Whereas traditional radio devices are limited to operating within specific hardware-defined parameters, this reconfigured GSM radio provides a "Universal Transceiver" chip capable of transmitting, receiving, and switching between, any given modulation type, frequency, or bandwidth, including common communication standards such as GSM/EDGE, Project 25 (P25), 802.11b,g,n (WiFi), 802.16 (WiMAX), Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc. 

Additionally, the transceiver's SDR software can be upgraded over-the-air while the radio is in operation, allowing new wireless features, capabilities, and communication standards to be added to SDR radio systems without requiring any new hardware.  This ensures that SDR-enabled equipment will not become outdated or obsolete as communication standards evolve.   

Applications

Communication difficulties between various federal, state, and local public safety agencies using disparate proprietary radio hardware is a well-known problem, resulting in poorly-coordinated emergency responses and delayed processing of urgent information.  This was the impetus behind the P25 radio standard which has been designed as a "common" communication protocol to allow interoperability between different agencies, irrespective of radio hardware manufacturer. 

Conventional P25 radios are built using numerous specialty discrete components and complex board designs, resulting in very expensive equipment which is bulky, heavy, and inefficient.  Because of this, adoption of P25 radio hardware has been slow.

When implemented as a P25 radio, UTD's SDR technology promises to significantly reduce the size, weight, and cost of P25-compliant radio communication equipment for the public safety, security, military, utility, and transportation industries.

Applications Include:

·         P25 Portable and Mobile Radios

·         P25 Base Stations

·         Wireless Bridge for IP Integration into P25 networks.

·         Wireless "Smart" Power Meters

·         Adaptive/Cognitive/Intelligent Radio

Advantages

Technology

A "Universal Transceiver" chip has been developed by reconfiguring the internal software of the Texas Instruments LoCosto^TM chip (a reconfigurable, programmable, low-cost, Digital RF Processor (DRP)-based single-chip GSM/EDGE radio currently used in low-power GSM mobile phones). 

This GSM radio chip's software has been successfully reconfigured to modulate the RF carrier signal with P25-compliant C4FM (continuous 4-level FM) data.  The plot to the left illustrates how the actual measured output of this invention exactly matches that of an ideal P25 signal.

Note that the P25 digital public safety standard operates in the 746-806 MHz frequency band, which is different from the normal operating band of the GSM/EDGE chip.  The modulation of this P25 signal is based completely in software, without the need for any hardware modifications to the chip or ancillary circuitry. 

This technology is patent pending. 

Inventors

Kamran Kiasaleh, PhD., is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas and is the Associate Department Head of the Electrical Engineering program.  His research experience in the area of telecommunications spans over 18 years in industrial and academic settings.  He was the recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) research initiation award and a NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) group achievement award for a Galileo experiment - the first successful optical communications demonstration with a deep-space vehicle.  He holds three patents, one of which is implemented in 3^rd generation wireless communication receivers.  He is a senior member of IEEE and holds a Professional Engineering license in the state of Texas.

Poras Balsara, Ph.D., is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas and is also associated with its Center for Integrated Circuits and Systems.  His research and teaching interests include VLSI design, design of energy efficient digital circuits and systems, computer arithmetic, VLSI architectures and algorithms for DSP and telecommunications, and reconfigurable architectures.  Current research topics include: Energy efficient digital systems, VLSI circuits and architectures for DSP and telecommunications, and reconfigurable digital systems. 

Licensing Opportunity

This technology is available for exclusive and non-exclusive licensing.