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MITRE Consulting Scientist Joseph Mitola discusses his work in software radio architecture and the development of a cognitive radio.

Is a universal cell phone the next step?

The explosion in wireless networks and cell phone use has both thrilled and frustrated users worldwide. Incompatible transmission standards among wireless networks and constantly evolving features on cell phones cause major problems for the cell phone industry. The question is "how can we make cell phones more versatile given the many standards and functions the wireless revolution demands?"

Software-defined radio (SDR) technology first developed by the military, may be the answer. ("Radio" in this context is equipment that communicates using radio frequency airwaves, like modern cell phones.) MITRE's Joe Mitola created some of the first SDRs for the military in the early 1990s.

Building upon his earlier work on military SDRs and his long-time interest in radios and computer software programming, Mitola, a consulting scientist with MITRE since 1993, created a software radio architecture course in 1995. "I taught the course domestically and abroad for four years," says Mitola. "Then I turned the course material into a book, Software Radio Architecture: Object Oriented Approaches to Wireless Systems Engineering. MITRE was very supportive of my efforts to consolidate my research in software designed radios into the course and then later the book."

By the end of the 1990s, software radio architecture was fairly well documented and Mitola moved on to researching the development of an affordable software radio. Both commercial and military projects have a strong need for a high-quality, cost-effective software radio. As Mitola explains, "One of the downsides to the wireless revolution is that the services aren't always available when you need them. To remedy this problem you need a cognitive radio, i.e., a smarter radio."

"A cognitive radio will find the right way to get the message across," continues Mitola. "It should be able to find available bandwidths and filter out unnecessary information. A cognitive radio will be smart about the user and will know how to get the right information to the user in an efficient manner."

Mitola built a simple version of a cognitive radio as a doctoral project for Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology. The award of his Ph.D. in November 2000 culminated three years of research in cognitive radio, the integration of machine learning into software radio.

"I really owe it all to the MITRE environment," says Mitola. "Bob Mikelskas and Bob Nesbit (leaders of MITRE's Center for Integrated Intelligence Systems) have set up a supportive environment with lots of outlets for creative energy. MITRE's accelerated graduate degree program, plus some Navy sponsorship of my doctoral work, were critical to my getting the degree."