496 Project Sandbox
From BluWiki
List of project ideas
Class advisors and class members: If you know how to use a wiki, feel free to edit this page and add projects or add annotations to existing projects.
You can scroll down for the text of each. Or use the menu.
NEW Projects that have a lot of support from our advisors are marked by (***) after the title.
NEW Project ideas added in March say (NEW) after them
Build the Cheapest Radio Receiver Possible
Summarize and evaluate the amateur/hobbyist literature on building cheap radios. Try to build a radio receiver using garbage or very cheap parts. Document how we do so in a very accessible manner. Possibly: Translate the documentation into other languages. UPDATE: Okay we did this but the radios didn't turn out to be very useful for anything. But they are cheap! See: [the foxhole radio] AND [possibly tunable AM radio out of household items]
CONCLUDED.
Build the Cheapest Radio Transmitter Possible
As above but for transmitter. Could be interesting, but a LOT OF WORK has already been done in this area by community broadcasting and microradio NGOs and activists. We would need a close partnership (Radio Free Berkeley? Prometheus Radio? Adaptive Consulting?) to be sure we weren't duplicating existing efforts.
OPEN.
Success Story: Tribal Digital Village
Produce educational materials related to TDV. This could involve visiting them (in person over spring break?), interviewing them (both networking guys and users), documenting their own network design and the successes/failures they've had, making a budget or instructions if you wanted to build a similar system, etc. UPDATE: this now involves working producing on a short documentary film.
OPEN.
The RED Project
Continue work on the RED Project so that it is more closely tied to a current policy debate. This could go in a lot of directions. It would certainly include gathering more data by driving around. Perhaps making some maps and working with GIS software (e.g., answer a question like: "On average, each person in the U.S. is within range of [N] Wi-Fi networks and [N] of them are unencrypted." "If you take into account the Wi-Fi coverage that arises 'naturally' in urban areas, it would take [N] additional Wi-Fi access points to provide universal broadband access to a mid-sized city." This could also include better education/outreach components.
OPEN.
Is Unlicensed Spectrum Full? When will it be?
Use spectrum analyzer to do a more complete survey of the 2.4 slice of unlicensed spectrum. When will there be so many Wi-Fi APs and wireless video game controllers that this spectrum will no longer work? This involves learning to use portable spectrum analyzers. Driving around. Etc. (This project is harder than it looks because the answer depends on so many factors.) Possibly link to the above RED Project.
CONCLUDED. don't sign up.
International Survey of Unlicensed Laws
Where in the world is it legal to transmit without a license? Where is it illegal? With help from Open Spectrum Foundation. Similar to Neto et al paper on wireless in Africa.
CONCLUDED.
Dirty Laundry of Technology Standards
Identify tech standards "insiders" from industry and interview them about the real story inside standard setting. Ask for dirty laundry, remarkable personal stories, etc. then write up anonymously in order to humanize this dry area that few people write about.
ABANDONED.
Future of Television
In some markets an over-the-air television station continuously uses their whole channel to broadcast to very few people. (Most people watch on cable TV -- or if the show is not popular they don't watch at all.) Would it be possible to design an on-demand broadcast television system as a provocative thought experiment? Similar to how cable on-demand works but over-the-air. To be an effective policy piece this kind of proposal would have to use conservative assumptions (it would need to be convincing) and it would have to offer some significant benefits over the current system to help anything. E.g., save a lot of spectrum.
OPEN.
Television Whitespaces: Is there room?
Carefully measure and map local television reception for one or more television transmitters at a finer level of detail than is usually done. Provide an estimate of the signal propagation in real-world conditions from an objective source (that is, us / UIUC). Also possibly: Try a DTV signal vs analog.
OPEN.
Spectrum for Sensors
Relate spectrum to development of sensors. What spectrum do they use? Case study: How can they be encouraged to conserve spectrum without licensing?
OPEN.
Does asking everyday people to get a license really work? (***)
(also includes: Does restricting a band by content and then not enforcing it really work?) If you buy a FRS/GMRS radio from Best Buy you are supposed to have an $85 GMRS license from the federal government if you EVER use it with the switch set to "GMRS". (You are supposed to go to the ULS to get a license.) First of all, let's get a license and see how hard/easy it is. Second, get a list of who is licensed in our area. Third, let's monitor the GMRS channels and see if these people have licenses. (Maybe ask them?). Also, it is illegal to use GMRS for business use. Can we find any GMRS pirates? (or I guess "trespassers"?)
OPEN.
The Wireless Civil Disobedience Project
Document case studies of recent and historic examples where civil disobedience changes wireless laws. E.g., radio caroline, otto purbo in indonesia, etc.
OPEN.
The More Extreme Wireless Civil Disobedience Project
Think of an act of wireless civil disobedience that we can perform that will change wireless laws. (needs development.)
OPEN.
"COPS: FCC Edition" (or maybe: 'Copps'? Ha, ha.)
(was titled: Does it Help to Have Spectrum Cops?) Use freedom of information laws and phone calls and site visits and charm to gain information about FCC enforcement of laws about wireless. What kinds of cases are investigated? Is this increasing or decreasing? How much money is spent on enforcement? Is this cost-effective? Is there a better way to do things? Try to go on a "ride along" with an FCC enforcement officer (if something like this exists.) Find violations and file complaints to see how they are handled.
OPEN.
Does it Help to Have Spectrum Vigilantes?
Find an example of "grassroots" or vigilante spectrum enforcement and ask similar questions to the last project idea. E.g., the NFL wireless coordinating committee, or the UIUC CITES wireless people.
OPEN.
The Experience of Licensing
What goes into getting different kinds of licenses? e.g., Amateur/ham, LPFM... Let's try to get some licenses and document the process. (Must coordinate with Prometheus etc. so as not to duplicate their work.)
OPEN.
Survey of Broadcasters' Attitudes on Spectrum Policy: Local and National
Examine the "official" positions adopted by large industry groups such as NAB regarding spectrum policy issues. Contrast this data with the opinions of local broadcast station managers and personnel. Is there a difference? Is the national industry position fully supported by its constituents? (Matt)
OPEN.
Broadband to Rural Areas
Lots of people who live in rural areas have no access to in-home broadband Internet service. Wired providers (cable and phone companies) have little motivation to invest in expensive infrastructure that serves sparsely populated areas. Satellite-based broadband is an option for broadband downloads, but not uploads. Can we work with local organizations to use radios to bring broadband to rural communities? Here's a link with more info and also with some discussion of relevant policy discussions in Illinois and Virginia. (Sam)
OPEN.
Wireless Technology in Border Security
The U.S. federal government has recently debated the construction of a security wall on the southern border with Mexico. An alternative view suggests that a "virtual wall" of wireless sensors could be deployed to alert border security, lessening the burden on tax payers and locals who could be psychologically affected by a physical wall. What is the government's current position on this matter, and how feasible would this virtual alternative be? (Bobby)
OPEN.
Clearing the Spectrum for First Responders
Policy proposals now being discussed would give first responders "priority" access to the spectrum the same way that ambulances clear the road with flashing lights. But does this analogy really work for radios as well as it does for roads? If there is a major emergency, this means that everyone's cell phones could stop working so that firemen and police could have more capacity. Is this really a good idea? One way to investigate this would be to know more about how first responders communicate. (Or the flip side, to know more about how civilians use wireless in an emergency.) We could start with web research but we could also use interviews.
- Could be related/included as a part of the Campus Emergency Wireless project
OPEN.
Why Can't Radios All Get Along?
Since 9/11 there has been a big push to make public safety radios (from different manufacturers, but also from different jurisdictions) work well together. But they still don't! The technology already exists to make this work, but why won't it work? This (like the last one) could also be a combo of web research and some interviews/field work.
OPEN.
Do Smart Radios Need Wireless Carterfone?
A policy proposal called "Wireless Carterfone" (discussed in lecture, and also see: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=962027) may signal the end of locked cell phones, more choice in phone handsets, no more onerous contracts with your cell phone company, and possibly other benefits. But what about devices beyond cell phones? This project would involve reading and learning about smart radios and trying to understand what policy proposals their success may require.
CONCLUDED. Don't sign up.
Wireless Tracking of Wireless Corruption
Tracking corruption in infrastructure projects could be immensely helped by cheap mobile devices that could snap pictures (with time and geolocation stamps) of progress and non-progress of specific projects in developing countries. Companies often promise governments and citizens that they will attain a certain level of infrastructure investment. Can a system like this be used to track the promises of companies who are supposed to be investing in communication infrastructure?
- Building a cheap wireless sensor like this might be helpful for the RED Project, the TV white space project, the Is the spectrum full project, and more.
OPEN.
What's happening with mobile data?
Mobile data roaming is a huge moneymaker for cell phone companies. But today there are more new devices that use both wifi (which is sometimes free) and the cell phone networks -- like the Apple iPhone. What is the future of mobile data, as people come to rely more and more on the ability to check their email and browse the Web while moving around? This may be a comparative project that looks at the US vs. Europe. (Needs better definition of policy problem.)
IN PROCESS.
Whitespace Device Inventory
What types of cognitive radio / whitespace sensitive devices are already being used? (e.g., Darpa XG project, 5GHz 802.11a transceivers & U-NII band). This would be a BIG help to policy efforts to understand the merits of cognitive radios / whitespace devices. (Could be done with web research and emailing.)
OPEN.
Data Mining the FCC
A vast wealth of public information is available online from the FCC and related sources. But it is terribly hard to access and organize. Can we crawl/extract/organize/understand/deep link the FCC's online information in some useful way? What about an FCC RSS Feeder: a system for interfacing with the current FCC document archive system and creating RSS feeds, off-site archives, etc.? This would address a serious policy need.
OPEN.
Spectrum Policy Metablog
Metablogs are blogs of other blogs. Spectrum Policy Research needs a Spectrum Policy metablog: someone who would like to help create a metablog of the best spectrum policy blogs out there -- e.g., identifying and contacting authors, getting feeds, aggregating them, etc. This would be a simple thing to do but it would be a GREAT help to the policy community.
CONCLUDED.
A $10,000 wireless network
With an imaginary $10,000 budget, could you design and build a "public interest" wireless network that would be useful to a community in Illinois? For what "public interest" purpose (e.g. safety, education, economic development, etc.) would you build the network? How could you get the most "bang for your buck"?
First part CONCLUDED. Don't sign up.
Homeland Security Projects
The national Department of Homeland Security has spent millions funding state homeland security department public safety communication projects. How many of those millions are spent on wireless technologies? To what end?
OPEN.
What is the Government Up To?
(Related to the last project idea.) The government is the largest user of the spectrum. In almost every country in the world it has legally reserved most of the spectrum for itself. Can we find out what it does with that vast amount of capacity? (Could use public records, the freedom of information act, etc.) [Note also there is a current push to reform government use of spectrum so this might be a hot issue right now.]
CONCLUDED. Don't sign up.
Does better spectrum policy speed tech adoption?
Some countries adopt ICTs at rates much higher than you would expect given their national income (Some examples are: Estonia, South Korea, Lebanon, Turkey, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Kenya, Costa Rica). Is there something about their spectrum policies that they have in common, which may contribute to this phenomenon? (it may be that they share a similar set of policies, OR a similar political culture or process of setting policy) [One of our advisors has offered us data about technology adoption in these and other countries.]
CONCLUDED. See: [What are the 5 most important wireless policies...?]
Wireless Quiet Zones?
Research and explain the work toward Cell Phone (or even RF) "Quiet Zones." This technology has implications for both national security and... stopping cell phone users in movie theatres. Is it all hype? Example: [DefendAir Wireless Absorbing Paint]
OPEN.
Another Kind of Wireless Quiet Zones?
In most countries, there are a variety of geographic areas (usually around military bases) where there are different rules about the electromagnetic spectrum than in the rest of the country. (Usually the rules are much more strict.) Find out more about these zones and what exactly these rules are for. Some strange things have been reported. For instance: In class Sam related the story of unlicensed wireless speakers being confiscated in Virginia by police going house-to-house with detectors. And this AP story from 2004 reports that 127 people living within seven miles of Eglin Air Force Base found that all of their garage door openers stopped working.
OPEN.
Astroturf Spectrum Campaigns?
Follow up on allegations made by the Washington Post that some spectrum policy debates at the FCC are influenced by remarkably shady practices. Names have appeared on petitions without the knowledge of the alleged signer. E-mails to regulators and congress have been generated by systems that trick people to sign up for things they don't understand. "Grassroots" campaigns have been well-funded funded by an interested industry, given a deceptive name, then passed off as lobbying by concerned citizens.
OPEN.
Campus Wireless Emergency Notification
Wireless doesn't work for emergency notification in school shootings because carriers have limits on how many text messages a user (?) can send at one time. UIUC just spent $100,000 on such a system but it may not help in a real emergency. How do these systems work? Is there a better way to protect students? Output: Come up with recommendations for universities.
- Could be related/included as a part of the Clearing the spectrum for first responders project.
ONGOING.
WiMax: Vaporware or the Real Deal? (NEW)
Just as the title says, WiMax technology is supposed to be the next big thing in wireless data, replacing and improving upon Wi-Fi. What is the real story, in a short and accessible format? This project would produce a short, critical public education output about this new technology that would be helpful for NGOs working in this area.
IN PROGRESS.
Is there International Evidence for Wireless Carterfone? (NEW)
Can the U.S. look at evidence from other countries to answer the question: Is it useful to have rules that allow any handset to be used with any carrier (or similar rules)? (This is called "Wireless Carterfone".) What countries are doing a good job with this? Is there evidence it would lead to cool new phones or features? Lower prices? No more long-term contracts that lock you in to phones you can only use with one carrier? etc. The output for this project could be a cross between an international comparison and a "Consumer Reports" kind of piece.
CONCLUDED. Don't sign up.
Can New Ideas About Spectrum Transfer to WIRED Cable TV Networks? (NEW)
We have a lot of wire in the ground and overhead. Suppose we apply ideas about co-existence of unlicensed and licensed users in wireless---whitespace, underlay/overlay, etc.---to the CATV (cable television) system? Is it feasible to operate community networks on that wire without interfering with the primary uses? This is both a legal and technical question. Can you build a network terminal that plugs into a cable jack at your home, and communicates with similar terminals in other homes, without interfering with cable modems or television? Is there any basis in law for a municipality to use its franchise power to make the cable company allow these terminals?
OPEN.
How Much Does Interface Secrecy Cost Us? (NEW)
Document costs to radio innovation caused by secrecy. For example, survey the device capabilities that are exposed by SOME companies that make closed-source wireless chipset drivers and compare them to companies that make open-source wireless chipsets. Would the best thing be a limited vendor API, an "ideal" API, closed or open documentation? Look at the costs of a closed architecture versus an open architecture. Both opportunity costs and monetary costs may be important: it costs money to buy a source license to, say, the Atheros HAL. Also, research may never be done because the would-be researcher cannot adjust some parameters in a closed-source driver.
OPEN.
Could We "Build" a Network Just By Encouraging Cooperation? (NEW)
If every privately-owned WiFi access point in Champaign-Urbana turned to a public Internet access point over night, just how thick would the coverage be? Survey C-U for access points. Since detecting an AP at a location does not guarantee access at that location, probe APs to estimate link qualities, or extrapolate from signal strength to link quality. What would it cost for a municipal/grassroots effort to replicate this coverage? What technologies and incentive plans can a community group or a city government offer to private individuals, that encourages them to offer open wireless access? Look at FON and <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080206-students-tout-wifi-co-ops-as-alternative-to-municipal-wifi.html> for ideas.
CONCLUDED. Don't sign up.
Are Ultra-High-Latency Wireless Network Designs Useful For Anything? (NEW)
It is possible to design wireless networks that hand off data between slower moving vehicles. E.g., a Wi-Fi system installed in a mail truck that collects/deposits information whenever it is near another specially configured wireless system. Is there any broader utility for these systems? Perhaps in developing countries? Investigate and write an accessible output documenting the situation.
OPEN.
What are the 5 most important wireless policies for any country? (***)
You have to tell the United Nations five principles of "good spectrum policy," globally. Things to consider: Should these principles encourage different policies based on the wealth of countries or is one policy best for all? Should spectrum policy be different if a country adopts high rates of mobile phones but low rates of PCs (e.g., policy that benefits mobile phones vs. wireless computing)? You might try: Compare a small, technologically innovative country with a middling level of wealth (Estonia or South Korea) with large industrialized or industrializing countries (India or China or US). What is the best wireless policy for each? What does it take to CHANGE spectrum allocation in the smaller country vs the bigger country? Which is harder to do and why? (continues the work of [Does better spectrum policy speed tech adoption?])
IN PROGRESS.
How can Wireless Help Indiginous Peoples / First Nations in remote areas? (***)
There are many first nations wireless projects that are somewhat similar, all over the world (K-Net, Tribal Digitial Village, The Warlpiri Media Association). Identify First Nations wireless projects and then work out what policy problems they have in common. Form an Interest Group or ISOC Chapter and a mailing list to help them organize, share ideas and/or coordinate shared interests.
IN PROGRESS.
$10K Wireless Network, Continued (***)
Continue the work of the earlier $10K wireless network group to produce a public output that would provide concrete advice for grant recipients (or others) who have $10K to spend on a wireless network.
IN PROGRESS.
Dissemination Team (***)
Develop a Web site and possibly print materials to promote the work of broadCAST project. Any Web site development should be in a format that could be used by future classes. This project may include a small budget.
IN PROGRESS.
Whatever happened to all that fiber?
Throughout the dot-com boom, telecom companies spent billions to cover the country with fiber optic cable. Then they went bankrupt (Qwest). Is this cable used now? Who owns it? How could this cable help or be related to the current craze for wireless systems?
OPEN.
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