October 17, 2016
It's hard to believe that the term "software-defined radio" (SDR) has been around for approximately 30 years. That's a long time in the technology world, but SDR is still a common topic of discussion and carries more than its share of misconceptions. The definition of SDR - per the Wireless Innovation Forum (formerly the SDR Forum) - is "a radio in which some or all of the physical-layer functions are software-defined." The term is really focused on the physical (PHY) layer processing of the waveform, and not related to the radio-frequency (RF) front end, which is a common misconception. Radios with wideband tunable RF front ends capable of dynamic spectrum access are referred to as cognitive radio (CR). A cognitive radio is defined as a radio in which communication systems are aware of their internal state and environment, such as location and utilization on RF frequency spectrum at that location.Software-defined radio: To infinity and beyond