Energy detection based cooperative spectrum sensing system for emergency networks

During emergencies, a number of rescue teams come to the field and setup their own radio communication systems. If the deployed communication setup does not coordinate among themselves properly, they may interfere with each other when using the same RF channels known as co-channel interference. Spectrum sensing is the most important and complex job for cognitive radios. Cooperation among cognitive radio nodes is needed to enhance the sensing performance. In this paper, we present an experimental study of this solution. A Software Defined Radio comprising of GNU Radio and USRP were used to capture the signal samples to build a database profile of the spectrum condition. MATLAB communications toolbox was used to analyze the data and examine the spectrum pertaining to the condition in emergency networks. The benefits of cooperative spectrum sensing in avoiding co-channel interference during emergency situations are illustrated. Cooperation among cognitive spectrum sensing nodes operating at the same frequency improves the probability of detection, and the overall efficiency of the system. Results show that the cooperative sensing scheme outperforms the individual sensing approach. It can increases the probability of detection relative to the collected samples as the key performance indicator.