[hpsdr] [OT] SDR in BBC news

[Ken - N9VV]

BBC NEWS
'Tower of Babel' technology nears
The problem of compatibility between wireless devices is being addressed 
at an international conference this week.

Scientists will be discussing what has been dubbed "Tower of Babel" 
technology - software that can converge different wireless gadgets into 
a single device.

The aim for Software Defined Radio (SDR) is to be able to translate and 
understand any kind of radio wave signal, such as 3G or wi-fi.

Researchers say SDR gadgets could become commonplace in five to 10 years.

With software defined radio all you need is one thing that can do the 
job of all of these devices

Francis Kinsella, EADS Astrium
Dr David Ndzi from the University of Portsmouth, where the International 
Conference on Telecommunications and Computers is being held, said: "SDR 
is what one could call a Tower of Babel-type technology, in that 
wireless devices that previously understood only one or a few languages, 
or standards, will suddenly be able to talk to each other freely 
regardless of frequency or conflicting protocols."

European space firm EADS-Astrium will be talking to delegates about its 
research in this emerging field.

Francis Kinsella, a specialist engineer from the company, said: "If you 
were to go on a hill-walking trip, you might have a walkie-talkie to 
talk to friends who are not far away, a mobile in case of emergency, 
GPS, a Bluetooth connection and even a laptop or PDA with a wireless LAN 
connection.

"Every single one of these things is a radio, and they are all slightly 
different. But in the future, with Software Defined Radio, all you need 
is one thing that can do the job of all of these devices."

Convergence

The idea behind SDR is that an aerial in the device picks up radio 
signals passing through the air waves.

An analogue-to-digital converter transforms this signal into a digital 
format, which can be understood and manipulated by software onboard the 
device.

Currently, most devices rely on hardware, rather than software, to get 
at the information in radio signals.

EADS-Astrium is about to launch its first SDR product, a piece of kit to 
be used by the military that can convert different kinds of signals, but 
Mr Kinsella said it was still an emerging technology.

He said two main limitations have held SDR back: the speed at which 
analogue-to-digital converters turn radio waves into numbers, and 
computer power.

"But," he said, "we have advances in both of those areas that could 
really mean an explosion in the next five to 10 years for SDR."

He said that the military had driven advances in the technology but the 
eventual benefits could be felt by consumers. The technology could even 
prove essential in emergency situations.

EADS-Astrium is currently working on a portable van, which has a 
satellite link, GSM, and wi-fi capabilities to be deployed during 
emergencies, such as in the aftermath of natural disasters. He said the 
ideal would be to add SDR to the van.

The next stage, said Mr Kinsella, would be what is termed "cognitive 
radio", a technology that has the same capabilities as SDR but also 
searches for and exploits bandwidth that is not being used.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/5382086.stm

Published: 2006/09/27 07:27:32 GMT

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