SOFTWARE RADIO
B. VINODH REDDY
(06R91A0458)
INTRODUCTION
• The wireless industry has emerged as one of the
fastest growing industries in the world.
• One of the main problems in the wireless
systems is the interoperability.
• To communicate between two separate
standards it is not possible with the traditional
radio.
• To overcome all these problems the concept of
Software Radio has evolved. SR proposes the
new way of developing wireless systems.
INTRODUCTION
• The term “Software Radio” refers to
reconfigurable or reprogrammable radios that
can show different functionality with the same
hardware.
• Physical radios can function over different
services providing seamless operation.
Traditional Versus Software Radio
• The traditional radios are based on hardware-
oriented approach. The hardware-oriented
approach is the main cause of the high
development costs, long times, low flexibility.
TRADITIONAL RADIO
Software Radio: A Software Approach
• Contrary to the traditional approach, the SR follows
a software-based approach.
• It is Software that plays the major role in extracting
the information but not the hardware. In SR
receivers, analog-to-digital converters (A/D)
digitalize the analog RF signals.
• Signal processing techniques extract the
information from the digitalized samples.
• The use of general-purpose processors and signal-
processing software increases the flexibility to
adapt to new services and standards.
SOFTWARE RADIO
Digitalization
• Digitalization converts the analog signals
received at the antenna into digital
samples.
• Signal processing techniques treat the
samples to extract the information.
• Traditional radios use no digitalization or
base band digitalization.
• IF digitalization is the solution currently
implemented in software radios.
RF Digitalization
IF Digitalization
Base band Digitalization
SOFTWARE RADIO ARCHITECTURE
Application program
• The AP is written in some software specification
language that describes the radio architecture
and performance using a radio function library.
• Application Programs are prepared for a specific
radio standard.
• The performance of the handheld SR is easily
reconfigured by rewriting the AP to change the
use of the library.
• AP is downloaded over the air from a central or
base station to the SR terminal.
APPLICATION
• Automatic Modulation Detection and Loading
• Modulation schemes are changed on a per-packet basis. In
this case the modulation scheme is determined by a packet
header that identifies the modulation scheme.
Technical Barriers Of Software Radio
• Not only A/D converters and processors limit SR
development.
• Other technical barriers slow down the
development of SR technology. Batteries are an
important problem for SR handsets.
• A/D converters have high consumption of
power. Signal processing requires lots of
computation that also imposes high power
consumption. Power supply is not usually a
problem in network equipment.
Technical Barriers Of Software Radio
• The second barrier is amplification.
• The RF filters not only limit in frequency the
signal received at the antenna but also amplify
it to compensate the attenuation due to the
propagation over the air.
• Finally, cost is a discouraging component for
SR handsets. Nowadays, for up to three
standards, traditional implementations are
less expensive than SR.
CONCLUSIONS
• Software defined radios enable us to build
reconfigurable and interoperable radios that can
be upgraded for future technologies.
• In future the handheld terminals will become
“Future Proof” by having the capacity to
download new air interfaces and operate new
communication standards, using the
reconfiguration technology of Software Radio.
The future of wireless communications is
Software Radio.
References
• [1] Joe Mitola, “The software Radio architecture”, IEEE
Communications Magazine, 1995, vol.5, May, 26-38.
• [2] Philip Mackenzie, Linda Doyle, Donal O’Mahony, Keith Nolan,
“Software Radio on General-Purpose Processors”, Networks and
Telecommunications Research Group. Trinity College, Dublin 2.
• [3] Sabri Murat Bicer, “A Software Communications Architecture
Compliant Software Defined Radio Implementation”, PhD Thesis,
Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, 2002.
• [4] P K Saxena and Jagdish Prasad, “Emerging Trends in Mobile
communication”,IETE Technical Review vol.20, No.4, July-August
2003, pp 297-307.
• [5] Hiroshi Tsurumi and Yasuo Suzuki, “Broadband RF stage
Architecture for Software-Defined Radio in Handheld Terminal
Applications”. IEEE Communications Magazine, 1999, vol.2, Feb,
90-95.
THANK YOU…..
