Exploiting GNU radio and USRP: An economical test bed for real time communication systems

Abstract

Communication experiments using normal lab setup, which includes more hardware and less software raises the cost of the total system. The method proposed here provides a new approach through which all the analog and digital experiments can be performed using a single hardware-USRP (Universal Software Radio Peripheral) and software-GNU Radio Companion (GRC). Initially, networking setup is formulated using SDR technology. Later on, one of the analog communication experiments is demonstrated in real time using the GNU Radio Companion, RTL-SDR and USRP. The entire communication system is less expensive as the system uses a single reprogrammable hardware and most of the focus of the system deals with the software part.