This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project seeks to develop a cognitive radio system to provide reliable wireless communications to first responders. The ability to effectively use wireless is critical in emergency incident management and has been a major issue since 9/11 - with "interoperability" being the key phrase. The technology proposed is to develop a cognitive communication system capable of adapting its mode of operation autonomously according to the perceived needs of current situations to improve the reliability of current technologies. The main capabilities of the proposed system will be to: (1) operate autonomously and in multiple modes, (2) optimize the system resources according to the current situation and user requirements, (3) minimize interference to other communication systems in the area, and (4) facilitate interoperability with existing and future communication systems. The objectives are to develop a system architecture for the proposed autonomous cognitive radio system, design and develop the cognitive engine for the proposed system and develop the proof-of-concept hardware of the proposed system. These objectives will address the main feasibility challenges outlined.
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to transform current research efforts under the term of cognitive radio into a unified research effort, based on a top-level system approach, with clear future technology objectives. The approach will take the next steps to help realize a cognitive and reconfigurable multi-service/standard and multi-band operation, as well as enhanced wireless spectrum and power efficiency. Furthermore, the proposed effort will reduce the hardware complexity, the number of components, and provide a system at a lower cost in comparison to existing technologies today. The commercialization effort will be focused on delivering the autonomous cognitive technology to the first responder community, where there is an identifiable need for reliable wireless data, wireless voice and wireless video communications, especially in cluttered urban environments where the RF environment is overdrawn, spectrum is at a premium and is, RF-wise, extreme, at best. Finally, as part of the training of undergraduate and graduate students throughout this effort, the findings of this project will be made available to research and educational institutional to enable broader range of future applications and innovations.
This project is developing a cognitive 4G carrier-neutral picocell capable of adapting to the needs of current situation and condition of the RF environment. We expect this cognitive picocell to be a cornerstone in providing sustained high data rates to ensure constant connectivity everywhere as in Lightman’s vision of future communications outlined in "Brave New Unwired World: The Digital Big Bang and the Infinite Internet." (Wiley, ISBN-13: 978-0471441106). During the proposed effort, we were able to determine that the proposed concept is feasible and implementable. The proposed approach will be used to offload traffic from the conventional cell-phone network to user-based picocells with conventional Internet connectivity, allowing better use of spectrum through sensing, constant coverage, and in turn, high sustained data rates. The cognitive picocell will operate in cell-phone provider bands and unlicensed bands on-demand with on-the-fly reconfiguration capability. This Phase 1/Phase 1B effort were focused on developing all the pieces that will be perfected, integrated and prototyped during Phase 2. Therefore, during this Phase 1/Phase 1B effort we obtained the following outcomes: Developed the basic architecture for the implementation of the proposed picocell including major hardware and software blocks, Developed an spectrum sensing algorithms capable of detecting wideband and narrowband signals, including, Wifi, FM, and LTE Developed reconfigurable antennas for wideband sensing, narrowband sensing, and beamsteering, Implemented a proof-of-concept prototype of a system capable of narrowband spectrum detection and on-the-fly communication reconfiguration. These outcomes provide the RF, and algorithmic components that are the basis for the complete development of the proposed cognitive 4G picocell. This project also helped us provide career development opportunities to K&A personnel and UNM students. Brown bag lunches routinely help employees at K&A Wireless opportunities for broader impact discussion where specifics of projects are discussed in group settings that include interns, admins and other engineers who are not assigned to this program. In addition, the students at UNM are interacting with other students working in the antenna lab at UNM and professors at UNM are traveling to Latin America and Malaysia to help establish collaborations. In order to provide exposure to the technology being developed, presentations were given in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia with customers, regulators and partners to educate them on the concepts of cognitive radios and the Lightman 4G system and how it would work for the possible pilot programs. In addition, presentations were given at the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) committee meetings as the future of first responder communications.
