Some reading to keep up with Cognitive Radio

In the last weeks I discovered some interesting articles related to the transition it is happening in the field of cognitive radio. It becomes apparent that the focus on cognitive radio is changing from theory to more practical and regulatory considerations. Here is my recommended reading:

The article "Cognitive radio: Ten years of experimentation and development" [P+11] by P. Pawelczak et al. makes an extensive review on the hardware and system development for cognitive radio. It describes the main implementation platforms and systems that can be used for testing and performance evaluation of theoretical algorithms related to cognitive radio. From the most popular GNU radio to other composite hardware/software frameworks. Some relevant conclusions:

• There are practically no comprehensive CR demonstration platforms
• Open SDR platforms dominate the research market
• Many testbeds are not DSA in the strict meaning of the term
• OFDM is tipically the design choice for waveforms
• Energy detection is the most popular signal detection method
• Geolocation and sensing are needed for maximum reliability but at a cost
• Lack of appropiate RF front ends
• Small and centralized systems are the design choice for most of the platforms
• No dramatic increase in the number of available CR and network prototypes
• Only one third of the presented demos are from the US
• Universities dominate the demonstration market
• More emphasis is needed in reporting failures
• Each demonstration is developed by a small number of people
• Absence of IEEE 802.22 demonstrations

On the other hand I include here two links. The first summarizes the state of the work involved in the ECC Report 159, while the second presents an interesting discussion on the intended mix of policy and technology at DySPAN conference.

Cognitive Radio in the ECC: Where we are now and where we are going

"The ECC set up a Project Team, PT SE43, to look at the compatibility issues between the relevant services using 'white spaces' in the UHF TV bands. After 19 months' work, SE43 delivered ECC Report 159 in January 2011. Its conclusions about the technical and operational requirements of WSDs are not so different from those of the FCC in the US (the FCC has already approved operators of databases for cognitive WSD devices). [...]"

Linda Doyle: Should we let DySPAN die?

"... the policy and technology mix is working as well as it could. At the plenary sessions the keynotes and papers reflect the mix as intended by the founders of DySPAN. But in the afternoons we split into policy and technology tracks. In the main policy people go to policy tracks and technology people go to technology tracks. [...]"

[P+11]

Pawelczak, P.; Nolan, K.; Doyle, L.; Ser Wah Oh; Cabric, D.; Cognitive radio: Ten years of experimentation and development. IEEE Communications Magazine, vol.49, no.3, pp.90-100, March 2011.