Counter-jamming using mixed mechanical and software interference cancellation

Wireless networks are an integral part of today's cyber-physical infrastructure. Their resiliency to jamming is critical not only for military applications, but also for civilian and commercial applications. In this paper, we design, prototype, and evaluate a system for cancelling jammers that are significantly more powerful than the transmitting node. Our system combines a novel mechanical beam-forming design with a fast auto-configuration algorithm and a software radio digital interference cancellation algorithm. Our mechanical beam-forming uses a custom-designed two-elements architecture and an iterative algorithm for jammer signal identification and cancellation. We have built a fully functional prototype (using 3D printers, servos, USRP-SDR) and demonstrate a robust communication in the presence of jammers operating at five orders of magnitude stronger power than the transmitting node. Similar performance in traditional phased arrays and radar systems requires tens to hundreds of elements, high cost and size