Background: Over the next ten years, President Obama’s National Broadband Plan seeks to free up 500 MHz of spectrum for commercial broadband carriers to deploy the next generation of mobile broadband, and DOD radar spectrum is a prime candidate because it is often perceived as underutilized. To cope with potential loss of both radar and communications spectrum, the US Navy is investigating how heterogeneous technologies can coexist and operate simultaneously without causing interference to each other.
Virginia Tech proposed application of machine learning techniques that would allow a radar to survey its spectral environment, characterize the channel access behaviors of the devices in its environment, and develop a frequency hopping pattern that simultaneously minimizes mutual interference while maximizing radar mission objectives. The system will predict when and where spectrum access opportunities will occur, and schedule radar pulses in those predicted slots.
While Virginia Tech focuses on the theory, Shared Spectrum Company will focus specifically on the implementation on the AN/SPY-1 platform, in coordination with the Naval Research Laboratory and NSWC Dahlgren. The Aegis Combat System is one of the Navy’s most advanced integrated weapons systems and uses the AN/SPY-1 radar to track inbound ballistic threats and guide interception weapons to destroy them in a completely automated way. Decreasing interference in the 3.5 GHz band will improve the Aegis performance, particularly in the vicinity of foreign port cities operating commercial WiMAX networks. If successful, both DOD and commercial radar programs can apply the resulting technology to a broad class of spectrum sharing applications.
VT GRA in National Security: Addressing Navy Spectrum Challenges with Cognitive Radar
By: Nathaniel Frissell on: Wed., Oct. 12, 2011 09:32 AM EDT (6960 Reads)
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2012 (1 Year Appointment)
Hume Center for National Security and Technology ![]() Open to: US-Citizen Graduate Students attending a US institution in fields of science and engineering research and education supported by the NSF Application Deadline: Fall 2011 Apply Through: Dr. Bob McGwier (rwmcgwi@vt.edu), Dr. Charles Clancy (Principle Investigators) Funding and Stipend: Virginia Tech Graduate Assistantship Compensation ![]() Opportunity: Wireless@Virginia Tech, in conjunction with the Hume Center for National Security and Technology, has recently received a grant from the Office of Naval Research to investigate the application of cognitive radio technology to radar spectrum management. Under this program Virginia Tech, in partnership with Shared Spectrum Company, will develop, prototype, and demonstrate the ability for a Navy Aegis AN/SPY-1 radar platform to coexist and share spectrum with commercial WiMAX infrastructure in the 3.5 GHz band. Students with backgrounds in radar techniques are invited to apply for a grant-supported GRA. The GRA will have an initial term of one year. Please contact the Project PIs at the Hume Center for National Security and Technology. |