The Communications Research Centre Canada (CRC) is developing a family of radio signal processing products capable of supporting more robust applications and higher performance communications for soldiers on the battlefield. The technology is ideally suited for next-generation radios operating in rugged environments, including urban areas.

The military, just like your average cell phone user, isn't content with just voice anymore. They need high-performance tactical radio communications systems that provide real-time data and internet-like applications. The United States, Canada and NATO are all working towards what's called the 'networked battlefield' and providing that requires more capable communications waveforms.

The research is part of CRC's work to develop technologies for improved tactical radio communications systems, in collaboration with Defence R&D Canada (DRDC). Such systems aim to meet the military's increasing demand for data transmission in the field - demands that are rapidly exceeding the capabilities of existing low-bandwidth wireless networks, which use relatively low bit rate waveforms for transmission.

A key element of the work is the development of a family of Very High Frequency (VHF) waveforms, using advanced signal processing techniques. The new waveform provides several key improvements, including higher data rates than currently available within power-limited and bandwidth-constrained systems, and the opportunity for integration of voice and data within wireless networks.

For soldiers on the battlefield, these new waveforms will provide extended-range capability through network relaying and more robustness against interference. It will significantly improve their ability to operate in these environments over the existing technology.

Waveforms can be added to commercially available wireless modem platforms, reducing the time it takes to move new products onto the market. As part of a strategy to make these available, Burnaby BC-based Spectrum Signal Processing by Vecima announced plans in October to offer one of CRC's current waveform implementations to clients who need this capability on Spectrum's flexCommTM SDR-4000 wireless modem.

The CRC implementation, which is compatible with the U.S. Department of Defense's MIL-STD-188-181B military standard, operates using narrowband 5 KHz and 25 KHz channels, which enables efficient use of power and maximizes the range of communications.

This isn't the first time Spectrum has collaborated with CRC. The company's SDR-4000 radio transceiver also incorporates CRC's SCARI Software Suite 2007, which together provide a development platform that enables radio manufacturers to accelerate the rollout of Software Defined Radio (SDR). SDR is ideally suited for military use because it can receive and transmit a new form of radio protocol simply by running new software.

Having both technologies available on this platform means that users can request a modem with this particular waveform that could, in the future, be readily ported to be compliant with the SDR Software Communication Architecture (SCA) standard, which is a requirement in the U.S. under its Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program.