ECE461/ECE455 - Selected Topics in

Signals and Communication

Systems

Lecture Cognitive Radio Networks

Dr. Fatma Newagy

Prof. of Communications Engineering
Fatma_newagy@eng.asu.edu.eg
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Cognitive Radio Based 5G

Wireless Networks
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I. Introduction

Different spectrum bands for different services

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Exponential Growth in Number of
Wireless Applications Over 5G Networks
 Increasing Demand For Spectrum
Use
 More and more people
subscribe to one or many
of the wireless services

 Rapid growth of wireless

devices

 Increasing demand for

additional bandwidth
Cell Phone Statistics (2006)
• Global Cell Phone Users > 2 Billion
• New Cell Phone Sales > 1 Billion (2006)
• #1 Cell Phone Country –China > 400M
• European Union > 450M
• U.S. > 200M
• Recorded usage in 221 Countries
• SMS Messages -235M (36/user/month)
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Background and Motivations

Crowded radio spectrum
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Background and Motivations

Low spectrum utilization
 Examples of the Spectrum Opportunities

Most of the
spectrum is
unused

Evidence of
overcrowding

54 MHz to 88 MHz (TV broadcasting), 24 hour period starting during Sep. 01 to Sep. 09 2009
 Examples of the Spectrum Opportunities

Most of the
spectrum is
unused

Evidence of
overcrowding

2390 MHz to 2500 MHz (mobile satellite), 24 hour period starting during Sep. 01 to Sep. 09 2009
Example of the Spectrum Opportunities

Spectrum hole analysis for 54 – 88 MHz frequency band.

Example of the Spectrum Opportunities

Spectrum hole analysis for 2390 – 2500 MHz frequency band.

Spectrum Occupancy Measurements in
Seven Different Places

Most of the spectrum in

most of the places at
most of the time is
completed unused!
Current Spectrum Allocation
Policies
Today, frequency bands are statically assigned to specific wireless
operators/services.
Frequency allocation policies lead to a low utilization of the licensed
frequency spectrum. For example, in most of the time only 6% of the
frequency spectrum is active.

Current spectrum policy needs to be reconsidered !

Solutions?
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II. Cognitive Radio (CR)

Large amount of white space in time and frequency
•Unused portions of licensed spectrum is called spectrum holes
or White Spaces.
•Dynamic spectrum sensing helps with identifying and
assessing quality of unused channels
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Cognitive Radio: Basic Idea

Cognitive Radio (CR) technique has been proposed by the
Federal Communication Committee (FCC) as a solution to
such spectrum scarcity problem.

Cognitive radios enhance the control process by adding:

 Intelligent control of radio;
 Ability to sense the environment;
 Processes for learning about environmental parameters;
 Awareness of its environment: signals & channels;
 Awareness of capabilities of the radio;
 Ability to negotiate waveforms with other radios.
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Why So Many
Definitions Definitions?

FCC:
“A radio that can change its transmitter parameters based on
interaction with the environment in which it operates.”
ITU (Wp8A):
“A radio or system that senses and is aware of its operational
environment and can dynamically and autonomously adjust its
radio operating parameters accordingly.”

IEEE USA
“A radio frequency transmitter/receiver that is designed to
intelligently detect whether a particular segment of the radio
spectrum is currently in use, and to jump into (and out of, as
necessary) the temporarily-unused spectrum very rapidly,
without interfering with the transmissions of other authorized
users.”
Our cognitive radio definition
• Cognitive radio is an intelligent wireless communication
system that is aware of its surrounding environment and
uses methodology of understand-by-building to learn from
environment and adapt its internal states to statistical
variations by making corresponding changes in
its operating parameters.

• Intelligence is defined as “ The capacity to acquire and

apply knowledge, especially toward a purposeful goal.”

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Cognitive Radio Applications

Three Solutions
1. Overlays (e.g. Cognitive Radio –Frequency Agile /
Smart Radios / Software Defined Radio)
2. Creation of Unlicensed Bands (esp. ISM / UNII –
0.9, 2.4, 5 GHz)
3. Underlays (e.g. Ultrawideband –UWB –min. 500
MHz bandwidth)
Cognitive Radio Wireless Networks
 Two types of cognitive users
1) Primary users (PUs) or licensed users
2) Secondary users (SUs) or unlicensed users
 Two types of cognitive radio networks
1) Synchronous
2) Asynchronous
 Three types of spectrum sharing modes
1) Overlay
2) Underlay
3) Interweave
PUs & SUs
• Primary User: A user who has higher priority or legacy
rights on the usage of a specific part of the spectrum.

• Secondary User: A user who has a lower priority and

therefore exploits the spectrum in such a way that it does not
cause interference to primary users.

• Spectrum Sensing: The task of obtaining awareness about

the spectrum usage and existence of primary users in a
geographical area.
 PUs & SUs
• SUs can sense occupancy
of licensed channels and
use licensed channels
when they are not
occupied by PUs based on
spectrum sensing results.

• PUs and SUs form

primary wireless network
and secondary wireless
network (cognitive radio
network), respectively.
1) Synchronous Cognitive Radio Networks

 Time axis is divided into slots

 SUs are synchronized with PUs
Same knowledge on the time-slot boundary
 PUs spectrum activity is consistent during a given time slot

An example of Synchronous CRN with interweave spectrum sharing mode

2) Asynchronous Cognitive Radio
Networks

 SUs are NOT synchronized with the PUs

 Different licensed channels for different types of PUs can
also be asynchronous
 Cognitive Radio Spectrum Sharing
Modes
 Overlay
Cognitive radios overhear and enhance PU’s` transmissions

 Underlay
Cognitive radios constrained to cause minimal interference
to PUs

 Interweave
Cognitive radios find and exploit spectral holes to avoid Knowledge
and
interfering with PUs Complexity
Spectrum Sharing Modes (1)
Type 1: Overlay
 SUs may use a part of their energy to assist communications of
PUs through cooperative communication techniques and the rest
of energy to transmit their own signals.
 Interference from SUs' signals can be compensated with gain for
PUs' signal quality through cooperation of SUs.
 It requires SUs to know PUs' packets before PUs begin their
transmissions

SU
R2
SU
R1
PU PU
S D
 Spectrum Sharing Modes (2)
Type 2: Underlay
 SUs transmit signals in such a low-power level that interference
caused by SUs is below noise floor of the spectrum.
 In the view point of PUs, transmissions by SUs are nothing but
noise with low-level power.
 SUs and PUs can co-exist in same spectrum
 If PUs’ topology and transmission power do not change
• No need to sense the channel
• Do not cause packet collision for PUs for both synchronous and
asynchronous cognitive networks
Spectrum Sharing Modes (3)
Type 3: Interweave
 Listen first and talk later
 Exclusive utilization
 SUs frequently sense channel
 SUs do not need to worry about interference temperature constraint
of PUs
• Relax power constraints imposed onto SUs as compared with
underlay spectrum sharing mode.
 No interference to PUs in synchronous CRNs
 Inevitable interference to PUs in asynchronous CRNs due to half-
duplex nature of wireless radios