Hardware platform for software enabled radio and smart antennas

For realisation of SER-systems, hardware platforms offering extreme high computing performance are essential, especially for Intermediate Frequencies (IF) signal processing. A concept for a universal hardware platform for implementation of SER systems is presented, which allows software based signal processing also at IF range. Additionally, this platform can be used for designing smart antennas. The synergetic combination of flexible DSP- with highly parallelized hardware-processing is realized by an expandable architecture of parallel DSP-boards and offers performance up to 80000 MIPS. The platform is designed for realizing a receiver offering 4 independent channels and additionally MIMO channel simulation. Each component has a separate analog board and separate interfaces for digital, analog and HF signals (optional IF). By means of FPGA reconfiguration and DSP algorithms variation, a radio system implemented on this hardware platform is able to match different communication standards and to perform a fast inter standard handover. The system can be adapted to changing receiving conditions during operation (IF filter characteristics, optimised antenna res. coding algorithms etc.).