A key challenge facing wireless networking is to utilize the spectrum as efficiently as possible given current channel conditions and in the most effective way for each application.This is difficult to achieve with existing wireless devices because physical layer functionality is fixed, while channel condibions and applications can change rapidly.Here; we argue that RadioActive networks, an adaptable wireless network architecture that draws on the strengths of software radios and active networks, can meet this challenge.Active networks provide a framework for programming network services, and software radios extend this programmability into the phvsical layer.?Ve believe that this approach offers the opliortunity for significant improvements in functionality and performance over today's wireless networks by making it no longer necessary to design a priori with pessimistic assumptions that describe worst case conditions.In this paper, we outline our vision, the opportunities it affords, and the challenges that must be tackled before it can become a reality.

Conventional software radios take advantage of vastly improved analog to digital converters (ADCs) and digital signal processing (DSP) hardware. Our approach, which we refer to as virtual radios, also depends upon high performance ADCs. However, rather than use DSPs, we have chosen to ride the curve of rapidly improving workstation hardware. We use wideband digitization and then perform all of the digital signal processing in user space on a general purpose workstation. This approach allows us to experiment with new approaches to signal processing that exploit the hardware and software resources of the workstation. Furthermore, it allows us to experiment with different ways of structuring systems in which the radio component of communication devices is integrated with higher-level applications. This paper describes the design and performance of an environment we have constructed that facilitates building virtual radios and of two applications built using that environment. The environment consists of an input/output (I/O) subsystem that provides high bandwidth low latency user-level access to digitized signals and a programming environment that provides an infrastructure for building applications. The applications, which exemplify some of the benefits of virtual radios, are a software cellular receiver and a novel wireless network interface.

Article SpectrumWare: a software-oriented approach to wireless signal processing Share on Authors: David L. Tennenhouse Telemedia Networks and Systems Group, Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT Telemedia Networks and Systems Group, Laboratory for Computer Science, MITView Profile , Vanu G. Bose Telemedia Networks and Systems Group, Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT Telemedia Networks and Systems Group, Laboratory for Computer Science, MITView Profile Authors Info & Claims MobiCom '95: Proceedings of the 1st annual international conference on Mobile computing and networkingDecember 1995 Pages 37–47https://doi.org/10.1145/215530.215551Online:01 December 1995Publication History 5citation535DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations5Total Downloads535Last 12 Months3Last 6 weeks1 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteGet Access