Correlation-Aware User Selection for Cooperative Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

This paper develops a solution for the problem of uncorrelated user selection in mobile cognitive radio ad hoc networks, with the objective to increase the performance of cooperative spectrum sensing. For this, a fully distributed user selection algorithm is developed by adaptively selecting uncorrelated cognitive radio users, which is able to account for dynamic changes in the network topology and in the channel conditions. Since the proposed user selection is based on the evaluation of the correlation experienced by the cognitive radio users, it is mandatory to have a parameter able to measure the correlation among them. For this, a spatial correlation coefficient is proposed to express the correlation characteristics of mobile cognitive radio users in different environments. Performance evaluation is conducted through simulations, and the results reveal the benefits of adopting the proposed correlation-aware user selection for cooperative spectrum sensing.