The FUN team at Inria Lille opens a PhD position on exploiting opportunistic unlicensed LTE access for IoT.

Position type: PhD Student
Functional area: Lille, FUN group https://team.inria.fr/fun/fr/ Scientific advisor: Cristina Cano - cristina.cano@inria.fr HR Contact: alice.pouillot@inria.fr Application deadline: 30/05/2016

More info at: http://goo.gl/c1qQ24

[Context]

The IoT paradigm has attracted considerable attention from both the industry and the academia in the last years and it is already shaping the vision of the networks of the future. However, practical implementations have encountered several challenges when using capillary networks (such as WiFi and ZigBee). These challenges arise due to multihop communication, the lack of ubiquitous coverage and the inability to provide the QoS guarantees required for certain applications. In light of these problems faced by IoT practitioners, the use of cellular networks has been recently proposed as a complement to existing solutions. One of the main concerns of using cellular networks to provide IoT services is that the use of the network by a massive number of devices, even if these generate individually low traffic loads, might starve traditional cellular users of access. However, cellular operators are currently exploring different ways to further increase the capacity of their networks, one of these is the opportunistic use of the unlicensed spectrum, which is known as unlicensed LTE. Given the amount of resources that the unlicensed spectrum provides, the successful deployment of unlicensed LTE could potentially absorb traffic coming from IoT services without degrading traditional cellular traffic.

[Topic]

Although the use of unlicensed LTE is a potential way to enable IoT applications with stringent QoS requirements, there are challenges to overcome in order for this option to be viable. This PhD thesis will explore these challenges. The PhD student will first study how to guarantee that traditional cellular users do not starve of access in presence of IoT traffic and will define the main conditions and strategies to accomplish this goal. Second, he/she will evaluate how to provide smooth coexistence with other networks operating in the unlicensed bands, such as WiFi. In order to guarantee this coexistence, the student will explore the impact of the particularities of IoT traffic to coexistence mechanisms and the suitability of coexistence paradigms to IoT requirements. The thesis goals will be addressed from a balanced approach between strong mathematical foundations and experimental assessments.

[Skills and profile]

We seek outstanding candidates with a degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or a related field with the following skills:

- Motivation to tackle challenging research problems.
- Creative and independent thinking.
- Good programming skills.
- Strong mathematical background.
- English proficiency (French is not required).
- Good communication skills.

[Additional Information]

- Duration: 36 months
- Starting date of the contract: 01/10/2016
- Salary: 1958 € the first two years and 2059 € the third year

[Benefits]

- Possibility of French courses
- Help for housing
- Participation in transports costs
- Scientific Resident card and help for visa
- Catering facilities

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Cristina Cano
Research Scientist
FUN team, Inria Lille-Nord Europe
Parc scientifique de la Haute Borne
40, Avenue Halley
59650 Villeneuve D'Ascq, France
E-mail: cristina.cano[at]inria[dot]fr
Phone: +33 359 577 867