Exploring new and emerging applications of Cognitive Radio systems: Preliminary insights and framework

Cognitive Radio (CR), which is the next generation wireless communication system, involves many complex interactions across various domains including social, technological, economic, environmental, and political. Several parties are involved in the deployment of CR, including licensed or Primary Users (PUs), unlicensed or Secondary Users (SUs), government or policy makers, and standardization bodies. Because of this complexity, technology forecasting to anticipate future trends of the applications of CR systems is an ambitious task. This paper provides an initial investigation and a framework for such forecasting. Current applications of CR include smart grids, public safety networks, cellular networks, wireless medical networks, home networks and cognitive femtocells. The paper explores new and emerging applications. This is important for making investment and strategic decisions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt in the literature to date to perform technology forecasting on the applications of CR systems. This paper aims to lay a foundation for the discovery of new research directions and areas, as well as to spark new research interests in this area.