A Lightweight Operating Environment for Next Generation Cognitive Radios

It is widely known that the SDR industry campaigns component-based radio applications, which will enable fast prototyping and deployment of new radio devices and may increase manufacturing profits. Through the JTRS program, the US Dept. of Defense proposed the SCA specification as the standard for military communications. The SDR Forum is now reviewing these specifications and trying to adapt them to the commercial market. The significant differences between military and commercial communications´ requirements make this migration a hazardous task. On the other hand, the SCA specification does not consider any method or procedure that enables cognitive functionalities, which would be necessary for future cognitive radio implementations. This paper therefore presents an alternative approach to SCA, introducing a low-profile operating environment for next generation cognitive radios. We demonstrate its suitability for present and future commercial radios.