FPGA implementation of spectrum sensing engine for cognitive radios

Cognitive Radios are secondary radio systems which can use the vacant bands of a Primary radio for communication. Cognitive radios are reconfigurable radios with signal processing and Machine learning capabilities. The spectrum usage is controlled by different spectrum regulatory authorities and agencies. Majority of the agencies are following a static spectrum allocation technique and CRs are looking for dynamic spectrum allocation. The primary objective of a CR is to scan the radio environment and identifying a white, black or grey space which is a critical and complex task. This paper discusses implementation of a reconfigurable spectrum sensing engine. The spectrum sensing engine includes an energy detection engine, Cyclostationary sensing engine and a Matched filter based sensing engine. Based on the advance knowledge of the primary user signal and noise level one of the engines will be activated. All the spectrum sensing engines are implemented in a Xilinx Artix 7 FPGA.