Repeatable and realistic wireless experimentation through physical emulation

Abstract

In wireless networking research, there has long existed a fundamental tension between experimental realism on one hand, and control and repeatability on the other hand. Hardware-based experimentation provides realism, but is tightly coupled to the physical environment and circumstances under which experiments are carried out. To overcome this, researchers have understandably embraced simulation as a means of evaluation. Unfortunately, wireless simulation is plagued with inherent inaccuracies. To overcome the stark tradeoff between the realism of hardware-based experimentation and the repeatability of simulation-based experimentation, we are developing a wireless emulator that enables both realistic and repeatable experimentation. Unlike previous emulators, our approach simultaneously achieves both a high degree of realism and fine-grained repeatability by leveraging physical layer emulation.