Rice University has received a five-year, $15 million award from the U.S. Army Research Office to establish a national research center aimed at transforming the way wireless systems sense, image and communicate. The new Center for Large Aperture Secure Sensing, Imaging and Communications, known as CLASSIC, will unite scientists and engineers from universities, national laboratories and industry to develop antenna technologies designed for increasingly complex and contested environments.
The center will be led by Edward Knightly, the Sheafor-Lindsay Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice. Its research will focus on extremely large-scale antenna arrays, or ELSAAs, which can contain hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of coordinated radiating elements. By controlling these elements with extreme precision, researchers can shape and steer radio waves, creating communication and sensing capabilities far beyond those of conventional antenna systems.
Unlike a single antenna, an array can coordinate many individual elements so that their signals reinforce one another in selected directions and cancel interference elsewhere. This process, known as beamforming, allows wireless systems to direct energy toward a receiver, track moving objects or scan an environment with greater accuracy. In principle, ELSAAs could enable communication links that remain functional when signals are obstructed, jammed or reflected by complicated surroundings.
The technology could also blur the traditional boundary between communications and radar. The same radio-frequency hardware used to transmit data may be adapted to detect objects, estimate their position and construct detailed images. In challenging environments, such systems could help identify concealed or moving targets, monitor areas where visibility is poor and maintain reliable links between networked devices. The researchers say the goal is to create systems that are not only faster, but also more resilient and secure.
CLASSIC will investigate five connected areas of research. Scientists will study the fundamental physics and engineering of extremely large antenna arrays, develop sensing methods for detecting potential threats, and design high-speed wireless networks capable of operating under disruption. They will also examine wireless jamming, in which deliberate interference prevents signals from reaching their intended destinations, and conduct laboratory and field experiments to determine how the technology performs outside controlled conditions.
One of the center’s most ambitious efforts will be an artificial intelligence-driven modeling framework capable of simulating complex electromagnetic environments in real time. Radio waves can be scattered, absorbed or redirected by buildings, terrain, vehicles, weather and other objects. Predicting these interactions for an enormous antenna array can require substantial computing power. By using AI to accelerate the modeling process, the researchers hope to reduce the time and computational resources needed to design, test and optimize future systems.
The center will not rely solely on computer simulations. Researchers plan to use existing experimental platforms to validate antenna arrays ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of radiating elements. Laboratory measurements will be followed by drone-based field trials, allowing the team to evaluate how the systems handle realistic motion, interference, obstructions and changing electromagnetic conditions. These tests are intended to reveal whether theoretical improvements translate into dependable performance in the field.
Knightly will work with co-principal investigators from Rice, the University of Texas at Austin, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of California, Los Angeles, Northeastern University, Brown University and Duke University. The partnership also includes Booz Allen Hamilton, Intel, Keysight, Lockheed Martin, MITRE, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm and Raytheon. The broad coalition brings together expertise in wireless networking, antennas, radar, artificial intelligence, circuits, physics and electronic systems.
According to Rice, the center is designed to address challenges that cannot be solved through isolated projects. Developing a secure, large-aperture wireless platform requires advances across several layers of technology, from electromagnetic materials and radio-frequency circuits to signal processing, network architecture and machine learning. By combining these disciplines, CLASSIC aims to demonstrate systems that can communicate, sense and adapt simultaneously, potentially changing how future wireless networks operate in both civilian and defense applications.
The award also reflects a growing demand for wireless technologies that can function reliably in environments crowded with signals and physical obstacles. As more devices, autonomous platforms and sensors compete for access to the wireless spectrum, conventional approaches may struggle to provide sufficient bandwidth, precision and protection against interference. CLASSIC researchers hope that extremely large antenna arrays, supported by real-time AI modeling and field validation, will provide a foundation for wireless systems with greater capacity, situational awareness, resilience and security.
Subject of Research: Secure sensing, imaging and communications using extremely large-scale antenna arrays, artificial intelligence, radar and resilient wireless networks.
Article Title: Rice to Lead $15M Army Research Center for Next-Generation Sensing and Communications
Web References: https://classic.rice.edu/ ; https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/edward-w-knightly ; https://profiles.rice.edu/staff/david-sholl ; https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/amy-dittmar
Image Credits: Courtesy of Rice University
Keywords
Sensors, imaging, radar, artificial intelligence, physics, wireless communications, antenna arrays, electromagnetic sensing, secure communications, defense technology
Tags: advanced radio wave shapingantenna array development for wireless communicationbeamforming and signal steering innovationscomplex environment communication solutionsELSAA technology for resilient communicationinterdisciplinary collaboration in wireless sensinglarge aperture secure sensing technologymilitary-grade wireless systems researchmulti-element antenna array engineeringnational security-focused antenna researchNext-generation sensing and communication systemsU.S. Army-funded wireless technology development
