COMON (Cognitive Multi-hop Wireless Networks) is an ongoing strategic research project funded for three years (2010–2012). It will include research within the field of cognitive radio and cognitive radio network systems.

Wireless networking has enabled the deployment of a large set of advanced communication systems, like mobile telecommunication, mobile Internet access, and wireless sensor data harvesting. The density of wirelessly communicating devices and the demand for wireless communications is predicted to increase dramatically in the next decade due to their superior flexibility and usability compared to wired solutions. EU has named this phenomenon “the Internet of Things”.

 

This proliferation of wireless networks and devices increases the demand for radio spectrum and makes it difficult to find vacant frequency bands. The understanding that spectrum is a scarce resource is derived from static frequency regulations that are being increasingly labeled as outdated. Cognitive radio (CR) is proposed as a new technology to solve the imbalance between spectrum scarcity and spectrum under-utilization. The CR interacts with the wireless environment in a bio-inspired approach enabling a more efficient and opportunistic spectrum sharing and access, where temporarily unused spectrum (holes) will be used efficiently (see the figure which is copied from KTH, Sweden). The CR concept can be further utilized in the implementation of new autonomous wireless access and infrastructure systems named cognitive multi-hop networks, which define a collection of self-configuring CR nodes forming networks dynamically.

Among the applications are e.g. ubiquitous Internet access, sensor networks, industrial process control, low-delay video / radar applications, home networking, and vehicular and emergency critical networks.

• COMON will create an experimental cognitive radio platform for flexible and opportunistic spectrum management (dynamic spectrum allocation and spectrum sharing) by exploiting reconfigurable radios, cognition and adaptation techniques in a dynamically changing environment. Collaborative algorithms and cross-layer interactions will be designed and used in wireless multi-hop networks, ensuring automated ways for deploying that type of wireless infrastructure.
• COMON will implement a test-bed for verification and evaluation of major project findings. The test-bed will also be used within educational purposes at NTNU.
• COMON results will be published in peer-reviewed international journals and conferences.

The project has defined four Themes that will constitute the research tasks:

• Theme #1: Cognitive radio
• Theme # 2: Cognitive radio networks
• Theme # 3: Machine learning and the cognition cycle
• Theme # 4: Cognitive radio test-bed and network experiments