CSE and EE Departments to Build Experimental Campus-Wide Wireless Mesh Network

6/10/2008:

Wireless mesh networks consist of numerous wireless access points or hotspots that collaboratively provide communication and networking abilities for a variety of applications and scenarios. For example, such networks can provide mobile communication and Internet access for commuters, public works officials, and emergency workers. Mesh networks are also being used in hard-to-reach places (rugged terrain and isolated locations), developing countries, healthcare, temporary venues (construction sites), and many other application scenarios where ease of deployment, cost, and reliability are important.

In an effort to build such a wireless mesh network, researchers from the CSE department (Professors Christian Poellabauer and Aaron Striegel) and the EE department (Professor Nick Laneman) will collaborate in deploying 50 programmable hotspots across the Notre Dame campus over the next two years. This network, called NDMesh, will serve as an experimental research and teaching platform for efforts in wireless networking, mobile multimedia, wireless security, remote sensing and surveillance, and numerous other applications.

In addition, the network will potentially provide broadband Internet access to users at locations on campus that cannot be reached by Notre Dame's "nomad" wireless network. Funding for this project is provided by the Office of Naval Research. For more information, please contact Professor Christian Poellabauer (cpoellab AT cse DOT nd DOT edu).