Spectrum sensing and communication functionalities verification in cognitive radio

Abstract

SummaryThis paper is intended to discuss hardware setup implementation for realizing the spectrum sensing and communication functionalities of a five‐port integrated ultrawideband and narrowband antenna system. The five‐port integrated antenna system consists of one ultrawideband antenna and four narrowband antennas. The ultrawideband antenna is used for spectrum sensing in cognitive radio, whereas the four narrowband antennas are used for communication. In order to validate functionalities of the antennas, their spectrum sensing and communication performance is verified using an arbitrary waveform generator, real‐time signal analyzer, and Universal Software Radio Peripheral. The ultrawideband antenna is able to sense the various frequencies transmitted by the arbitrary waveform generator. These transmitted signals from the arbitrary waveform generator are treated as busy spectrum channels in the cognitive radio environment. The narrowband antennas are able to perform communication by transmitting the signals at identified spectrum holes. The sensed signals are observed on a real‐time signal analyzer, and the communication signals are viewed in LabVIEW software for which a real‐time signal reception algorithm is used. This signal reception is performed using Universal Software Radio Peripheral.