This paper describes a hardware platform aimed at the recently defined White Space Radio spectrum, but, furthermore, to describe how this hardware can also form the basis of a commensal radar system using the emissions of the Whitespace communication system. We envisage White Space communication systems being established in sparsely populated areas to provide communications. This communication network of nodes can be used as nodes of a multistatic network of Radars to track moving targets (especially aerial). The radar system is commensal in that it has no impact on the design and operation of the communications system. The choice of Whitespace spectrum has many advantages. First of all, it will give access to a wide bandwidth, which in turn means better resolution for the commensal radar system. Secondly, the standardization process for Whitespace communication is over. And lastly, this will be a communication system of choice for sparsely populated areas, which are also sites suitable for Radar surveillance. The UHF frequencies of White Space Radio have excellent propagation properties, including foliage penetration. Our development of hardware is because of a dearth of low cost hardware platforms, which are specifically tailored for such a purpose. The proposed platform, named White RHINO (Whitespace Reconfigurable Hardware Interface for ComputiNg and RadiO), envisages to bridge the gap and provide innovators a cost-effective, reliable as well as efficient platform to develop novel solutions for shared spectrum Networked Radar.
Designing a hardware platform for white space Technology is a complex task. The IEEE 802.22 standard for white space communications imposes tight specifications that require powerful CPUs and FPGAs as well as compliance with strict RF regulations. In addition, a commercial product needs to be produced at a low cost. In this chapter, we examine the specifications that directly impact the design of white space communications hardware. We then explore the various hardware platforms that are commercially available and identify their strengths and weaknesses. The hardware platforms that will be discussed here are the USRP N210, the Nuand BladeRF, Zepto SDR and the HackRF board. These platforms are costly considering the component cost of the hardware supplied and have been designed with different goals and hence don't meet the full white space communication requirements. However, these boards can be used as a yardstick for the design of a white space hardware and useful inferences can be drawn by observing their merits and de-merits. The IEEE 802.22 specification for TV white space communications imposes tight specifications [1]. The 802.22 standard is based on OFDMA modulation for downstream and upstream links with the ability to channel bond adjacent TV channels should more bandwidth be required. The standard supports modulations schemes up to 64QAM, producing a data rate of 19 Mbps per 6MHz TV channel. The standard also makes use of a geo-location spectrum database or an Eigen Value method of Spectrum Sensing to detect other primary users.These specifications require a platform with a powerful CPU and FPGA as well as compliance with strict RF power and spectral mask regulations. At the same time, a commercial product has to be low-cost. In this Chapter, we first examine the specifications that directly impact the design of white space communication hardware. We then explore the various hardware platforms that are commercially
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