Introduction to the special issue on software defined radio: selected papers from the Wireless Innovations Forum's SDR’13-WinnComm

Abstract

This special issue contains extended articles based on the best papers of the R&D track of the Wireless Innovation Forum’s SDR’11-WinnCommConference on Wireless Communications Technologies and Software Defined Radio (SDR). The Wireless Innovation Forum (previously known as the SDR Forum) was established in 1996. The Wireless Innovation Forum is a non-profit ‘‘mutual benefit corporation’’ dedicated to driving technology innovation in commercial, civil, and defense communications around the world. Forum members bring a broad base of experience in SDR, Cognitive Radio(CR), and Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) technologies in diverse markets and at all levels of the wireless value chain to address emerging wireless communications requirements through enhanced value, reduced total life cost of ownership, and accelerated deployment of standardized families of products, technologies, and services. The Forum acts as the premier venue for its members to collaborate to achieve these objectives, providing opportunities to network with customers, partners and competitors, educate decision makers, develop and expand markets, and advance relevant technologies. The Technical Conference was first established in 1992 after a highly successful workshop held in 1991. Now attracting a broad range of about 500 delegates including researchers, professors, industry developers, investors, commercial network operators, radio manufacturers, system integrators, government procurement officials, regulators, engineering service providers, and consultants from over 22 different countries, the conference is the only event devoted to the advancement of reconfigurable radio technologies from research through deployment. We are pleased to report that the annual US conference and product exhibition continues to hold its place in the advanced wireless community as the premier event for exploring SDR, CR, and DSA technologies. Last year there was continued strong participation in this conference. In spite of the continuing down turn in the economy in many segments of the market, our papers were downloaded more than 81,000 times. A unique feature of this conference is in providing opportunities to network from a broad mix of participants from all levels of the wireless value chain including investors, commercial network operators, radio manufacturers, system integrators, government procurement officials, regulators, technology providers, engineering service providers, and consultants. Of this group 42 % were researchers and technology developers. From this group of researchers, academically focussed papers are submitted to the Research and Development (R&D) Track of the conference. This year’s paper topics included SDR implementations and architectures, Communications Signal Processing, Physical Layer Techniques, Chip Implementations, GPUs, FPGAs, Processors, RF Technologies, Security, Software Systems, SCA, Spectrum Sharing, CR, System Implementation, and Testing. J. Glossner Optimum Semiconductor Technologies, Inc., 120 White Plains Rd, Tarrytown, NY 10601, USA e-mail: jglossner@optimumsemi.com