The major goals of research at the Polytechnic University site are increasing network capacity, increasing battery life of portable devices, increasing network security, and increasing network value through new and enhanced applications. Projects to meet these goals are in the four general areas described below.

Cooperative Networks: Cooperative networks have the potential to dramatically increase the capacity of wireless networks. In a traditional wireless network, each wireless device connects to a base station or an access point. This base station is a choke point for the network, limiting its capacity. In contrast, in a cooperative network, devices can communicate with one another. In effect this means that every device is also a base station, adding additional capacity to the network and also reducing overall battery drain.
 

Network Security: In the emerging "wireless world" people and machines will interact with thousands of wireless devices, ranging from multi-purpose handheld devices to RFID tags. Evolving applications will rely on massively inter-connected and inter-operable ubiquitous devices. Issues such as providing secure access, detecting adversarial behavior and identifying misbehaving partners will take on new dimensions of complexity and importance. New approaches to security will have to be devised and old approaches modified if we are to communicate with confidence in this wireless world.

Low Power Terminals: WICAT research explores a variety of approaches to conserving energy in the batteries of wireless devices including power-efficient protocols, signal processing controls, smart batteries, and low power RF circuits. In each case, mathematical formulas are used to dynamically adapt power usage based on what the device is doing.

Applications: Applications-centered research topics include improved methods for locating wireless devices, new ways to distribute content over an ad-hoc network, and new methods to distribute sensors in a disaster area.