A number of new tools created by MIT researchers to solve wireless network transmission interference problems are being recognized by the National Science Foundation.
Dina Katabi, a professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and leader of MIT’s networks research group has been working to address wireless interference and increase the reliability and data rates of wireless networks since 2005. Together with her team, Katabi has created a number of new tools aimed at solving the transmission interference problem in order to eliminate some of the frustrations people face when trying to access data online.
“Instead of trying to avoid interference by dividing the spectrum and time among people, we are inventing new technologies that allow people to transmit at the same time in the same part of the spectrum,” she said.
For example, Katabi and her colleagues designed a ZigZag algorithm that reduces the need to retransmit information by reconstructing the contents of competing information packets, even after being affected by interference. They also developed a technology known as “MegaMIMO,” which coordinates the transmission of multiple transmitters “so their interference is canceled out in the right manner in order for all of them to transmit at the same time, so everyone can use the spectrum as if the other senders didn’t exist.”
The team also designed a system that uses “random wireless signals” to protect unencrypted low-power medical devices like pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators from unauthorized wireless access. Their latest project is focusing on creating x-ray vision for wireless devices, using the ability of wireless signals to go through walls. With this technology, firefighters and other disaster relief workers can locate survivors even if they cannot directly see them. Katabi said she hopes to have these technologies available for commercial use within the next few years.
Earlier this year, Katabi received the MacArthur fellowship, a prestigious $625,000 award given to individuals who have demonstrated originality and dedication in their fields.
