Description:
Patent Status: Issued as US 8,594,028
Invention Overview: Cognitive Channel Assignment Technology
Inventor Dr. Brian Mark has an issued patent for his innovative technology, Cognitive Channel Assignment in Wireless Networks.
This technology allows base stations in a cellular network to assign frequency channels to users through the use of cognitive radio and signal strength detection. Benefits include a potentially simplified cellular network and increased capacity due to the more distributed channel assignment function and increase in frequency channel reuse.
A possible implementation is its use to increase the capacity of cellular networks that use FDMA and OFDMA, including the 4G LTE and WiMAX wireless standards. This technology can be applied in base stations in a cellular network being maintained by a wireless service provider. By equipping base stations with agile radios and signal detectors that assign channels cognitively, base stations no longer need to communicate with one another to assign channels.
Key Advantages:
- Provide more capacity within a given base station cell
- Simplify cellular operations and facilitate self-organization and self-healing in the network by reducing the need for coordination among mobile switching centers (MSCs) for channel allocation. (For instance, in the event of an outage, rather than affecting a large portion of the network, such an outage would only affect a single cell or small group of cells because the MSC acts autonomously, producing a more resilient network).
- Handheld devices do not need to be altered for the technology to work
GMU Inventor Information:
Dr. Brian L. Mark: https://ece.gmu.edu/people/full-time-faculty/brian-l-mark; http://researchfocus.gmu.edu/node/186