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Prototyping Multichannel Wireless Communication Systems

As wireless communications systems evolve beyond 5G, expand to low-Earth orbit, and extend to new frequencies and bandwidths, researchers and systems engineers must bring new capabilities from concept to the lab to deployment. A major obstacle on this journey is the time it takes to migrate IP from simulation to firmware and to build up boards and infrastructure to form a testbed for assessing the real-world performance of novel algorithms, waveforms, and components. Wireless researchers require:

 

  • Phase coherence across all channels to enable multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) communications systems
  • Wide-bandwidth I/Q data to be streamed to a server for advanced CPU- and GPU-based processing
  • IP to be directly migrated from simulation to real-world hardware for realistic assessment of algorithm performance

Open Architecture for Communications Research (OACR)

  • N320/N321 USRP devices are networked software defined radios that allow sharing of local oscillators across units, providing phase coherency across an array. 
  • The USRP Hardware Driver™ (UHD) and RF Network on Chip (RFNoC™) support open-source development and simplify heterogeneous processing with FPGAs in SDR applications.
  • OctoClock-G Clock Distribution Units provide a high-accuracy timing reference that allows developers to align multichannel systems within ~50 ns. 
  • Freely available application software is provided in C++, built upon the RFNoC API in UHD 4.0, providing out-of-the-box streaming and synchronization.

Solution Advantages

  • NI’s validated design pattern, including documentation and open-source example software, allows users to procure components and build a system

  • N32x USRP SDRs enable phase-coherent MIMO with channel-to-channel phase skew <0.1° from run to run, and stability <0.2° over a duration of 1 hour

  • Streams wide bandwidth I/Q data from RF receivers to a powerful CPU compute server, at up to 250 MS/s for 8 channels and 33.33 MS/s for 32 channels

Build Your Solution with the NI Ecosystem

NI offers a variety of solution integration options customized to your application-specific requirements. You can use your own internal integration teams for full system control or leverage the expertise of NI and our worldwide NI Partner Network to obtain a turnkey solution.

NI Partner Network

The NI Partner Network is a global community of domain, application, and overall test development experts working closely with NI to meet the needs of the engineering community. NI Partners are trusted solution providers, systems integrators, consultants, product developers, and services and sales channel experts skilled across a wide range of industries and application areas.

Services and Support

NI works with customers throughout the life of an application, delivering training, technical support, consultation and integration services, and maintenance programs. Teams can discover new skills by participating in NI-specific and geographic user groups and build proficiency with online and in-person training.

Brochure—Open Architecture for Communications Research (OACR)

Discover how OACR can be used as the blueprint for building a prototyping testbed for novel wireless and SATCOM algorithms, waveforms, and architectures. Explore the time-saving benefits of working from a validated starting point with system-level synchronization and data movement specifications.