STTR Phase I: Reconfigurable Wireless Platforms for Spectrally Agile Coexistence

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will involve research on and development of a reconfigurable wireless platform enabling secondary access of wireless spectrum via simultaneous data transmission across several disjoint frequency channels. In particular, the proposed innovations will advance the current state-of-the-art in the area of non-contiguous orthogonal frequency division multiple access (NC-OFDMA) architectures. The anticipated reduction in NC-OFDMA out-of-band emissions and transmitted peak-to-average power ratio will greatly improve the co-existence of primary and secondary wireless transmissions. The resultant improved dynamic spectrum access (DSA) capability will then permit much more efficient use of limited spectrum resources. The proposed work will be targeted towards the development of a high throughput and robust hardware implementation for the 802.22 wireless regional area network, a recently ratified Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard that employs NC-OFDMA. The research will result in an NC-OFDMA optimization framework that will help shape the direction of this field and guide the design of viable 802.22 products. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project stems from the opportunity to develop wireless products for the rural broadband and machine-to-machine markets. Data communication networks are needed by modern society for access to the Internet, providing both essential services and modern conveniences. Unfortunately, many communities, especially rural, currently lack the infrastructure to support such networks, with roughly three billion people in the world with little if any wireless service. Therefore, conducting research to optimize NC-OFDMA for high-speed communications systems including 802.22 in rural areas will benefit society while providing enormous commercialization potential. The optimization techniques and technology resulting from the proposed activities will also yield products for smart grids and sensor networks and support the public safety, emergency services, and first responder community efforts to provide better communications access to the network.