AFRL-Funded Research Leads to Better Wireless Communications

  • Published
  • By Maria Callier, AFOSR/PIP
  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
ARLINGTON, Va. --  The research contributions of Dr. Rachel Learned, an AFRL-funded researcher employed by BAE Systems, have paved the way to clearer radio reception for military personnel deployed in locations prone to signal interference. Through her work in multiuser detection (MUD), which examines the reception of radio signals that interfere with one another, Dr. Learned was able to develop a scheme for organizing both the interfering transmissions and the corresponding receivers'
processing algorithms. The novel organizational architecture facilitates the use of small, lightweight, real-time receivers to pull apart interfering signals and thus clear the air for improved wireless communications.

Dr. Learned continues to work towards advancing wireless communications, focusing particularly on scenarios wherein the number of interfering radio signals is extremely high. In 1998, she established a research and development (R&D) group at BAE Systems and began to champion the adaptation and advancement of MUD for military applications. Largely the result of this group's R&D efforts, there now exists radio technology enabling concurrent (multiple-user), shared-frequency transmission.

In Iraq, MUD technology could prove very helpful in areas where interfering electronic transmissions substantially reduce the amount of critical military communications that can be transmitted. MUD technology accommodates more traffic on various networking systems, affording an advantage to military personnel in critical need of high-throughput air-to-air, air-to-ground, and person-to-person communications.

BAE Systems is also striving to advance MUD technology by demonstrating its capacity to operate without infrastructure and power control. In addition, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) furthered the technology's evolution by developing new MUD algorithms for the DARPA Interference Multiple Access program, an effort instated to build upon original MUD-based capabilities. The enhanced technology resulting from the DARPA effort will enable warfighters to dispense critical intelligence during battle by exploiting multichannel interference to achieve high-capacity, low-latency, spread-spectrum communications.