NSF Award
2201447
The research objective of this proposal is to provide a general-purpose, scalable edge-computing architecture critically needed to support the next generation of personal protective equipment (PPE) technology. The proliferation of sensors and wireless sensor networks (WSNs) results in high-volume data generation, increases the computational burden at the central data center, creates data transmission bottlenecks, and hinders the real-time decision-making process. These challenges arise due to the existing limits of IoT devices on computational power, memory, and wireless bandwidth (BW) allocation. The case study chosen as a framework for developing such a system is motivated by the recent and urgent need for better tracking of the spread of transmittable diseases over large areas. The WEPPE project will resort to two-phase approaches to address the challenges mentioned earlier. In the first phase, the project will investigate a low-cost inkjet-printable nonlinear-element and develop a machine-learning platform on a flexible substrate for low-level sensor data processing or in-situ computation. In the second phase, the project will integrate an efficient analog pulse-based data encoding and decoding scheme to wirelessly relay the processed sensor data from the first phase to a data center without requiring extended network bandwidth. The proposed WEPPE project is expected to produce a unique machine learning framework that hinges on the fundamentals of reservoir computing, novel inkjet-printed sensors and nonlinear elements, and wireless data telemetry scheme with secure communication. Customized hardware and low-level computing will enable in situ edge computing while maintaining quality data abstraction for real-time network-level or big data processing for rapid decision-making. The education goal is to broaden the participation of female, minority, and African-American students and train and educate them for the next era of engineering challenges.<br/><br/>This proposed project will investigate how edge computing via hardware-based machine learning and data encryption/decryption schemes may effectively resolve the IoT problems of limited bandwidth, secure data transmission, high-density data throughput, and power-efficient in-situ computation. The project has targeted mainly four research goals - (i) Research on Reservoir Computing Architectures for Sensor Network Analysis, (ii) Research on Inkjet-Printed Devices for Sensing and Physical Computing, (iii) Investigate Energy-Efficient Orthogonal Pulses and Multi-bit Data Mapping, and (iv) Research on Orthogonal Analog Pulse Based Data Compression and Decompression. A reservoir computing architecture-based machine learning platform, especially the Echo State Network (ESN), will be investigated for its simplicity, less training time with relatively reduced training data volume, and ease of deployment. As an integral part of this effort, the project will also investigate an inkjet-printed low-cost nonlinear element, which will be a core building block for developing a machine-learning platform on a flexible substrate. The reservoir will generate a state vector, which is a hyper-dimensionalized encrypted representation of the raw data, and as a result, will provide data compression and security. Fault detection and sensor fusion will occur by training the reservoir and merging the state vectors. The state vectors from the reservoirs will then be further encrypted and spectrally compressed in the "Wearable Hub" by a k-bit encoding scheme using analog orthogonal pulses (AOP). At the "Local Server," the encoded AOPs from all the wearable hubs will be compressed by an n-pulse compression technique and transmitted to the "Data Center." The secured receiver at the "Data Center" will decode the state vectors using secured read-out neurons, providing predictions to be sent back to the end users for monitoring or large-scale processing by deep learning and other machine learning methods.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
