Chandramouli and Subbalakshmi receive NSF grant

research integrates human behavior and CR network design

By: Melissa Wiegand

Posted: 11/20/09

Rajarathnam Chandramouli, Thomas Hattrick Chair Professor of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Stevens, along with his colleague, Professor Koduvayur Subbalakshmi, recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation for their research on "Human Behavior Inspired Cognitive Radio (CR) Network Design." "Cognitive radio systems are intelligent enough to think for themselves," says Chandramouli. They have the ability to sense the environment and self-learn to maximize an individual or group utility function. In a project that requires the study of disciplines such as evolutionary and cognitive psychology, behavioral economics, decision theory and dynamic spectrum access, the research team plans to integrate the fundamental axioms of human behavior into cognitive radio networking research and development.
Anthropologists separate human behavior into two categories: individual and group behavior. A person exhibits individual behavior when he/she places individual needs above those of others. In contrast, group behavior occurs when the benefit of others is taken into consideration. Humans also exhibit rational and irrational behavior. According to the researchers, the majority of existing technological developments are based on the assumption that wireless nodes behave rationally. Chandramouli says, "Game theory is based on the assumption that all players will behave rationally. This theory fails if players make irrational decisions." Therefore new theories, based on human behavior, are needed to study the effects of irrational behavior that could be induced by software viruses or attackers in a wireless network. Chandramouli believes that if a group of wireless nodes begins to exhibit irrational behavior, the network they belong to will change dramatically and become unpredictable. This research project focuses on developing a cognitive radio system that implements and tests different types of irrational behaviors inspired by interactions in a human society, in the hopes that it will result in increased network availability and improved security methods.
Cognitive radios have potential applications in both households and the public service industry. At home, wireless signals are often disrupted by electromagnetic waves such as those produced by microwave ovens. Subbalakshmi envisions a wireless network that would be able to "detect interference caused by the microwave ovens, etc. and move the signal to another channel." First responders could benefit from cognitive radio technology by the creation of an intelligent inter-operable network that would enable multiple agencies to communicate seamlessly in the event of a disaster such as that which occurred on September 11, 2001. "If an emergency situation occurs, the network will automatically configure itself to facilitate inter-operable communications, and then fix itself after the situation has been taken care of," says Subbalakshmi.
"Spider Radio" is the cognitive radio prototype currently being developed in the Multimedia Systems Networking and Communications Laboratory at Stevens for use in such a first responder system. Ph.D. students and post-doctorates have the opportunity to do research in this project area. The faculty plans to request funding for undergraduate research, as well. They would like to give undergraduate students the chance to implement the cognitive radio system and test its functionality on the Stevens campus under various conditions.
Videos and results regarding the cognitive radio (Spider Radio) technology being developed at Stevens can be found at http://www.stevens.edu/spider-radio.
Professor Chandramouli has been a member of the Stevens faculty for nine years. He was a recipient of the National Science Foundation's CAREER Award in 2001. His research interests include cognitive radio networks, wireless security, covert communications on the internet, text forensics, computational biology and applied probability theory. This year, Chandramouli was the keynote speaker at the International Conference on Wireless Communications and Signal Processing in Nanjing, China.
Professor Subbalakshmi has also been a member of the Stevens faculty for nine years. Her paper on cognitive radio networks was awarded the Best Student Paper Award in IEEE CCNC 2006. Her research interests include cognitive radio network and wireless security, internet and media security/forensics, information theory and coding. She is the Chair of the Security Special Interest Group of the IEEE Multimedia Technical Committee.