Sensing in cognitive radio channels: A theoretical perspective

The cognitive radio paradigm is based on the ability of sensing the radio environment in order to make informed decisions. This paper describes the effects of sensing on the cognitive radio channels capacity region. Sensing is modeled as a compression channel, which results in partial knowledge of the primary messages at the cognitive transmitter. This model enables to impose constraints on the sensing strategy. First, the dirty paper channel capacity is derived when the channel encoder knows partially the side information. Then, the capacity area of the Gaussian cognitive channel with partial information is derived. Finally, numerical results illustrate the capacity reduction associated with constrained sensing, in comparison to the capacity of the cognitive radio channel.