EE - Spectrum Sharing Technologies and Policy for Interfering Radio Systems

Many industries are expanding their use of wireless technologies, with futuristic applications, ever more connected people and things, utilizing wider bandwidths and higher frequencies, and putting tremendous pressure on access to radio spectrum. Because the radio spectrum is regulated by government organizations at the national and international levels, developing technology and policy innovations to benefit society requires collaboration and interdisciplinary work among business and government leaders, engineers and scientists, economists, lawyers, regulators, and policymakers.

This project enables students to explore a particular spectrum issue, define an engineering problem for coexistence between two or more radio systems, and develop solutions that enable more effective utilization of the radio spectrum. The resulting “prototype” may include a lab-based measurement setup designed to capture a relevant dataset, a software-defined radio (SDR) implementation of a spectrum sharing mechanism, a simulation of models for interfering radio systems subject to proposed policy rules, and associated presentations and reports.

As a concrete example, concerns were recently raised about potential interference between expanded 5G cellular networks and radar altimeters that support the landing of aircraft. Radio propagation and interference models were developed, measurements were taken, and rules were specified to limit the 5G basetation locations, antenna configurations, and power levels around airports. The “deliverables” in this example were reports that summarized the models, propagation and simulation studies, measurement data, and recommendations.

Name of research group, project, or lab
Wireless Institute / Laneman Group
Why join this research group or lab?

The Wireless Institute in the College of Engineering at Notre Dame is one of the leading national centers in advancing wireless technologies and policies for the public good. Our research is technology focused with increasingly policy awareness and impact, enabling students who participate in the center's projects to get a breadth of experiences and a broad exposure to a number industry and government partners. This unique approach is best exemplified by SpectrumX, the NSF Spectrum Innovation Center, which involves 30 universities and a number of industry and government collaborators led by Notre Dame.

Dr. Laneman (Web, LinkedIn) serves as Director of SpectrumX and Co-Director of the Wireless Institute, and is an award-winning researcher, educator, and academic leader. He currently supervises 3 graduate students and 2 undergraduate students, and collaborates with a number of other faculty at Notre Dame and across SpectrumX to pursue challenging and high-impact projects in wireless systems and radio spectrum access.

Logistics Information:
Project categories
Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics
Computer Science & Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Student ranks applicable
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Student qualifications
  • Interest in radio systems and / or applications that depend upon them (telecommunications, radar, environmental sensing, positioning systems, radio astronomy, broadcasting, ...)
  • Ability to read through and summarize regulatory / policy filings
  • RF measurements (off-the-shelf as well as custom sensors)
  • Programming skills (Python, MATLAB, C/C++, documentation, ...)
  • Circuit design experience (Spice, PCB layout, test and verification, documentation, ...) 
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills
Hours per week
1 credit / 3-6 hours
2 credits / 6-12 hours
3 credits / 12+ hours
Summer - Full Time
Summer - Part Time
Compensation
Research for Credit
Paid - General
Number of openings
4
Techniques learned
  • Radio system modeling
  • Interference analysis
  • Hardware development
  • Software development
  • Regulation and policy filings
Project start
Start of Fall or Spring semester, Start of Summer
Contact Information:
Mentors
jnl@nd.edu
Professor
rls@nd.edu
Name of project director or principal investigator
J. Nicholas Laneman
Email address of project director or principal investigator
jnl@nd.edu
4 sp. | 5 appl.
Hours per week
1 credit / 3-6 hours (+4)
1 credit / 3-6 hours2 credits / 6-12 hours3 credits / 12+ hoursSummer - Full TimeSummer - Part Time
Project categories
Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics (+2)
Applied and Computational Mathematics and StatisticsComputer Science & EngineeringElectrical Engineering