HOW SHOULD RADIOS THINK? START WITH SELF-PRESERVATION

As various communication technologies have taken shape to improve our daily lives, one can begin to ponder if such advancements could also be leveraged to work towards a more sustainable communications infrastructure. Such an endeavor can be achieved through a number of existing advancements, such as simplifying the physical aspect of the architecture or reducing the power consumption of the separate devices. A key enabler of such efforts is the development and maturity of software defined radio technologies. However, these existing technologies alone aren’t enough… there needs to be a more creative implementation of them. One possibility is cognitive radio; an intelligent framework incorporated to maximize the flexibility inherent in software defined radio – essentially enabling it to “think.” Yet, such abilities can be broadly defined; do we need the complexity of human reason or the simplicity of animal instinct? To facilitate a more thorough discussion, this paper will start with the latter and propose a sense of caution in the device. By incorporating a cognition cycle similar to risk management, the radio can alter its configuration in a manner consistent with self-preservation and in turn fulfill a more sustainable operation.