Collaborative Research: CCRI: New: Open AI Cellular (OAIC): Prototyping Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Control and Testing Systems for Cellular Communications Research

This collaborative project brings together investigators from Mississippi State University (MSU) and Virginia Tech (VT) to develop a software infrastructure that spurs research and development on artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cellular radio networks. The main contribution is Open AI Cellular (OAIC), the first fully open-source software architecture, library, and toolset that encompass both the AI controllers (OAIC-C) as well as an AI testing framework (OAIC-T) for enabling research on 6G Open Radio Access Networks.

This project puts the U.S. in the leading position of research, development, and testing of AI-enhanced cellular networks, initiated and organized by a group of academics and their collaborators and maintained by the wireless research community.

The project (1) specifies the methodology along with the technical requirements, a reference architecture and design to facilitate collaborative software development; (2) designs and develops the fundamental OAIC-C software library for common software-defined radio (SDR) platforms; (3) facilitates systematic and exhaustive testing with the OAIC-T framework on community wireless research testbeds that are accessible to researchers; (4) develops verification tools and resources to facilitate rapid prototyping and testing as well as offers a variety of user services, such as mailing lists, code repositories, and learning material; and (5) implements a variety of community engagement and outreach processes, including the organization of workshops to engage with and leverage the community for long-term maintenance and sustainability.

OAIC enhances lecture material by introducing hands-on laboratory sessions at MSU, VT, and collaborating universities. Industry, standardization bodies, and regulators are regularly informed about OAIC resources and projects, which can be leveraged for determining important standardization and regulatory decisions related to 6G. Other US agencies will be able to leverage OAIC and the community around it to develop AI-enhanced cellular technology and systems for purposes such as transportation and smart grid applications.

The code repositories, documentation, and other material are maintained by the OAIC team with contributions from the research community. The project website (https://sites.google.com/msstate.edu/oaic) consolidates the OAIC project information and provides links to all project deliverables and related resources. The project repository/website maintenance is planned for several years beyond the initial project timeline through the community ecosystem and follow-up projects.

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.