Cochlear Radio

In this paper we propose an analog to digital converter system for RF signals, the Cochlear Radio, which is bio-inspired in the ear of mammals (cochlea). The basilar membrane is mimicked by microstrip lines and the hair cells by mid-end ADCs. The proposed system relies on hybrid filter bank to perform the conversion of the analog input signal into a digital version of it. A prototype of the analog filter bank operating from 840 MHz to 1470 MHz was used. Simulation results revealed that it is possible to design the synthesis filter bank with low values of distortion and aliasing. Further developments of this technology can achieve the required bandwidth and dynamic range, with off-the-shelf ADCs, fulfilling the promise of Software Defined Radio (a radio capable of dealing with wideband signals).