43 research outputs found
A new vision of software defined radio: from academic experimentation to industrial explotation
The broad objective of this study is to examine the role of Software Defined Radio in an industrial field. Basically examines the changes that have to be done to achieve moving this technology in a commercial domain. It is important to predict the impacts of the introduction of Software Defined Radio in the telecommunications industry because it is a real future that is coming.
The project starts with the evolution of mobile telecommunications systems through the history. Following this, Software Defined Radio is defined and its main features are commented such as its architecture. Moreover, it wants to predict the changes that the telecommunications industry will might suffer with the introduction of SDR and some future structural and organizational variations are suggested. Additionally, it is discussed the positive and negative aspects of the introduction of SDR in the commercial domain from different points of view and finally, the future SDR mobile phone is described with its possible hardware and software.Outgoin
Real-Time Localization Using Software Defined Radio
Service providers make use of cost-effective wireless solutions to identify, localize, and possibly track users using their carried MDs to support added services, such as geo-advertisement, security, and management. Indoor and outdoor hotspot areas play a significant role for such services. However, GPS does not work in many of these areas. To solve this problem, service providers leverage available indoor radio technologies, such as WiFi, GSM, and LTE, to identify and localize users. We focus our research on passive services provided by third parties, which are responsible for (i) data acquisition and (ii) processing, and network-based services, where (i) and (ii) are done inside the serving network. For better understanding of parameters that affect indoor localization, we investigate several factors that affect indoor signal propagation for both Bluetooth and WiFi technologies. For GSM-based passive services, we developed first a data acquisition module: a GSM receiver that can overhear GSM uplink messages transmitted by MDs while being invisible. A set of optimizations were made for the receiver components to support wideband capturing of the GSM spectrum while operating in real-time. Processing the wide-spectrum of the GSM is possible using a proposed distributed processing approach over an IP network. Then, to overcome the lack of information about tracked devices’ radio settings, we developed two novel localization algorithms that rely on proximity-based solutions to estimate in real environments devices’ locations. Given the challenging indoor environment on radio signals, such as NLOS reception and multipath propagation, we developed an original algorithm to detect and remove contaminated radio signals before being fed to the localization algorithm. To improve the localization algorithm, we extended our work with a hybrid based approach that uses both WiFi and GSM interfaces to localize users. For network-based services, we used a software implementation of a LTE base station to develop our algorithms, which characterize the indoor environment before applying the localization algorithm. Experiments were conducted without any special hardware, any prior knowledge of the indoor layout or any offline calibration of the system
Cloud RAN for Mobile Networks - a Technology Overview
Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) is a novel mobile network architecture which can address a number of challenges the operators face while trying to support growing end-user’s needs. The main idea behind C-RAN is to pool the Baseband Units (BBUs) from multiple base stations into centralized BBU Pool for statistical multiplexing gain, while shifting the burden to the high-speed wireline transmission of In-phase and Quadrature (IQ) data. C-RAN enables energy efficient network operation and possible cost savings on base- band resources. Furthermore, it improves network capacity by performing load balancing and cooperative processing of signals originating from several base stations. This article surveys the state-of-the-art literature on C-RAN. It can serve as a starting point for anyone willing to understand C-RAN architecture and advance the research on C-RA
An emergency communication system based on software-defined radio
Wireless telecommunications represent an important asset for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) organizations as they improve the coordination and the distribution of information among first responders in the field. In large international disaster scenarios, many different PPDR organizations may participate to the response phase of disaster management. In this context, PPDR organizations may use different wireless communication technologies; such diversity may create interoperability barriers and degrade the coordination among first time responders. In this paper, we present the design, system integration and testing of a demonstration system based on Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology and Software Communication Architecture (SCA) to support PPDR operations with special focus on the provision of satellite communications. This
paper describes the main components of the demonstration system, the integration activities as well as the testing scenarios, which were used to evaluate the technical feasibility. The paper also describes the main technical challenges in the implementation and integration of the demonstration system. Finally future developments for this technology and potential deployment challenges are presented.JRC.G.6-Digital Citizen Securit
Terminal LTE flexível
Mstrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e TelecomunicaçõesAs redes móveis estão em constante evolução. A geração atual (4G) de
redes celulares de banda larga e representada pelo standard Long Term
Evolution (LTE), definido pela 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
Existe uma elevada procura/uso da rede LTE, com um aumento exponencial
do número de dispositivos móveis a requerer uma ligação à Internet de alto
débito. Isto pode conduzir à sobrelotação do espetro, levando a que o sinal
tenha que ser reforçado e a cobertura melhorada em locais específicos, tal
como em grandes conferências, festivais e eventos desportivos. Por outro
lado, seria uma vantagem importante se os utilizadores pudessem continuar
a usar os seus equipamentos e terminais em situações onde o acesso a redes
4G é inexistente, tais como a bordo de um navio, eventos esporádicos em
localizações remotas ou em cenários de catástrofe, em que as infraestruturas
que permitem as telecomunicações foram danificadas e a cobertura
temporária de rede pode ser decisiva em processos de salvamento. Assim
sendo, existe uma motivação clara por trás do desenvolvimento de uma
infraestrutura celular totalmente reconfigurável e que preencha as características mencionadas anteriormente.
Uma possível abordagem consiste numa plataforma de rádio definido por
software (SDR), de código aberto, que implementa o standard LTE e corre
em processadores de uso geral (GPPs), tornando possível construir uma rede
completa investindo somente em hardware - computadores e front-ends de
radiofrequência (RF). Após comparação e análise de várias plataformas LTE
de código aberto foi selecionado o OpenAirInterface (OAI) da EURECOM,
que disponibiliza uma implementação compatível com a Release 8.6 da
3GPP (com parte das funcionalidades da Release 10).
O principal objectivo desta dissertação é a implementação de um User
Equipment (UE) flexível, usando plataformas SDR de código aberto que corram
num computador de placa única (SBC) compacto e de baixa potência,
integrado com um front-end de RF - Universal Software Radio Peripheral
(USRP). A transmissão de dados em tempo real usando os modos de duplexagem
Time Division Duplex (TDD) e Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) é suportada e a reconfiguração de certos parâmetros é permitida, nomeadamente
a frequência portadora, a largura de banda e o número de Resource
Blocks (RBs) usados. Além disso, é possível partilhar os dados móveis LTE
com utilizadores que estejam próximos, semelhante ao que acontece com
um hotspot de Wi-Fi. O processo de implementação é descrito, incluindo
todos os passos necessários para o seu desenvolvimento, englobando o port
do UE de um computador para um SBC. Finalmente, a performance da rede
é analisada, discutindo os valores de débitos obtidos.Mobile networks are constantly evolving. 4G is the current generation of
broadband cellular network technology and is represented by the Long Term
Evolution (LTE) standard, de ned by 3rd Generation Partnership Project
(3GPP). There's a high demand for LTE at the moment, with the number
of mobile devices requiring an high-speed Internet connection increasing exponentially.
This may overcrowd the spectrum on the existing deployments
and the signal needs to be reinforced and coverage improved in speci c sites,
such as large conferences, festivals and sport events. On the other hand,
it would be an important advantage if users could continue to use their
equipment and terminals in situations where cellular networks aren't usually
available, such as on board of a cruise ship, sporadic events in remote
locations, or in catastrophe scenarios in which the telecommunication infrastructure
was damaged and the rapid deployment of a temporary network
can save lives. In all of these situations, the availability of
exible and easily
deployable cellular base stations and user terminals operating on standard
or custom bands would be very desirable. Thus, there is a clear motivation
for the development of a fully recon gurable cellular infrastructure solution
that ful lls these requirements.
A possible approach is an open-source, low-cost and low maintenance
Software-De ned Radio (SDR) software platform that implements the LTE
standard and runs on General Purpose Processors (GPPs), making it possible
to build an entire network while only spending money on the hardware
itself - computers and Radio-Frequency (RF) front-ends. After comparison
and analysis of several open-source LTE SDR platforms, the EURECOM's
OpenAirInterface (OAI) was chosen, providing a 3GPP standard-compliant
implementation of Release 8.6 (with a subset of Release 10 functionalities).
The main goal of this dissertation is the implementation of a
exible opensource
LTE User Equipment (UE) software radio platform on a compact
and low-power Single Board Computer (SBC) device, integrated with an
RF hardware front-end - Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP). It
supports real-time Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division
Duplex (FDD) LTE modes and the recon guration of several parameters,
namely the carrier frequency, bandwidth and the number of LTE Resource
Blocks (RB) used. It can also share its LTE mobile data with nearby users,
similarly to a Wi-Fi hotspot. The implementation is described through
its several developing steps, including the porting of the UE from a regular
computer to a SBC. The performance of the network is then analysed based
on measured results of throughput
Programming techniques for efficient and interoperable software defined radios
Recently, Software-Dened Radios (SDRs) has became a hot research topic in wireless communications eld. This is jointly due to the increasing request of reconfigurable and interoperable multi-standard radio systems able to learn from their surrounding
environment and efficiently exploit the available frequency spectrum resources, so realizing the cognitive radio paradigm, and to the availability of reprogrammable hardware architectures providing the computing power necessary to meet the tight
real-time constraints typical of the state-of-art wideband communications standards.
Most SDR implementations are based on mixed architectures in which Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), Digital Signal Processors (DSP) and General Purpose Processors (GPP) coexist. GPP-based solutions, even if providing the highest
level of flexibility, are typically avoided because of their computational inefficiency
and power consumption.
Starting from these assumptions, this thesis tries to jointly face two of the main important issues in GPP-based SDR systems: the computational efficiency and the interoperability capacity. In the first part, this thesis presents the potential of a novel programming technique, named Memory Acceleration (MA), in which the memory resources typical of GPP-based systems are used to assist central processor in executing real-time signal processing operations. This technique, belonging to the classical computer-science optimization techniques known as Space-Time trade-offs, defines
novel algorithmic methods to assist developers in designing their software-defined signal processing algorithms. In order to show its applicability some "real-world" case studies are presented together with the acceleration factor obtained. In the second part of the thesis, the interoperability issue in SDR systems is also considered. Existing software architectures, like the Software Communications Architecture
(SCA), abstract the hardware/software components of a radio communications chain using a middleware like CORBA for providing full portability and interoperability to the implemented chain, called waveform in the SCA parlance. This feature is
paid in terms of computational overhead introduced by the software communications middleware and this is one of the reasons why GPP-based architecture are generally discarded also for the implementation of narrow-band SCA-compliant communications standards. In this thesis we briefly analyse SCA architecture and an
open-source SCA-compliant framework, ie. OSSIE, and provide guidelines to enable component-based multithreading programming and CPU affinity in that framework.
We also detail the implementation of a real-time SCA-compliant waveform developed inside this modified framework, i.e. the VHF analogue aeronautical communications transceiver. Finally, we provide the proof of how it is possible to implement an efficient and interoperable real-time wideband SCA-compliant waveform, i.e. the AeroMACS
waveform, on a GPP-based architecture by merging the acceleration factor provided by MA technique and the interoperability feature ensured by SCA architecture
Assessment and Real Time Implementation of Wireless Communications Systems and Applications in Transportation Systems
Programa Oficial de Doutoramento en Tecnoloxías da Información e das Comunicacións en Redes Móbiles. 5029V01[Resumo]
Os sistemas de comunicación sen fíos de cuarta e quinta xeración (4G e 5G) utilizan unha capa física
(PHY) baseada en modulacións multiportadora para a transmisión de datos cun gran ancho de banda.
Este tipo de modulacións proporcionan unha alta eficiencia espectral á vez que permiten corrixir de
forma sinxela os efectos da canle radio.
Estes sistemas utilizan OFDMA como mecanismo para a repartición dos recursos radio dispoñibles
entre os diferentes usuarios. Este repartimento realízase asignando un subconxunto de subportadoras a
cada usuario nun instante de tempo determinado. Isto aporta unha gran flexibilidade ó sistema que lle
permite adaptarse tanto ós requisitos de calidade de servizo dos usuarios como ó estado da canle radio.
A capa de acceso ó medio (MAC) destes sistemas encárgase de configurar os diversos parámetros
proporcionados pola capa física OFDMA, ademais de xestionar os diversos fluxos de información de
cada usuario, transformando os paquetes de capas superiores en paquetes da capa física.
Neste traballo estúdase o deseño e implementación das capas MAC e PHY de sistemas de
comunicación 4G ademais da súa aplicabilidade en sistemas de transporte ferroviarios.
Por unha parte, abórdase o deseño e implementación en tempo real do estándar WiMAX. Estúdanse
os mecanismos necesarios para establecer comunicacións bidireccionais entre unha estación base e
múltiples dispositivos móbiles. Ademais, estúdase como realizar esta implementación nunha arquitectura
hardware baseada en DSPs e FPGAs, na que se implementan as capas MAC e PHY. Dado que esta
arquitectura ten uns recursos computacionais limitados, tamén se estudan as necesidades de cada módulo
do sistema para poder garantir o funcionamento en tempo real do sistema completo.
Por outra parte, tamén se estuda a aplicabilidade dos sistemas 4G a sistemas de transporte públicos.
Os sistemas de comunicacións e sinalización son unha parte vital para os sistemas de transporte
ferroviario e metro. As comunicacións sen fíos utilizadas por estes sistemas deben ser robustas e
proporcionar unha alta fiabilidade para permitir a supervisión, control e seguridade do tráfico ferroviario.
Para levar a cabo esta avaliación de viabilidade realízanse simulacións de redes de comunicacións
LTE en contornos de transporte ferroviarios, comprobando o cumprimento dos requisitos de fiabilidade
e seguridade. Realízanse diferentes simulacións do sistema de comunicacións para poder ser avaliadas e
seleccionar a configuración e arquitectura do sistema máis axeitada en función do escenario considerado.
Tamén se efectúan simulacións de redes baseadas en Wi-Fi, dado que é a solución máis utilizada nos
metros, para confrontar os resultados cos obtidos para LTE.
Para que os resultados das simulacións sexan realistas débense empregar modelos de propagación
radio axeitados. Nas simulacións utilízanse tanto modelos deterministas como modelos baseados nos
resultados de campañas de medida realizadas nestes escenarios.
Nas simulacións empréganse os diferentes fluxos de información destes escenarios para comprobar
que se cumpren os requisitos de calidade de servicio (QoS). Por exemplo, os fluxos críticos para o control
ferroviario, como European Train Control System (ETCS) ou Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC), necesitan unha alta fiabilidade e un retardo mínimo nas comunicacións para garantir o correcto
funcionamento do sistema.[Resumen]
Los sistemas de comunicación inalámbricos de cuarta y quinta generación (4G y 5G) utilizan una capa
física (PHY) basada en modulaciones multiportadora para la transmisión de datos con un gran ancho
de banda. Este tipo de modulaciones han demostrado tener una alta eficiencia espectral a la vez que
permiten corregir de forma sencilla los efectos del canal radio.
Estos sistemas utilizan OFDMA como mecanismo para el reparto de los recursos radio disponibles
entre los diferentes usuarios. Este reparto se realiza asignando un subconjunto de subportadoras a cada
usuario en un instante de tiempo determinado. Esto aporta una gran flexibilidad al sistema que le permite
adaptarse tanto a los requisitos de calidad de servicio de los usuarios como al estado del canal radio.
La capa de acceso al medio (MAC) de estos sistemas se encarga de configurar los diversos parámetros
proporcionados por la capa física OFDMA, además de gestionar los diversos flujos de información de
cada usuario, transformando los paquetes de capas superiores en paquetes de la capa física.
En este trabajo se estudia el diseño e implementación de las capas MAC y PHY de sistemas de
comunicación 4G además de su aplicabilidad en sistemas de transporte ferroviarios.
Por una parte, se aborda el diseño e implementación en tiempo real del estándar WiMAX. Se
estudian los mecanismos necesarios para establecer comunicaciones bidireccionales entre una estación
base y múltiples dispositivos móviles. Además, se estudia cómo realizar esta implementación en una
arquitectura hardware basada en DSPs y FPGAs, en la que se implementan las capas MAC y PHY. Dado
que esta arquitectura tiene unos recursos computacionales limitados, también se estudian las necesidades
de cada módulo del sistema para poder garantizar el funcionamiento en tiempo real del sistema completo.
Por otra parte, también se estudia la aplicabilidad de los sistemas 4G a sistemas de transporte
públicos. Los sistemas de comunicaciones y señalización son una parte vital para los sistemas de
transporte ferroviario y metro. Las comunicaciones inalámbricas utilizadas por estos sistemas deben ser
robustas y proporcionar una alta fiabilidad para permitir la supervisión, control y seguridad del tráfico
ferroviario.
Para llevar a cabo esta evaluación de viabilidad se realizan simulaciones de redes de comunicaciones
LTE en entornos de transporte ferroviarios, comprobando si se cumplen los requisitos de fiabilidad y
seguridad. Se realizan diferentes simulaciones del sistema de comunicaciones para poder ser evaluados y
seleccionar la configuración y arquitectura del sistema más adecuada en función del escenario planteado.
También se efectúan simulaciones de redes basadas en Wi-Fi, dado que es la solución más utilizada en
los metros, para comparar los resultados con los obtenidos para LTE.
Para que los resultados de las simulaciones sean realistas se deben utilizar modelos de propagación
radio apropiados. En las simulaciones se utilizan tanto modelos deterministas como modelos basados en
los resultados de campañas de medida realizadas en estos escenarios.
En las simulaciones se utilizan los diferentes flujos de información de estos escenarios para
comprobar que se cumplen sus requisitos de calidad de servicio. Por ejemplo, los flujos críticos para el control ferroviario, como European Train Control System (ETCS) o Communication-Based Train
Control (CBTC), necesitan una alta fiabilidad y un retardo bajo en las comunicaciones para garantizar el
correcto funcionamiento del sistema.[Abstract]
The fourth and fifth generation wireless communication systems (4G and 5G) use a physical layer (PHY)
based on multicarrier modulations for data transmission using high bandwidth. This type of modulations
has shown to provide high spectral efficiency while allowing low complexity radio channel equalization.
These systems use OFDMA as a mechanism for distributing the available radio resources among
different users. This allocation is done by assigning a subset of subcarriers to each user in a given instant
of time. This provides great flexibility to the system that allows it to adapt to both the quality of service
requirements of users and the radio channel state.
The media access layer (MAC) of these systems is in charge of configuring the multiple OFDMA
PHY layer parameters, in addition to managing the data flows of each user, transforming the higher layer
packets into PHY layer packets.
This work studies the design and implementation of MAC and PHY layers of 4G communication
systems as well as their applicability in rail transport systems.
On the one hand, the design and implementation in real time of the WiMAX standard is addressed.
The required mechanisms to establish bidirectional communications between a base station and several
mobile devices are also evaluated. Moreover, a MAC layer and PHY layer implementation is
presented, using a hardware architecture based in DSPs and FPGAs. Since this architecture has limited
computational resources, the requirements of each processing block of the system are also studied in
order to guarantee the real time operation of the complete system.
On the other hand, the applicability of 4G systems to public transportation systems is also studied.
Communications and signaling systems are a vital part of rail and metro transport systems. The
wireless communications used by these systems must be robust and provide high reliability to enable
the supervision, control and safety of rail traffic.
To carry out this feasibility assessment, LTE communications network simulations are performed in
rail transport environments to verify that reliability and safety requirements are met. Several simulations
are carried out in order to evaluate the system performance and select the most appropriate system
configuration in each case. Simulations of Wi-Fi based networks are also carried out, since it is the
most used solution in subways, to compare the results with those obtained for LTE.
To perform the simulations correctly, appropriate radio propagation models must be used. Both
deterministic models and models based on the results of measurement campaigns in these scenarios are
used in the simulations.
The simulations use the different information flows present in the railway transportation systems to
verify that its quality of service requirements are met. For example, critical flows for railway control,
such as the European Train Control System (ETCS) or Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC),
require high reliability and low delay communications to ensure the proper functioning of the system
COGNITIVE RADIO SOLUTION FOR IEEE 802.22
Current wireless systems suffer severe radio spectrum underutilization due to a number of problematic issues, including wasteful static spectrum allocations; fixed radio functionalities and architectures; and limited cooperation between network nodes. A significant number of research efforts aim to find alternative solutions to improve spectrum utilization. Cognitive radio based on software radio technology is one such novel approach, and the impending IEEE 802.22 air interface standard is the first based on such an approach. This standard aims to provide wireless services in wireless regional area network using TV spectrum white spaces. The cognitive radio devices employed feature two fundamental capabilities, namely supporting multiple modulations and data-rates based on wireless channel conditions and sensing a wireless spectrum. Spectrum sensing is a critical functionality with high computational complexity. Although the standard does not specify a spectrum sensing method, the sensing operation has inherent timing and accuracy constraints.This work proposes a framework for developing a cognitive radio system based on a small form factor software radio platform with limited memory resources and processing capabilities. The cognitive radio systems feature adaptive behavior based on wireless channel conditions and are compliant with the IEEE 802.22 sensing constraints. The resource limitations on implementation platforms post a variety of challenges to transceiver configurability and spectrum sensing. Overcoming these fundamental features on small form factors paves the way for portable cognitive radio devices and extends the range of cognitive radio applications.Several techniques are proposed to overcome resource limitation on a small form factor software radio platform based on a hybrid processing architecture comprised of a digital signal processor and a field programmable gate array. Hardware reuse and task partitioning over a number of processing devices are among the techniques used to realize a configurable radio transceiver that supports several communication modes, including modulations and data rates. In particular, these techniques are applied to build configurable modulation architecture and a configurable synchronization. A mode-switching architecture based on circular buffers is proposed to facilitate a reliable transitioning between different communication modes.The feasibility of efficient spectrum sensing based on a compressive sampling technique called "Fast Fourier Sampling" is examined. The configuration parameters are analyzed mathematically, and performance is evaluated using computer simulations for local spectrum sensing applications. The work proposed herein features a cooperative Fast Fourier sampling scheme to extend the narrowband and wideband sensing performance of this compressive sensing technique.The précis of this dissertation establishes the foundation of efficient cognitive radio implementation on small form factor software radio of hybrid processing architecture