More flexibility in wireless protocols is necessary to accommodate the ever-expanding use cases that new wireless devices demand and bring about ultra-resilient wireless systems. To address the need for adaptability and resiliency, this project explores the novel idea of building a wireless protocol layering approach where additional functionality is added to a wireless protocol using "wireless sub-protocols". A wireless sub-protocol is a protocol built on top of another wireless protocol. They provide a way for a base protocol to increase its abilities beyond what the original protocol designers intended. A communication scheme can be built on top of an existing protocol by measuring and controlling the physical layer properties in user space software. This innovative technique allows a device to gain new capabilities and thus adaptability, with only a software update. Sub-protocols coexist with the base protocol, allowing the application developer to decide when to use one or the other. This project will build a framework for prototyping, building, and testing different types of wireless sub-protocols. The project will use wireless testbeds to prototype new wireless sub-protocols rapidly. This project will enable a new research area of wireless sub-protocols, impacting future designs of wireless devices.
