The Wireless Information Transfer System (WITS) architecture for the Digital Modular Radio (DMR) software defined radio (SDR)

The software defined radio (SDR) is a rapidly emerging concept in wireless communications, brought about by increased performance in general purpose processing and digital signal processors. The combination of the advances in computing with those advances in networking and radio technology makes the SDR a reality today. The market for SDRs is focused on user application services and the commercial and military need to upgrade and maintain user services with legacy systems without 'a forklift upgrade'. Additionally, the SDR provides an affordable migration path to new systems and services without requiring users to immediately abandon billions of dollars of investment in existing systems. The user needs include seamless interconnectivity to voice and data networks and flexible interoperability with legacy systems. The users need systems that are scalable, allow graded services and security to meet mission objectives, in-field upgrades, and reduced total ownership cost. The needs are fulfilled by SDR services and applications including wireless and wireline communications, routing and bridging dissimilar systems, remote configuration, control and operation, and reprogrammability. The architecture that supports such a system must live and evolve through use of open standards architecture, high reliance on standard hardware modules, and software programmability. Motorola System Solutions Group's Wireless Information Transfer System (WITS) is an SDR selected as the US Navy's Digital Modular Radio (DMR) offering the services and fulfilling the needs of the communications community. WITS/DMR products share a common architecture designed to support hardware and software evolution and applications independence. This paper discusses the DMR/WITS architecture and ifs ability to meet the challenges of the communications customers and support an orderly evolution from today's wireless systems to the advanced networks of tomorrow.