Intracell Wins Awards at 2013 Cornell Cup USA, presented by Intel

Congratulations to team Intracell (Electrical Engineering) for receiving the 3rd place Award and the Media Award at the 2013 Cornell Cup USA, presented by Intel, at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Team members:

• Jeff Wiencrot — Resume
• Ben Larkin — Resume
• Monte ‘Damaris’ Smith — Resume
• Rich McLean — Resume
• Kyle Dunn — Resume

Faculty advisor: Dan Connors — website

Check out a video from the event:

Team Abstract:

The proliferation of cellular phones and mobile devices has shaped all aspects of communication, learning, and entertainment. However, traditional cellular phone service methods still struggle to provide adequate service coverage under various geographical and architectural constraints. Our project solves this issue with inexpensive, networked cell phone transceiver nodes that function together as a local extension to the global cellular network. Each transceiver node is a small single-board computer, about the size of a Wi-Fi router. The network connection provides a digital path for calls, bypassing the geographical and architectural constraints that would normally prevent coverage.

Our low-cost, modular approach to cellular phone service fills the gaps left by traditional distribution methods by taking advantage of emerging technologies of high-performance system-on-chip (SoC) architectures. Our proposed solution has the potential to work independent of existing cell networks or could be used to enhance existing system infrastructure. As an independent system, our solution enables the democratization of cellular phone service, by empowering communities to provide their own coverage. As an enhancement to existing systems, our solution provides an inexpensive alternative to new cell tower construction. A successful demonstration would allow a cellular phone user seamless integration between the provider network and our system.