GRK 1487:  Self-organised Mobile Communication Systems for Disaster Scenarios

• Subject Area: Electrical Engineering and Information Technology ; Computer Science
• Term: from 2009 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 50111252

Today’s mobile communication systems are highly static and inflexible with regard to changes. This prevents the fast implementation of innovative ideas as well as the fast adaptation to changes of the environment. The usage of overlay networks, as used in peer-to-peer systems, only allows for flexibility at the application level. In contrast, research in the area of “software-defined radio” concentrates on radio and hardware aspects.
The interdisciplinary research focus of the Research Training Group is on self-organisation of mobile communication systems taking into account protocol, network and radio aspects as well as their combination. Self-organisation allows for the fast adaptation of highly complex systems to changing requirements. The Research Training Group will provide the foundation for flexible future mobile communication networks.
The research goal of the Research Training Group is to develop mechanisms for the autonomous, dynamic, distributed coordination (self-organisation) of future mobile communication systems (Next Generation Mobile Networks - NGMNs). Self-organisation is applied to the radio system, protocols and the network as a whole. Our specific application scenarios are disaster networks, requiring an aggressive approach to network operation. The coordinated adaptation of radio, protocols and network aspects is essential to provide disaster services, e.g. localisation of individuals or emergency communication. Major results of the project will be demonstrated under disaster assumptions in a common prototype network.
Our qualification concept aims at the education and qualification of young scientists, to enable them to utilise the methods of self-organisation in distributed technical systems, especially in mobile communication systems. The expertise of our graduates will include knowledge in the area of communications engineering as well as in communication systems and networks. The researchers of the Research Training Group form an open community with strong internal coherence as well as international networking.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Ilmenau
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr.-Ing. Andreas Mitschele-Thiel
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr.-Ing. Horst-Michael Groß; Professor Dr.-Ing. Martin Haardt; Professor Dr. Matthias Hein; Professor Dr.-Ing. Albert Heuberger; Professor Dr.-Ing. Kai-Uwe Sattler; Professor Dr.-Ing. Günter Schäfer; Professor Dr. Jochen Seitz; Professor Dr.-Ing. Reiner Thomä