TRANCIDS · Transmission over Channels with Insertions and Deletions

Insertions and deletions represent perhaps the most challenging impairments exhibited by communication channels in a wide range of applications from recording systems and covert communications to DNA storage. While tremendous progress has been made in determining the ultimate limits of communication using information-theoretic tools as well as in designing and implementing signaling solutions for various channel models with practical significance; for the case of insertion/deletion channels, even the simple scenarios are not fully understood. For instance, we do even not know the capacity of the basic independent and identically distributed binary deletion channel. TRANCIDS will take on the monumental challenge of conquering the insertions and deletions by developing precise theoretical limits of communication and by designing explicit and implementable coding solutions approaching these limits. Specifically, TRANCIDS will 1) establish with precision the capacity of basic deletion/insertion channels, and obtain tight upper and lower bounds on the capacities of more sophisticated channel models encountered in practice (including the effects of noise and interference); 2) formulate and explore wireless communication problems with insertions and deletions (including multi-input and multi-output systems as well as different multi-user communications settings); 3) develop explicit and implementable channel coding solutions for a variety of channel models with insertions and deletions of practical importance; 4) address the channel capacity and code design problems for channels with additional impairments such as permutations as motivated by in-vivo DNA storage applications. TRANCIDS will highly impact different emerging applications such as DNA storage and beyond 5G wireless communications. Furthermore, the findings will help facilitate the development of DNA computing technologies of the future.