NSF/Intel Partnership on Machine Learning for Wireless Networking Systems (WLWiNS)

Funding Agency:
National Science Foundation

This program seeks to accelerate fundamental, broad-based research on wireless-specific machine learning (ML) techniques, towards a new wireless system and architecture design, which can dynamically access shared spectrum, efficiently operate with limited radio and network resources, and scale to address the diverse and stringent quality-of-service requirements of future wireless applications. In parallel, this program also targets research on reliable distributed ML by addressing the challenge of computation over wireless edge networks to enable ML for wireless and future applications. Model-based approaches for designing the wireless network stack have proven quite efficient in delivering the networks in wide use today; research enabled by this program is expected to identify realistic problems that can be best solved by ML and to address fundamental questions about expected improvements from using ML over model-based methods.

Proposals may address one or more Research Vectors (RVs): ML for Wireless Networks; ML for Spectrum Management; and Distributed ML over Wireless Edge Networks. It is anticipated that 10 to 15 awards will be made, with an award size of $300,000-$1,500,000, for periods of up to 3 years. The budget should be commensurate with the complexity of the proposed research. Projects will be funded across this range.

Full Proposal Deadline Date:   October 29, 2019

Agency Website

Eligibility Requirements

Proposals may only be submitted by the following:

  • Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: 1

An individual may participate as PI, co-PI, or senior personnel in no more than one proposal submitted in response to this solicitation. In the event that an individual exceeds these limits, the first proposal received will be accepted based on the earliest date and time of proposal submission. No exceptions will be made.

This limit on the number of proposals per PI, co-PI or Senior Personnel applies only to this NSF/Intel Partnership on Machine Learning for Wireless Networking Systems program solicitation.

 

Amount

$1,500,000

Amount Description

Estimated Number of Awards: 10 to 15

It is anticipated that 10 to 15 awards will be made, with an award size of $300,000-$1,500,000, for periods of up to 3 years. The budget should be commensurate with the complexity of the proposed research. Projects will be funded across this range.

Smaller-scale projects are well-suited to one or two investigators (PI and one co-PI or other Senior Personnel) and a small number of students and/or postdocs. Larger-scale projects are well-suited to a small number of investigators (PI, co-PI and/or other Senior Personnel) and several students and/or postdocs. Larger-scale projects are encouraged to be inclusive of a prototyping effort for the researched solutions.

Equal consideration will be provided across all RVs in award decisions.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $9,000,000

Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.

Funding Type

Grant

Eligibility

Faculty

Category

Engineering and Physical Sciences

External Deadline

October 29, 2019