Exploiting location awareness toward improved wireless system design in cognitive radio

Rapid advances in digital technology allow people to have a single wireless device that has multiple functions such as communication, computing, and entertainment. These functions are generally embedded into the devices as add-on hardware components such as sensors, digital cameras, and so on. Currently, the functions operate independent of each other, since there is no unit that controls and coordinates the add-on hardware. However, with the aid of a cognitive engine, CR can take advantage of each component to improve its communications. In this work, location awareness is exploited to improve the wireless communication system design in CR. It is shown that several crucial wireless channel parameters are environment-dependent. In order for CR to relate a corresponding empirical model with an environment, the classification of propagation environments is outlined as well. The methods of characterizing the propagation environment for CR are also discussed. In addition, it is described how CR can carry out all these steps with the aid of a KRS along with RKRL and complete its adaptation cycle. CR networks are also discussed, including disseminating the location awareness information, propagation characteristics, and their effects on the network itself.