With the exponential growth in the ways and means by which people need to communicate - data communications, voice communications, video communications, broadcast messaging, command and control communications, emergency response communications, etc. - modifying radio devices easily and cost-effectively has become business critical. Software defined radio (SDR) technology brings the flexibility, cost efficiency and power to drive communications forward, with wide-reaching benefits realized by service providers and product developers through to end users.
Defination of SDR
Simply put Software Defined Radio is defined as :
"Radio in which some or all of the physical layer functions are software defined"
A radio is any kind of device that wirelessly transmits or receives signals in the radio frequency (RF) part of the electromagnetic spectrum to facilitate the transfer of information. In today's world, radios exist in a multitude of items such as cell phones, computers, car door openers, vehicles, and televisions. SDR defines a collection of hardware and software technologies where some or all of the radio’s operating functions (also referred to as physical layer processing) are implemented through modifiable software or firmware operating on programmable processing technologies.
Benefits of SDR
For Radio Equipment Manufacturers and System Integrators, SDR Enables: 1. A family of radio “products” to be implemented using a common platform architecture, allowing new products to be more quickly introduced into the market. 2. Software to be reused across radio "products", reducing development costs dramatically. 3. Over-the-air or other remote reprogramming, allowing "bug fixes" to occur while a radio is in service, thus reducing the time and costs associated with operation and maintenance. For End Users - from business travelers to soldiers on the battlefield, SDR technology aims to: 1. Reduce costs in