Cognitive (LabVIEW) on FPGA–a novel approach for dynamic spectrum sensing

Abstract

The spectrum allotted for communications has been distributed to various service providers, who maintain and manage their portion of the spectrum by accommodating as many users as possible through spectral management techniques. Static spectrum management has been replaced by dynamic spectrum management to meet the vastly increasing number of users. Although dynamic spectrum management techniques have enabled the efficient assignment of channels to the user, it has been statistically observed that a huge part of the communications spectrum is scarcely used at all times. Cognitive radio is a useful tool for efficient dynamic spectrum management. The cognitive radio is adaptive in nature and is most effective because of its ability to monitor the spectrum, sense the channel occupancy and mobilise the secondary user to an unused primary user channel, as well as to relocate the secondary user if the primary user wishes to communicate. In this work, the energy-detection method and the cyclostationary method, which are the methods to sense the spectrum, are analysed and the results are compared. Simulation is done using a LabVIEW tool (National Instruments, Bangalore, India) and finally the implementation is done on a Field Programmable Gate Array.

Keywords:

• cognitive radio
• spectrum sensing
• energy detection
• cyclostationary
• LabVIEW
• FPGA