A stream-based configurable computing radio testbed

Software radios have emerged as important tools in the development of new signal processing algorithms, networking protocols, and propagation experiments in wireless environments. With a software radio, the signal processing and modem management can be changed in a timely matter. This enables users to explore a variety of domains before committing a design to silicon. Contemporary DSP-based software radios have proven indispensable in the wireless research community. The capabilities of these platforms, however, are somewhat limited due to the confined computational capacity of current DSPs. This paper presents a stream-based CCM soft radio consisting of a variety of FPGAs, memories, and a programmable radio interface, providing a pathway from antenna to wired network. CCM techniques are well suited for the computations associated with wireless modem management, and provide a substantial computational margin over contemporary alternatives, allowing live experiments using advanced digital signal processing.