Discrete Wavelet Transform Based Spectrum Sensing in Futuristic Cognitive Radios

With the advent of an era of wireless communication, the number of users is on the rise, the result of which is spectral congestion. Cognitive Radio systems provide an intelligent and an attractive solution to this technical crisis. Spectrum Sensing is indispensable for the functioning of Cognitive Radio and helps in efficient spectrum utilization. In this paper, a wavelet based approach to spectrum sensing is dealt with. Wavelets provide a new dimension to tackle spectrum sensing. This method is comparatively easier and more reliable than the conventional energy detector. An algorithm for spectrum sensing has been proposed and the results obtained for various scenarios are tabulated. A comparison with the conventional energy detector has been performed to substantiate the proposal. Some important conditions are also specified.