary, using engineering principles and technology from electrical, computer, materials, mechanical, and chemical engineering. http://www.iit.edu/~biomed/profiles/faculty_troyk.html
ENERGY STORAGE AND CONVERSION
The focus of work in chemical engineering includes thermal characterization, safety and heat effect studies of batteries and fuel cells for stationary, personal electronics and transportation applications; modeling/simulation and scale-up design of batteries and fuel cells for electric vehicle (EV) and stationary applications; and design and testing of novel thermal management systems for batteries and fuel cells.
http://www.chee.iit.edu/faculty/alhallaj.html