Cognitive radio network as wireless sensor network (I): Architecture, testbed, and experiment

This paper explores the vision of a dual-use sensing/communication system based on Cognitive Radio Network (CRN). The motivation of the paper is to push the convergence of sensing and communication systems into a unified cognitive network. The concept design of this sensing/communication system is presented along with potential functions and challenges. A through tree target detection using real data collected by CRN testbed is demonstrated. The CRN testbed will be built based on Rice WARP nodes. To further exploit the advantages of dynamic spectrum access and frequency diversity, multi-frequency signal, which is similar to OFDM signal, are employed to for detection experiment in the harsh radio environment. The experiment results illustrate the vision of employing a CRN as wireless sensor network.