A software radio-based system for experimentation in wireless communications

The paper describes a software radio-based system for performing field and laboratory evaluations of new wireless technology. Software-defined instrumentation allows researchers to conduct these evaluations without much of the burden traditionally associated with hardware development. Further, these systems can double as user-defined test and measurement systems, capable of capturing and reporting information such as channel estimates and BER. This can be done concurrently with normal operation of the algorithm, in real time. The specific example described here is for the evaluation of a narrowband radio modem.