Research

My research activities primarily involve game theory, software radio, and DSP Implementation.

Game Theory

Game theory is a set of tools and mathematical models for analyzing interactive decision processes. My current research focuses on the application of game theory to resource management of distributed wireless systems. I am currently managing the efforts of a major basic research grant from ONR that is focused on issues related to power control, adaptive interference avoidance, ad-hoc network formation, and node participation. A website dedicated to this topic, including presentations, tutorials, and publications is here.

Software Radio

A software radio is a radio whose physical layer behavior can be significantly modified through changes to its software. My work with software radio has been all over the map, from architectures to analysis (game theory) to data conversion to processor architectures to middleware.

Selected Software Radio Links

The following are some links related to software radio.

SDRForum  www.sdrforum.org (the industry software radio standards body)

JTRS           http://jtrs.army.mil   (military's software radio initiative, site houses the SCA)

Software Radio Publications

J. Neel, S. Srikanteswara, "A Review of the Proceedings of the SDR Forum Technical Conferences for 2002 and 2003," September 1, 2004.

(pdf) J. Neel, "Simulation of an Implementation and Evaluation of the Layered Radio Architecture", MS Thesis, Virginia Tech, December 2002.

Summary: Simulates and evaluates a software radio architecture built upon a configurable computing machine (CCM) processor.  Discusses how to compare disparate processing architectures, how to simulate a complex processor, and has an overview of W-CDMA.

S. Srikanteswara, J. Neel, and J. Reed. “Resource Allocation in Software Radios Using Configurable Computing Machines Based on the SCA,” SDR Forum Technical Conference November, 2002.

Summary: Examines how to incorporate a CCM into the SCA 

S. Srikanteswara, J. Neel, J. Reed. “Soft Radio Implementations for 3G and Future High Data Rate Systems,” Globecom 2001, San Antonio TX.

Summary: More or less, a subset of my thesis.

S. Srikanteswara, J. Neel, J. Reed, and P. Athanas. “Designing Soft Radios for High Data Rate Systems and Integrated Global Services,” Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers, November 4-7 2001..

Summary: More or less, another subset of my thesis.

J. Neel and J. Reed, "Case Studies in Software Radio Design," in J. Reed. Software Radios: A Modern Approach to Radio Engineering, Prentice Hall 2002.

Summary: Examines the history and development of the software radio concept from the late 70's up to the first JTRS radios.

J. Reed, J. Neel and S. Sachindar, "Analog to Digital and Digital to Analog Conversion," in J. Reed. Software Radios: A Modern Approach to Radio Engineering, Prentice Hall 2002.

Summary: Reviews critical data conversion concepts, converter architectures, and data converter trends from a systems engineering perspective.

Software Radio Short Courses

With Drs Reed and Srikanteswara, I've been involved in the preparation and delivery of a number of short courses on software radio including ones at the MPRG Symposium 2002, the SDRForum conference November 2002, M/A Com in May 2003, and the IDGA Software Radio Conference in February 2004.

These short courses cover software issues in greater depth than the textbook, contain more up-to-date information on state of the art technology, and provide a means for direct interaction. Numerous intermediate quizzes have also been created to provide instantaneous feedback and to solidify what you learn. 

DVD copies of the short course given at the SDRForum can be purchased here.  (Caveat - though the material is excellent, the production quality is rather poor.  Probably the last time we make a video using Virginia Tech).

If you're interested in having us present a short course on software radio or want more information, email Dr Reed at reedjh@vt.edu

DSP Implementation

My work with DSP Implementation has primarily focused on architectural tradeoffs and education.

For the 2002 DSP Implementation class, I wrote a large number of handouts, experiments, and lectures for use with the TI C6701 processor. These documents form the core of the material that I will be using in the 2005 DSP Implementation of Software Radio Class and have been used in classes taught around the world (well ok, just four universities that I know of, but on three different continents).

Additionally, I have authored the following works related to DSP Implementation

J. Neel, S. Srikanteswara, J. Reed, P. Athanas, “A Comparative Study of the Suitability of a Custom Computing Machine and a VLIW DSP for Use in 3G Applications,” IEEE Workshop on Signal Processing Systems SiPS2004.

Summary: Proposes a metric for comparing the performance of disparate DSP architectures and then uses the metric to compare a configurable computing machine (CCM) processor to a traditional DsP.

(pdf) J. Neel, "Simulation of an Implementation and Evaluation of the Layered Radio Architecture", MS Thesis, Virginia Tech, December 2002.

Summary: Simulates and evaluates a software radio architecture built upon a configurable computing machine (CCM) processor.  Discusses how to compare disparate processing architectures, how to simulate a complex processor, and has an overview of W-CDMA.

S. Srikanteswara, J. Neel, J. Reed. “Soft Radio Implementations for 3G and Future High Data Rate Systems,” Globecom 2001, San Antonio TX.