Research Summaries

Back Geolocation and Tracking in Cognitive Radio Networks

Fiscal Year 2013
Division Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department Electrical & Computer Engineering
Investigator(s) McEachen, II, John C.
Tummala, Murali
Sponsor National Reconnaissance Office (DoD)
Summary The emerging high data rate wireless communications technologies present unique challenges and opportunities for effective geolocation and tracking of users of interest. Cognitive Radio (CR) is considered the primary solution to the problems of low utilization in the licensed spectral bands and ever increasing demand for additional spectrum. A CR is capable of opportunistically seizing underutilized portions of the electromagnetic spectrum (known as white spaces) by adapting the radio's attributes to match the resources available. Cognitive radio networks present some challenges to geolocation as the radio can adapt to the changes in the environment. A shifting combination of spatial, frequency, and temporal parameters exist which renders current localization techniques ineffective. What cripples existing techniques is their inability to provide the cognition capabilities inherent in CR. For any localization technique to be effective, it must be able to adapt just as a CR is capable of doing. We propose to leverage our ongoing AS&T effort on geolocation of targets of interest in 4G networks and CR networks to develop schemes to track these targets for persistent monitoring in an integrated manner. We propose to employ passive signal collection using a monitor node and/or a wireless sensor network to geolocate and track. A combination of control signals between basestations and mobile devices and signal strength measurements collected by a network of sensors will be utilized first to geolocate and then to persistently track a target.
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Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal