Incumbent Radio Systems in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Spectrum Collaboration Challenge Test Bed

Abstract

The application of artificial intelligence and machine learning promises to usher in a new paradigm for emerging wireless communication systems. The goal of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) was to push this new paradigm forward. However, legacy radio systems already in place, such as radars for weather monitoring, receivers for spectrum monitoring, and battlefield jammers, will remain in use for a long time. Therefore, intelligent radios must operate around and adapt to these legacy systems to avoid interfering with them. In support of DARPA’s SC2, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory(APL) designed and built a wireless research test bed, referred to as the Colosseum, whereSC2 competitors could test and develop solutions to enable this new communications paradigm. A critical component of the Colosseum was its legacy radio emulators, referred to as Colosseum incumbents, that represented today’s systems. These incumbents emulated the radio frequency(RF) behavior of existing real-world radio systems, serving as RF obstacles that SC2 competitors had to detect and work around while simultaneously administrating their own communications for maximum data throughput efficiency.