Red River’s new PCMCIA Type II module can transform any notebook computer into a software defined radio using a Virtex-4 FPGA for performance-critical DSP functions.
Established in 1996, Red River specializes in high-performance signal processing and data communication solutions for the embedded systems market, especially software defined radio applications.
Our main challenge in serving the software defined radio market is to have a hardware platform that meets the demands of multiple configurations. Some customers are looking for a complete, pre-built radio solution; others are looking to add custom features to a radio platform. These disparate requirements place great demands on us to find a common programmable silicon solution that meets both needs.
The Xilinx® Virtex-4™ FPGA family allows us to do exactly that – provide different customer solutions at the lowest cost. Advanced features such as FIFO logic, embedded PowerPC™, RocketIO™ transceivers, and Ethernet MAC, as well as advanced power and packaging technology, makes Virtex-4 devices a perfect choice for us.
Student teams from colleges and universities worldwide are sought to compete in a Smart Radio Challenge. The teams will build and demonstrate a prototype software defined or cognitive radio system that addresses one of the problems defined by the SDR Forum. Awards will be presented at the SDR '07 Technical Conference. Sponsored by The Mathworks, Xilinx, Zeligsoft, PrismTech, and Synplicity.
Wireless networks could benefit By Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service November 19, 2004
A technology that could transform wireless communications got a boost on Friday when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced its first approval of a software-defined radio.
The Vanu Software Radio GSM Base Station from Vanu can support multiple cellular technologies and frequencies at the same time and can be modified in the future without any hardware changes, according to Vanu Chief Executive Officer Vanu Bose. Software-defined radios like Vanu's could lower costs and provide new flexibility in wireless networks, IDC analyst Shiv Bakhshi said Friday.
Traditional radios are hardware components built for a particular frequency range, modulation type and output power. Software-defined radios (SDRs) consist of a flexible radio controlled by software running on a computer or device. The concept goes beyond cellular base stations to other types of radios, such as handheld devices that can switch from one network to another to suit a particular application or environment.
Overview: Creating Highly Adaptable Radios Just how many communication devices does a typical user own? A single user could easily own half a dozen: cell phone, cordless phone, wireless Internet gadget, pager, GPS tracker, and scanner. Then there are car phones, wireless intercoms, ham radios, Citizens Band radios, family radios, and more. For every one of these devices, the device design must be separately licensed through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). And each device is limited to communications on a specific frequency band.
The communications industry is now looking for a way to create radios that can handle multiple frequency bands, understand multiple transmission protocols, be reconfigured on the fly, and be easily upgraded—all in a single device design. With advances in CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) technology, programmable digital-signal processors, analog-to-digital converters, high-speed data transfer, and many other technologies, this type of full-featured wireless networking is moving from the possible, into the truly practical.
Re-Defining Wireless By Dave Mock, for The Feature, September 11 2001
Software-Defined Radio (SDR) technology holds lots of promise, but will it bear fruit?
It's every mobile subscriber's dream - one wireless handset that works everywhere. No more dropped calls due to inadequate network coverage and no more problems roaming onto other networks. Cellular phones and wireless modems will seamlessly switch modes to operate on whichever network is currently available for service and select the one with the strongest signal for the best throughput.
It sounds too good to be true, but the technology to enable this dream world is not far off. Various companies have been working for years to make the vision of SDR technology a reality. But practically implementing a solution is not just a matter of overcoming problems in design and engineering. Aside from technical aspects, issues such as fraud, billing of calls and levels of service will all be rearing their ugly head in the future.
Taking a brief look at the SDR market today reveals a slightly different picture than most people expected a few years back. The future for the technology is still there, but it has taken a few detours along the way. The ultimate dream described above is giving way to a solution that is more easily digested by carrier companies forced to deal with the new technology and all of its aspects.
