Technologies which make the best use of crowded frequency spectrum, such as by ‘intelligently’ scanning the airways for free space to use, are undergoing live trials in Dublin.
The trial is being led by Ireland’s Trinity College-based
Centre for Telecommunications Value Chain Research (CTVR) and involves Motorola Research Laboratories, Qiniteq and other research groups.
“The trials will showcase cognitive or smart radio, innovative networks and emerging frequency technologies with a unique opportunity for companies worldwide to trial innovative wireless communications technologies,” said Professor Donal O’Mahony, director of CTVR.
It is claimed that the “globally unique trials” will have “worldwide significance”, with the findings being “eagerly awaited by international industry and research interests”.
Typical applications are predicted to include national communication systems for emergency services or mobile phones which intelligently scan the networks for less crowded frequencies. The researchers are also looking at software development and the creation of miniature circuitry in the ICs which power electronic devices.
The trials involve technology placed at fixed locations and the use of a mobile test centre which will travel around the Dublin area during April.
The start of the trials coincided with the IEEE conference on
New Frontiers for Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks (DySPAN) and raw data from the trials was fed directly into the conferences.