INTEGRATED EXPERT SYSTEM FOR SENTIENT RADIO RECEIVERS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO INVESTIGATE MEANS OF IMPROVING RADIO RECEPTION AND THE QUALITY OF DEMODULATED INFORMATION BY INCORPORATING WARENESS OF THE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC ENVIRONMENT IN COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVERS. EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON THE INTEGRATED USE OF EXPERT SYSTEMS AND ADAPTIVE SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES. ADAPTIVE TECHNIQUES PERMIT RECEIVER SUBSYSTEMS TO SENSE THE RECEIVED SIGNAL AND THEN ADJUST THEIR EFFECTS ON THE SIGNAL TO ENHANCE RECEPTION QUALITY. AN EXPERT SYSTEM IS ABLE TO MONITOR ALL SUB-SYSTEMS SIMULTANEOUSLY, THEN USE HEURISTICS, RULES, AND AN EXTENSIVE DATA BASE TO OPTIMIZE RECEPTION QUALITY BEYOND THE CAPABILITIES OF CURRENT TECHNIQUES. THIS RESEARCH FOCUSES ON DETERMINING THE CAPABILITY OF SYMBOLIC AND HEURISTIC PROCESSING METHODS IN AN EXPERT SYSTEM WITH ADAPTIVE SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES AND THE ASSOCIATED UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES OF INFORMATION THEORY, ESTIMATION THEORY, DECISION THEORY, AND MODERN CONTROL THEORY. EXPERT SYSTEM AND KNOWLEDGE BASE ARCHITECTURES CAN EFFECTIVELY REPRESENT AND USE THE SELECTED ADAPTIVE SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES TO INCORPORATE HUMAN HEURISITC JUDGEMENTAL QUALITIES INTO THE RECEIVER. ADDITIONALLY, THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT USED TO PRODUCE THE EXPERT SYSTEM MUST FACILITATE DEVELOPMENT, MAINTENANCE, TESTING, AND VALIDATION OF THE RESULTING SOFTWARE. TACTICAL SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATIONS REQUIRE REAL-TIME OPERATION OF THE EXPERT SYSTEM MICROPROCESSOR HARDWARE THAT IS RUGGED AND COMPACT.