Project List for the Wireless Innovation Forum 
67^th General Meeting

13 September 2010 

The following defines the projects that will be worked by the Wireless Innovation Forum’s members through the 67^th General Meeting of the in Schaumburg, Illinois. Projects are organized by committee.

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User Requirements Committee – Chair: Manuel Uhm (Xilinx)

• Public Safety Special Interest Group (PS-SIG) – Chair: Fred Frantz (L3 Communications), Vice Chair: Richard Taylor (Harris Corporation). The PS-SIG will finalize the project proposal for a “Cognitive Radio Technology Survey for Public Safety Applications” and begin executing on the associated work plan. This survey is being developed for the public safety community leadership, researchers, product developers, regulatory, and standards developers who are planning the evolution of communication capabilities and/or can benefit from awareness of future technology developments. The survey is based on the technology requirements identified in the Cognitive Use Case documents published by the Public Safety SIG and the Quantification Document under development by the Cognitive Radio WG to identify both current and projected maturity and also availability of technology to fulfill those requirements to:
  • Help public safety agencies plan communications system life cycle
  • Inform public safety standards and regulatory bodies regarding evolving systems capabilities
  • “De-mystify” cognitive radio for public safety leaders and users
  • Identify for researchers technology gaps and dependencies, and
  • Support roadmap development efforts of the Wireless Innovation Forum.

The PS-SIG will also meet jointly with the Cognitive Radio Work Group to collaborate on the Information Process Architectures and will begin planning a Public Safety workshop to be held in conjunction with the SDR’10 Conference and Product Exhibition.

• International Tactical Radio Special Interest Group (ITR-SIG)– Chair: Rafael Aguado Muñoz, (Indra Sistemas), Vice Chair: Jimmie Marks (Raytheon). The ITR-SIG will complete work on their report entitled “Issues in the International Tactical Radio Market Domain" and begin the balloting process. This report identifies the trends and issues associated with the introduction and usage of SDR technologies in the international tactical radio market, and is being prepared for tactical radio customers, primes, contractors and suppliers worldwide who need to understand the industry trends and barriers to achieving success using SDR concepts and technologies. The ITR-SIG will also evaluate outputs from this report in selecting new projects to work on for the remainder of 2010 and into 2011.
• SATCOM Special Interest Group – Chair: Bob Schutz (Datron World Communications): The SATCOM SIG will continue developing a “Hybrid SATCOM Reference Architecture for Public Safety Applications”.  This report is being prepared for use by organizations such as the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and first responder  providers who require the use of SATCOM systems to support emergency services during natural and/or man-made disasters . The report will document use cases where disruption of traditional terrestrial emergency services is expected, and explore the market need for integration of commercial and military satellite systems with terrestrial communications, highlighting areas where satellite communications provides both primary and back-up communications. The report will also propose a notional architecture for a hybrid LOS/BLOS platform compliant with the Forum’s Information Processing Architecture. .

Regulatory Committee – Chair: Peter Tenhula (Shared Spectrum Company), Vice Chair: Paul Kolodzy (Kolodzy Consulting)

• The Regulatory Committee will continue to explore new initiatives that could be undertaken in the new fiscal year beginning on July 1st, 2010 including:
  • Encouraging FCC Review of SDR Rules
  • Proposing an ITU-R agenda item for WRC-2016 for additional spectrum to support broadband
  • Submitting Ex Parte filings to FCC in Wireless Innovation proceeding on the Forum’s new name and strategy, the recently approved Public Safety SIG Cognitive Use Case Report, the Baseband Processor Report, The Security WG Paper (when completed) and the Cognitive Radio Quantification report (when completed)
  • Supporting the organization of a TVWS Workshop to be held in conjunction with the September meeting in Schaumberg
  • Organizing a Regulatory Workshop to be held in conjunction with SDR’10
  • Issuing an RFP and selecting an outside regulatory counsel

The Committee will mature these ideas in support of the FY2011 operations plan, and continue to issue regulatory advisories as events unfold.

Committee on Advanced Wireless Networking and Infrastructure – Chair: Vince Kovarik(PrismTech)

• Cognitive Radio Work Group (CRWG) – Chair: James Neel (Cognitive Radio Technologies), Vice-chair: Ihsan Akbar (Harris Corporation). The CRWG will finalize and ballot the report entitled “Quantifying the Benefits of Cognitive Radio”. This report is being developed for the world wide telecommunications and spectrum community who need to understand the benefits of using cognitive radio technologies in next generation wireless systems. The report will act as a contribution to the ITU-R and lays the groundwork for regulatory organizations to understand the benefits and system design choices associated with cognitive radio technologies. In addition, the CRWG will continue work on two existing projects:
  • “Cognitive Radio Database (CRDB) – a Radio Environment Map (REM) anticipating future CR needs” (Project Lead: Youping Zhao, Shared Spectrum Company). This specification is being produced for third party database providers and white space radio manufacturers to provide about database structures and standardized formats and functionalities that supports the flexibility necessary to accommodate current and future cognitive radio spectrum applications, such as mobility, spectrum economic transactions, dropouts, handovers, available networks, and services, etc.
  • “Information Process Architecture”(Project Lead: Pete Cook, Hypres). This report is being produced for stakeholders in Complex Information Systems and their associated Communications Subsystems need to represent the current state of their systems, consider how to expand and enhance them from a process perspective, and analyze opportunities to interact with other systems with similar characteristics, but developed independently. Information Process Architecture provides a general top-down model and a series of tools for depicting Operational, Systems, and Technical Standards Views of the structure of complex systems. The report will aid in defining, designing and selecting Cognitive Radio processes relevant and useful to Communication System stakeholders and, via a top-down approach, facilitate an improved understanding of the structure and relationships between Information Systems that span user domains, and allow users to assess the role of their systems with these architectural products. Part I of this report will be balloted and finalized during the 67th General Meeting, and work will begin on Part II. 
• Modeling Language for Mobility Work Group (MLM-WG) – Chair: Mitch Kokar (Vistology), Vice Chair: Vince Kovarik (Harris). The MLM-WG will continue work on their report entitled “Modeling Languages for Mobility”. This specification is being developed for  developers of next generation communication systems who want to develop flexible and efficient communication protocols between advanced radio systems to support next generation features of vertical and horizontal mobility, spectrum awareness and dynamic spectrum adaption, waveform optimization, capabilities, feature exchanges, and advanced applications. The final report will include use cases, an ontology for mobility, corresponding signalling plan, requirements and technical analysis of the information exchanges that enable these next generation features and is intended to lead to specifications/standards for languages and data exchange structures to support these capabilities. As a part of this effort, the group will update its project proposal to reflect its current activities and resubmit to the PAC for approval. 
• Test and Measurement Work Group (T&M-WG) – Chair: Bob Cutler (Agilent), Vice Chair: Neal Mellon, TDK.  The T&M will continue work on their project on “Test Guidelines and Requirements for Television Band Devices (TVBDs) Designed to Operate on Available Channels in the Broadcast Television Frequency Bands”. This report is being developed for equipment designers and manufacturers, test & measurement vendors, test & evaluation departments, certification authorities, spectrum stakeholders, wireless service providers and end-users who are impacted by software defined radio and cognitive radio (SDR/CR) system technology developments such as dynamic waveform activation, opportunistic scheduling, dynamic spectrum access, secondary and unlicensed spectrum access (e.g. by TVBDs) and policy based operation which are features not implemented in traditional radio systems. The report will identify unique test challenges created by SDR/CR radio system technology used for TVBDs and will provide a basis for test and certification.  

Committee on Next Generation Radio Technologies – Chair: John Glossner (Sandbridge)

• Commercial Baseband Processing Technologies Work Group – Chair: John Glossner (Sandbridge). This group will continue work on defining “Business Models for Open Source Air Interfaces”. This report is being developed for baseband providers, computer manufactures (MIDS), automotive electronics suppliers, handset manufacturers, infrastructure manufacturers, software services companies, and operators who need access to air interfaces for new platforms being developed or who may want a competitive baseband environment and access. The report will provide a description of open source licenses, potential business models, languages and development environments (C, python, Matlab), potential customers and markets for open source air interfaces, potential developers, and currently available open source projects.
• RF Technologies Task Group – Chair: Bob Normoyle (DRS). The RF Technologies Task Group will hold a formation meeting to discuss proposed work items for 2010. 
• Security Work Group (SecWG) – Chair: William Scott (GD-C4S). The Security Work Group will begin work on the specification entitled “Security Requirements and Profiles Case Studies”. This document will build on the report entitled Securing Software Reconfigurable Communications Devices to provide guidance to designers, developers and manufacturers of SDR devices on the appropriate set of security requirements germane to their class of SDR products. The report will provide a comprehensive set of security requirements that cover all aspects of SDR and software reconfigurable radio devices (SDRD) security for the underlying SDRD platform and its software operating environment. A requirements profile identifying a subset of the security requirements applicable to Public Safety SDRDs will also be developed, with additional profiles for other classes of SDRDs developed in future projects.
  • The International Security Services API Task Group (ISS-API) of the Security Work Group – Chair: Mark Turner (Harris) – This group will continue development of an “International Security Services API”. This specification is being developed for nations, international organizations and companies who need software interoperability and portability between international and independently developed software radios. The international radio security services API will specify how to interface and operate with a common set of radio security services improving interoperability and portability of software through the use of a common open software architecture.
• Smart Antenna Work Group (SAWG) – Chair: Seungwon Choi (Hanyang University). The SAWG will continue work on revising the “Smart Antenna Specification: PIM and PSM for Smart Antenna” to incorporate the interface specification defined by the Transceiver Facility Specification Task Group. 
• Transceiver System Interface Task Group (TSI-TG) – Chair: Eric Nicollet (Thales Communications). The TSI-TG will continue work on revisions to the “Transceiver Facility Specification”, which captures the information needed for interoperability between waveform applications and transceiver subsystems, expressed as generic and abstract requirements for properties and programming interfaces, including the associated real-time issues. This specification is being prepared for radio system integrators, waveform providers, SDR platform providers and radio head manufacturers, who seek increased efficiency when integrating waveform applications with target platforms (incl. radio heads), and who seek increased portability for their waveform applications. The TSI-TG will also work with the SCA API Work Group to create an SCA specific version of the transceiver specification, and explore establishing a “Transceiver Plug Fest” illustrating the benefits of this voluntary standard and helping to mature the specification.    

Coordinating Committee on International SCA Standards – Co chairs: Mark Turner (Harris) and Eric Nicollet (Thales Communications) 

• SCA Next Task Group– Chair: Terry Anderson (ITT Industries). This group will continue their work in supporting the JTRS JPEO SCA Next project by starting work on a new change proposal involving Asynchronous Messaging. In addition, the group will support the roll out of the SCA Next during a combined WInn Forum/JSTeF meeting in Washington DC, and will develop a action plan for follow up based on the results of that meeting.  
• SCA Implementation Guide Work Group – Chair: Steve Bernier (CRC). will continue work on the  “Software Communications Architecture Interpretation Guide”. This report is being prepared for the participants in the international software defined radio community where the SCA and SCA derivatives are of relevant who need clarity on the SCA to harmonize the development of embedded system software in order to lower development and maintenance cost as well as time to market.
• SCA API Work Group – Chair: Terry Anderson (ITT Industries). This group will continue to develop the “SCA WG API Implementers Aids” , which are being developed to give SCA radio and software developers an “Implementers Guide” providing a common interpretation of published SCA APIs along with hints and examples on their implementation, and filling in additional API specifications as necessary.
• The SCA Test and Certification Work Group – Chair: Ruediger Leschhorn (Rohde and Schwarz). This group will finalize the project proposal for and begin work on a new document entitled "SCA Certification Guide #2 - SCA Test, Evaluation and Certification Model Realization". This Recommendation is being developed for procurement authorities, producers of radios, radio components and tools who are active in markets where the standardised SCA is relevant and compliance is required to provide guidance on establishing test and certification capabilities for "category 1" standards to ensure that compliance is met in an efficient way including time to market and cost. The recommendation will aim to define the realization aspects (including business models) of the role based, generic certification process of SCA based SDRs, as defined in the Report "Test and Certification Guide for SDRs based on SCA Part 1: SCA" and will define and analyze candidate approaches and give recommendations to satisfy the responsibilities of the roles identified in that document.

Roadmap Committee – Chair: Claude Belisle (CRC)

• The Roadmap Committee will establish a wiki page for hosting their work and set work plans for defining the Forum’s “Top 10 Most Wanted Wireless Innovations” in fiscal year 2011.

Additional information on ongoing projects can be found in the Forum’s FY2011 Operations Plan..

The teleconference schedule for these groups can be found here.