Sensor networks for cognitive radio : theory and system design
Bertrand Mercier, Viktória Fodor, Ragnar Thobaben, Mikael Skoglund, Visa Koivunen, Saska Lindfors, Jussi Ryynänen, Erik G. Larsson, Chiara Petrioli, Giancarlo Bongiovanni, Ole Grøndalen, Kimmo Kansanen, Geir Egil Øien, Torbjörn Ekman, Aawatif Menouni Hayar, Raymond Knopp, Baltasar Beferull‐Lozano · 2008
Following current trends towards dynamic spectrum allocation and cognitive radio, this paper proposes a new approach and innovative techniques to support the coexistence of licensed and unlicensed wireless users in a same area. Theproposed concept, called Sensor Network aided Cognitive Radio, consists of a wireless sensor network able to assist the cognitive network by providing information on the current spectrum occupancy. This concept, that will address various operational scenarios in the future networks, involves a set of advanced wireless communications techniques like spectrum sensing, interference management, cognitive radio reconfiguration management, cooperative communications, end-to-end protocol design and cross-layer optimisation. All these enabling techniques together will form a compound system able to improve the spectrum use in a significant way. The main target scenario we consider is the use of nomadic cognitive radios in urban and suburban areas. Our objective is to develop a proof-of-concept – scheduled in 2010 – of the Sensor Network aided Cognitive Radio technology by implementing such techniques and integrating them on a hardware radio platform, which will allow us to assess the efficiency of the technology in a realistic environment.