Software-defined, reconfigurable, plug-and-play transceiver

IAI is actively developing Software Defined Radio platforms that can adaptively switch between different modes of radar operation by modifying both transmit waveforms and receiver signal-processing on the fly. Our Plug-and-Play (PNP) transceiver innovation focuses on implementing maximum transceiver functionalities on a single digital reconfigurable platform (FPGA), and minimizing the number of analog components. The proposed work directly supports AFRL’s objective to develop a Hybrid MIMO Phased Array Radar (HMPAR), where a transmit array is partitioned into sub-arrays which can be electronically steered in different directions and driven by separate transmit waveforms. Our proposed digital approach provides excellent control over amplitude, phase and frequency of radar waveforms, which is critical for phased-array radar implementation. Since the transceiver is reconfigurable, it is easy to change its operational modes by switching between configuration files stored in memory on-board the PNP transceiver. Scalable and modular hardware architecture allows phase coherent interfacing of multiple PNP transceiver sub-modules to drive a number of phased-array elements. Our collaboration with LM-MS2 will support the incorporation of Radar Open Systems Architecture (ROSA) into the transceiver design to maximize universal PNP capability. BENEFIT: The proposed technology is built upon the software defined radio expertise of IAI. The most promising commercial applications outside of Air Force are: • Arbitrary wideband waveform synthesizer • High-speed digital processors • Reconfigurable radar transceiver with multi-mode capabilities • Cognitive radios