Designing a Real-time Swept Spectrum Analyser with USRP B210

N Bello,K.O Ogbeide

doi:10.36263/nijest.2021.02.0275

N Bello, K.O Ogbeide

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.36263/nijest.2021.02.0275

Copy DOI

Journal: October 2021	Publication Date: Oct 1, 2021
Citations: 2	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of Science and Technology of Benin

Abstract

Cognitive radio has received considerable amount of attention as a promising technique to provide dynamic spectrum allocation. Spectrum sensing is one of the basic functions in the cognitive radio and is crucial to all other functions. Software- defined radios (SDRs) are considered due to its very high flexibility and have become a common platform for CR implementation replacing expensive spectrum analysers. The most popular among various SDR platforms is the universal software-defined radio peripheral (USRP). This paper presents a real-time swept spectrum sensing solution based on USRP B210. It also presents a detailed explanation of the concept of energy detection and the methodology for wide-band sensing. Finally, the performance of the proposed sensing solution is analysed through FFT graphs and spectrogram plot taken for 8 hours. The results showed that the proposed sensing solution was capable of achieving high resolution in the frequency domain of the wide band measured which implies that wide bands with heterogenous signals like the ISM band can be accurately resolved and analysed.

Highlights

According to Huawei, a communication company, there has been tremendous growth in wireless communication as the predictions of mobile users in 2020 made in 2010 have been exceeded in 2012 (Pretz, 2012)
The study presented a highly flexible sensing solution based on universal softwaredefined radio peripheral (USRP) B210 and GNU Radio
The study made observations of the design through comparison with narrowband measurement of the same band and showed that it is capable of achieving high resolution in the frequency domain

Summary

Introduction

According to Huawei, a communication company, there has been tremendous growth in wireless communication as the predictions of mobile users in 2020 made in 2010 have been exceeded in 2012 (Pretz, 2012). A trending solution uses an autonomous radio design because the problem of scarcity is due to allocations of these frequencies but many radio systems do not transmit all the time or in every location. These radios are cognitive radios (CRs), introduced as a promising technology to improve the efficiency of spectrum utilization by enabling them to adapt their transmission parameters to the local spectrum environment (Haykin, 2005). One of the basic functions of the cognitive radio is spectrum sensing which have in the past been carried out with spectrum analysers by researchers. These spectrum analysers are expensive compared to the softwaredefined radios (SDRs) and the results of these designs (both the spectrum analysers and softwaredefined radios (SDRS)) only show little difference in measured spectrum occupancy (Fanan, et al, 2015)

Methods

Results

Conclusion