A team representing Drexel Wireless Systems Laboratory (DWSL) has won the second place at the 2013 Software Defined Radio Challenge organized by Wireless Innovation Forum. The challenge was held at 2013 Wireless Symposium and Summer School hosted by Virginia Tech.
The team was led by Nikhil Gulati, a PhD candidate in ECE department along with PhD candidate Damiano Patron and was advised by Dr. Kapil Dandekar. The project titled 'SDR Integrated Cognitive Antenna System' showcased an adaptive framework to leverage the capabilities of reconfigurable antennas for wireless link quality improvement. The reconfigurable antennas developed at Drexel Wireless Systems Laboratory are a next generation of antennas which are capable of changing their operational state for improving wireless link connectivity and coverage. These antennas are compact enough to be added to a home wireless access point and/or laptops. The demonstration showcased the smart algorithm and software developed at DWSL to control these antennas to improve the experience of a wireless user. The demonstration involved a software-hardware system developed on top of a software defined radio platform.