By now many of you have heard about the DARPA Spectrum Challenge. Everyone should know that the deadline to register is January 31st, so please don't forget to register your teams. To register, you just fill out a web form. The hard work comes later :)
The DARPA Spectrum Challenge is a competition to demonstrate a radio protocol that can best use a given communication channel in the presence of other dynamic users and interfering systems. You can win up to $150,000.
We are very proud that the challenge will use USRP radios in the ORBIT radio testbed at Winlab of Rutgers University:
A number of people have commented on the mistaken belief that the contest is only open to people in the US. From the Spectrum Challenge Web Site:
The person identified as the team leader must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident (green card holder) at time of registration and throughout the competition. Other team members need not be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
I would really like to see teams from all around the world participate, so if anyone outside the US would like to participate but cannot find an American to be team leader, please let me know and I will try to help you find someone.
Some other thoughts on this --
- You are not required to use GNU Radio. You can code directly to the UHD library, but I anticipate most people will use GNU Radio.
- I think the optimal size for a team is 2-3 people, maybe 4 at the most. You can have up to 10 members, but that seems likely to add very little, so don't worry if you can't find a big group.
- Qualifying teams can get USRPs for development purposes, so don't let a lack of hardware dissuade you from entering.
I truly believe this contest is one of the most exciting recent developments in SDR, and I hope there will be a lot of participation from members of the list.
Matt Ettus