Fourteen Years of Cognitive Radio Development

Cognitive Radio principles were first described at a Keynote Speech by Dr. Joseph Mitola at the IEEE ICASSP Conference in Phoenix in 1999. In this talk Mitola described the principles of a Radio that could help its user to do many things. The vision includes a radio with an understanding of numerous domains ranging from the user´s daily routine to an understanding of how to find and efficiently use spectrum and avoid interference. This paper will review Cognitive Radio principles explored by the commercial and defense communities, assessing progress made in the many potential dimensions of Cognitive Radio as an assistant to the radio user. We will utilize the DARPA developed Advanced Wireless Network System / Wireless Network after Next (AWNS/WNaN) radio system and network as the example of a Cognitive Radio capability that provides high levels of adaptivity to the communications radio frequency (RF) environment and the warfighter´s mission.