Software Defined Radio

Securing clearer communications for Canadians

In a crisis, open lines of communication are critical.

But it's not always possible, because emergency service organizations may be using incompatible equipment or radios, or a variety of different frequencies. Lives can be lost due to information that wasn't shared.

An emerging technology called Software Defined Radio (SDR) could solve this critical communication gap.

Communications Research Centre Canada (CRC) is working to make this concept a reality. As Canada's leading laboratory specializing in collaborative research and development (R&D;) in advanced telecommunications, CRC and partner Defence Research & Development Canada (DRDC) have the expertise needed to bring this technology closer to usability.

"This technology will ultimately affect many areas of people's lives - from increasing security in times of crisis to making travelling with a cell phone easier," says Steve Bernier, the project leader at CRC.

SDR will ensure interoperability among different kinds of radios or other communication devices. Imagine having a radio receiver that has a software-based operating system instead of the traditional hardware. To make the receiver compatible, all you would have to do is download the desired waveform from a Web site, or even over the air. This enables groups with various kinds of equipment running on different frequencies to communicate with each other. This is useful in times of crises when many emergency service groups work together, such as in the Red River Flood in Manitoba or the ice storm that hit Eastern Ontario and Quebec in 1998. Another use would be the amalgamations of large cities, like those in Ontario and Quebec, which have forced the municipal governments to spend millions of dollars to re-equip their emergency response forces with compatible radios.

The technical specifications of SDR were developed by the U.S. Department of Defense in consultation with working groups. CRC played an active role in these groups and in the development of the final technical specifications that were eventually adopted by the Software Defined Radio Forum, an international wireless industry organization.

Because there are scores of potential applications for security, military and commercial use, many parties have been developing this technology. It became necessary to develop a reference implementation of the industry standard to define the behaviour of the specifications and codify the technical aspects. This is where the experts working at CRC came in. The Software Defined Radio Forum contracted CRC to translate the paper specifications into working code.

The development of the Java-based, open source Software Communications Architecture (SCA) Reference Implementation is being released in four steps. The first deliverable was made public on the CRC Web site at www.crc.ca/scari in May 2002 and the last deliverable in October. Offering the source code ensures a common interpretation of the SCA standard, which is crucial to obtaining compatibility between radios made by different manufacturers. The Web site has been popular: in the first three weeks, in site had 5,600 hits and 600 people had downloaded the code.

The project manager, Claude Bélisle from CRC's Military Satellite Communications group, is pleased by the response to their reference implementation, but says it's only the beginning. The next step is to share their knowledge with industry starting with the translation of the SCA Reference Implementation into C++ code for real-time platforms. The team will also be offering their expertise on SCA implementation and waveform development to interested groups. This technology transfer will assist parties to customize the technology to meets their specifications, ultimately allowing smaller businesses to compete.

For more information on SDR, visit the SCA Reference Implementation Web site or contact Claude Bélisle.