ITAP 2013 - Special Issue on Antenna Systems and Propagation for Cognitive Radio

Cognitive radio systems are quickly reshaping the future of wireless communications, sensing, and data sharing. Wireless data traffic is projected to double every year and this will impact spectrum availability in all sectors of our society. Various research communities, however, have differing definitions of cognitive radio (CR) and each community has unique views as the defining features of CR. Communication theorists view CR as primarily about dynamic spectrum sharing, while networking/IT researchers interpret CR as a device capable of cross-layer optimization. Computer scientists picture CR as a device capable of learning and adapting, with assumed capabilities, while the hardware/RF community often views it as an evolutionary step from Software Defined Radio. Amid all of these conceptions of cognitive radio, the possibilities for antenna systems and related propagation issues to play more active role in system-level performance are often lost.

The focus of this special issue is to showcase a unified vision for future cognitive radios, with an emphasis on antenna and RF front ends, and the algorithms for learning and controlling the RF/antenna front-end of any future cognitive radios as well as the sensing and integration of the propagation environment into the system configuration. More specifically, we would like to cover topics in the following areas:

Spectrum sensing and analysis algorithms coupled with antennas and RF front ends to sense, classify, and respond to the RF environment.
Real-time frequency reconfigurable antennas linked with agile RF front ends that can sense the RF environment and, in turn, adjust to communicate in the detected available spectrum, thereby avoiding any interfering signals.
Pattern and polarization reconfigurable antenna systems designed to avoid interference through spatial rather than frequency means.
MIMO and other reconfigurable systems in cognitive radio to increase throughput in crowded regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Inferential propagation models leveraging spectrum sampling or spectrum databases.
Propagation modeling and channel estimation with a particular focus on information extraction and exploitation for cognitive radio system configuration.
Propagation-channel-based techniques for security and assurance.


Manuscripts should conform to the requirements for regular papers of the Transactions on Antennas and Propagation as specified in the information for Authors in the inside back cover of a recent issue or on the web site (http://ieeeaps.org/aps_trans/index.htm). Potential contributors may contact one of the Guest Editors by email (with the contact information provided below) to determine the suitability of their contribution to the special issue. All papers must be submitted online through the AP Transactions Manuscript Central web site (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tap-ieee). When submitting the manuscript, authors should (1) choose “Special Issue Paper” as the manuscript type and (2) include in the cover letter a statement to the Editor-in-Chief that the manuscript is intended for this special issue.

Guest Editors
Prof. Jennifer Bernhard
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
jbernhar-AT-illinois.edu

Prof. Ernst Bonek
Vienna University of Technology
ernst.bonek-AT-tuwien.ac.at

Prof. Christos Christodoulou
University of New Mexico
christos-AT-ece.unm.edu

Dr. David Kunkee
The Aerospace Corporation
David.B.Kunkee-AT-aero.org

Prof. Kathleen Melde
University of Arizona
melde-AT-ece.arizona.edu

Deadlines:
Paper Submission: October 1, 2012
Anticipated Publication Date: November 2013