Software Defined Radios
Wireless devices that can reconfigure on the fly

Supporting multiple modes and standards in a single wireless device is an emerging trend in communication systems. The best example is today's cellular phones, supporting multiple modes such as GSM and WCDMA, and even multiple standards such as Cellular, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. The conventional way to realize such multi-mode-multi-standard device is to install multiple radio chains each devoted to a specific standard or mode. This approach, however, results in large and expensive systems with short battery life.

Using only one radio core, Software Defined Radio (SDR) provides an alternative approach that enables radios to switch from one wireless standard interface to another through real-time software reconfiguration. The result is a wireless device that can reconfigure itself to work with different systems on the fly. After many years of expensive R&D exercise, SDR is finally breaking cover. The last few months have seen a flurry of product announcements—from application-specific semiconductors to the first software-driven radio to gain approval from the FCC.

Please join us at this SVCWireless seminar and explore the latest developments of this revolutionary technology with an outstanding panel of technology visionaries and entrepreneurs.

Speakers:

Moderator:

Mark Cummings
Director of the Board, Software Defined Radio Forum
Managing Partner, enVia Technology Partners
Mr. Cummings served as the founder and managing partner of enVia, and was the founder and initial CEO of Morphics, SkyCross, and RFco. Mr. Cummings organized the Software Defined Radio Forum (an international industry association with over 120 member companies). He served as the Chair of the Organizing Committee, first Technical Committee Chair, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Small Company Board Member. He also serves as a Member of the Special Committee (equivalent to the Board of Directors) of the IEICE (Japanese equivalent of the IEEE) Software Radio Study Group. He is the principal inventor on the earliest patent granted on the use of reconfigurable logic for software defined radio.

Mr. Cummings developed the technique of employing standards organizations to develop markets over a long and distinguished career in the communications and computing industries. He participated in the creation of the X.25 standard and designed the first international X.25 network. He was an early member of the IEEE 802 Committee and designed and deployed the first architecture integrating PC's and LAN's for the Bank of America. He sat on the Board of Directors of the Smart Card Industry Association and designed the first "Super Smart Card." He helped found and sat on the Board of Directors of PCMCIA and worked with major companies on cards, computers, etc. around the standard at Stanford Research Institute (SRI International) where he organized and managed the Pocket Intelligence Program.

Mr. Cummings holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business in Conjunction with the Moore School of Engineering and the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Communications from San Francisco State University. He has done post-graduate work at NYU, New School For Social Research, Stanford University, and Tohoku University.

He holds three patents, and has published over 200 papers, articles and Book chapters.

Panelists:

Dr. Tom Cesear
Chief Scientist, AccelChip, Inc.
Dr. Thomas Cesear has more than 20 years of entrepreneurial experience in all phases of Marketing, strategic business development, and high-speed DSP ASIC design. Dr. Cesear was previously the director of IP Development at Accelchip, responsible for the development of the company's AccelWare DSP IP products. Prior to joining AccelChip, Dr. Cesear was the CEO/Marketing Director for bit-tru, which developed a C-synthesis tool and a library of parameterized IP models targeting key DSP functions; bit-tru was acquired by AccelChip. He also held chief scientist positions at Centerpoint Broadband Technologies and Mentor Graphics. Dr. Cesear co-founded another successful start-up, dQdt, which developed a parameterized library of DSP IP cores. dQdt was later acquired by Mentor Graphics, and it was there that Dr. Cesear co-formed the Inventra product line. Prior to this, he was a senior staff engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company, Microelectronics Technology Center. Dr. Cesear holds Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering degrees from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.S.E.E. from Purdue University. He received the Howard Hughes Doctoral and Masters Fellowships.

John Powell
Chair, National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC)

Nikolaus Bruels
Infineon Technologies
Berkeley Wireless Research Center