The 4th Annual Beyond 5G Software Defined Radio University Challenge has come to a successful conclusion, with eight teams from across the country converging on Dayton, Ohio, to show off their projects and, possibly, to win some cash.
Satellite Defined Radio (SDR) is a system that uses software as opposed to hardware in the modulation and remodulation of signal processing. The goal is for the radio that can receive and transmit a new radio protocol just by running new software. SDR technology provides capabilities that are critical to future military and commercial applications.
Dr. Stephen Hary, Enabling Sensor Devices and Components Core Technical Competency Lead, foresees an increased demand for SDR architects, programmers and application engineers, and devised a way to help meet that demand. Enlisting Wright Brothers Institute (WBI), the Beyond 5G SDR University Challenge was born. WBI’s experience in designing and managing technology challenges, together with Dr. Hary’s expertise and connections in the field, made them perfect partners for the ambitious competition.
The Challenge was determined to be open to any university teams, graduate and undergraduate, under the supervision of a faculty advisor. WBI enlisted National Instruments to supply each team with a satellite defined radio kit, which evened the playing field by providing the necessary hardware while at the same time presenting another dilemma: some universities had big-league labs stocked with relevant equipment, and might find themselves constrained by the radio kits provided. Dr. Hary decided the best way to address this was to offer two categories: Constrained, in which only the provided kits were used; and Unconstrained, for which the teams could use anything at their disposal.
That settled, the teams could then apply SDR technology to anything their imaginations allowed, knowing that the projects would be put to the real-life test during a in-person showcase to be held at WBI’s 444 East Springfield Street facilities in Dayton, Ohio, home of AFRL and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The teams then submitted their ideas in writing, which were then judged by a panel of experts that chose the most promising. Those teams were given the green light (and $500?) and the rest of the academic year to complete their project, checking in regularly with AFRL mentors, who ensured the project viability and kept the teams on the right track.
Year 1 of the Showcase was an unqualified success. If the trip to Dayton wasn’t enough of a draw, then the $5,000 prize money, awarded to one team in each category, sweetened the deal. Plans went forward for the second year, and even highly disruptive COVID-19 couldn’t stop the Challenge, though the teams were forced into a virtual competition. It was the same in Year 3, with the number of participants growing each year.
For Academic Year 2021-22, the live demonstration Showcase was back, and 18 teams presented ideas for first-round judgment. Eight teams were chosen to present their projects in Dayton during the last week of April.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute won in the Unconstrained category; the University of Houston was named first in the Constrained category. Special travel grants of $2,000 each were awarded to Evan Urban (University of Massachusetts, Boston); Gregory Dzhezyan (California State Univ, Fresno); and
Eyad Shtaiwi (University of Houston). These grants can be applied to travel costs for the students to present projects or papers at future professional conferences.
The students found the experience rewarding: Maya Flores, a student at Worcester Polytechnic, said, “I enjoyed the challenge, as it introduced students to the world of SDR and it allowed for students to be creative when choosing their project topic. It was fun to see other students’ projects from other schools and the direction they went in with challenge.”
Her teammates agreed. “It was fun to talk to people who were interested in our project and passionate about the same topics as us,” said Colin Stevens. Devon Poisson added, “The challenge provided an opportunity to push ourselves beyond the expectations of our senior capstone project, and I feel as though we all got more out of the experience because of our involvement.”