Argos was first developed at Rice in 2011 as a 64-antenna base station, becoming the first Massive MIMO base station ever built. Since then, Argos has evolved with two newer versions. The most recent version of Argos (ArgosV3) has been already deployed around Rice campus as part of the ArgosNet project. Argosv3, now known as Faros, is developed by Skylark Wireless and now commercially available.
The RENEW platform aim is to serve three goals: 1) Integrate and deploy on the POWDER platform, at the University of Utah campus and areas around the campus. 2) Empower custom testbeds, using Iris and Faros, to enable novel applications. 3) Work closely with other open-source efforts, like OpenAirInterface, to empower next-generation of wireless equipment.
The RENEW project will develop world’s first fully programmable and observable wireless radio network. With RENEW, wireless research and development community will be able to test diverse ideas and concepts, ranging from low-level hardware to all the way to novel applications. The project will support many firsts, like
RENEW is a partnership of Rice University, University of Michigan and Texas Southern University. The RENEW team will leverage extensive past experience, namely