IST-TRUST: a perspective on the reconfiguration of future mobile terminals using software download

Abstract

The reconfigurable software radio concept has been an active research topic for many years. This was driven initially by military requirements for flexibility, but more recently by the commercial pressure to take advantage of economies of scale, reductions in maintenance costs and more efficient utilisation of spectrum. Therefore, initial projects looking at this concept have focussed on the technology for providing multi-mode and software reconfigurable terminals. The Transparently Reconfigurable Ubiquitous Terminal (TRUST) project differs in that it examines the user requirements in order to identify the frameworks and systems that are needed to support software reconfigurable radios from the users' perspective. The primary goal of the TRUST project is to realise the user potential of reconfigurable radio systems, which will provide network connectivity and services when and where they are required. The project will achieve this through a four-step process: (1) understand the users' requirements from their perspective of the system: "the terminal" (2) translate these users' requirements into technology requirements (3) advance the terminal and network technologies through research and innovation (4) validate, promote and disseminate these advancements and technologies.