Business Services Industry

Software Defined Radio Forum Membership to Vote on 4 Key Documents at Its Upcoming General Meeting

Business Wire, Oct 26, 2007

Topics Include Cognitive Radio Definitions and Public Safety Applications, a Smart Antenna API, and Recommendations for NASA's STRS

DENVER -- The Software Defined Radio (SDR) Forum, (www.sdrforum.org), a nonprofit international industry association supporting the advancement of reconfigurable wireless technology, has announced that four significant documents are slated for membership approval at the organization's general meeting on Nov. 9, immediately following the SDR '07 technical conference and product exposition being held Nov. 5-8 in Denver.

The ballot initiatives comprise:

* a derivation of cognitive radio applications for public safety, based on a review of the 2005 terrorist bombings in London, and how the use of software defined and cognitive radio technologies could help first responders communicate more effectively in similar situations;

* a document on cognitive radio definitions developed in collaboration with the IEEE P1900.1 group to provide a single set of definitions supported by both organizations;

* a smart antenna application programming interface (API) specification that addresses a key need in the SDR community; and

* recommendations to NASA for its Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS).

The London bombing document, "Use Cases for Cognitive Applications in Public Safety Communications Systems," was drafted by the SDR Forum's Public Safety Special Interest Group and reviewed by members of the National Institute of Justice's Communications Technology Working Group and representatives of the Intelligent Transportation System, United Kingdom. It is the first in a planned series of Forum reports aimed at developing concepts for applying cognitive radio technology to enhance communications capabilities of first responders. This report reviews the events of the July 2005 terrorist attack, uses the lessons learned from real events and the observed response to envision how evolving cognitive radio technology could improve future responders' ability to communicate more effectively and efficiently.

The cognitive radio definitions document was developed in cooperation with the IEEE P1900.1 Working Group, whose focus includes standard terms and concepts for spectrum management and SDR-related technologies. The SDR Forum recommendation attempts to clarify some definitions that are used differently by different members of the industry, providing a taxonomy of terms relevant to the SDR community.

The smart antenna API specification was developed by the SDR Forum's Smart Antenna Working Group and has been prototyped for a WiBro/WiMax([R]) application. The objective of this API is to define a standardized software interface supporting the integration of a smart antenna applique with an existing base station system supporting multi-mode functionality through SDR technology. This specification represents the first voluntary standard developed by the SDR Forum under its new development process and will be submitted as both a platform-independent and a platform-specific model to the OMG (Object Management Group) for further standardization.

The recommendations for NASA's STRS were prepared by the Forum's Space Working Group. The document contains comments and suggestions for NASA's consideration regarding Version 1.0 of the STRS Open Architecture description, which prescribes the architectural relationship between the software and hardware elements used in execution and defines the API between the operating environment and the waveform application for NASA's SDRs. The Space Working Group developed both general and specific recommendations for STRS, including a continued evolution toward an open standard, rather than one unique to NASA.

SDR Forum's annual technical conference, product exposition and general meeting - taking place at the Denver Marriott Tech Center Nov. 5-9 - will provide an international perspective of the current state of the art for advanced wireless communications and is open to anyone interested in SDR technology. Complete details and registration information are available on the web at www.sdrforum.org/pages/sdr07/forumMeeting_sdr07_main.asp.> About the SDR Forum

Established in 1996, the SDR Forum is a nonprofit international industry association dedicated to supporting the development and deployment of software defined radio systems that enable flexible and adaptable architectures in advanced wireless systems. Currently numbering some 100 organizations, the Forum's membership spans commercial, defense and civil government organizations, including wireless service providers, network operators, component and equipment manufacturers, hardware and software developers, regulatory agencies, and academia from Asia, Europe, and North America. The SDR Forum's administrative office is headquartered in Denver.