SDR Forum Announces 'Smart Radio Challenge'
The Forum also announced the first sponsor of the Smart Radio Challenge: The MathWorks, a leading developer of technical computing and model-based design software for engineers and scientists. As a major sponsor, The MathWorks will provide its MATLAB and Simulink software, train and mentor students throughout the competition, and donate funds to the SDR Forum. The Forum is also accepting additional sponsorships from companies and government agencies worldwide.
"We're proud to present this exciting competition, and we welcome the enthusiastic and generous support of The MathWorks," said Bruce Fette, chair of the SDR Forum's Technical Committee and originator of the Smart Radio Challenge concept. "Just as SDR and cognitive radio are the waves of the future, so too are the engineering students of the world who will bring these important technologies to the next level." The Forum has long been active in educational endeavors and has academic members that include universities in Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Spain and the U.S.
The Smart Radio Challenge will entail multiple phases, including a qualifying round and one or more development rounds. Each student team must build and demonstrate an SDR that addresses a Forum-defined problem and supports a target waveform; the problem can be chosen from several that the Forum will propose in mid-June. Teams will submit proposals specific to a defined problem by September 30, and the teams that qualify will be announced at the Forum's annual Technical Conference in November. The teams will then have 10 months to complete their projects and submit them for the Smart Radio Challenge '07 competition.
The SDR Forum will award several prizes after the development phase, and teams already qualified may compete in successive years for the annual prizes, which include monetary grants to the student teams as well as their university departments.
SOURCE: SDR Forum