Internet Engineering

We are investigating how satellite access can provide broadband access for individuals and communities where cost-effective fast broadband services are not available (SIRA). Research combines new satellite access technologies, such as Ka-band transmission, adaptive coding and modulation to increase access speed, coupled with novel methods to enhance the Quality of Service (QoS) for voice, data and video.

Using TSB funding, we are part of a consortium that has built a UK testbed (DART) to support advanced network service enablers (multicast, dynamic QoS, content pre-placement and micro-billing). This testbed is now open for  experimenters to explore new applications and business models. Experiments include techniques to enable high quality Internet video conference for rural healthcare, support for IP multicast transmission of local content across the UK and multicast content caching solutions for high quality IP-based TV to locations with limited broadband.

Another activity (WiSE) is exploring wireless networking technologies for environmental video monitoring; this includes techniques for low-cost data upload (over point-to-point WiFi), background transfer of large data sets, occasional access to high-rate upload (e.g. in response to external stimulus), a need to work from battery (energy-conserving methods), scalability to a large installed base, and a need for resilience (multiple communication paths).

We are building a testbed for rural communications technologies, to be located in the Cruickshank Botanical Gardens, St Machar Drive, Aberdeen. This is a technology platform to support the range of applications being explored in the dot.rural digital economy hub. The testbed is linked to the school of Engineering Internet Testbed, where it can draw upon experience and tools to support the communications activities. Our vision is that it will become an open platform for experimentation to support work on future internet, rural sensing, and all things relating to a rural “Internet of Things”. We are now actively seeking ideas for experiments using this testbed.thods), scalability to a large installed base, and a need for resilience (multiple communication paths). New architectures and technologies include low-cost random access and delay-insensitive transport.

Projects:

Digital Advanced Rural Testbed (DART)

Rural Public Access Wifi Service (PAWS)

Satellite Internet for Rural Access (SIRA)

Wireless Smartcam Environment (WiSE)