On developing a software defined radio laboratory course for undergraduate wireless engineering curriculum

Abstract

A software defined radio (SDR) is a modern radio communication system that can be reconfigured on- The-fly. In this paper, we describe a project on introducing SDR to the Bachelor of Wireless Engineering (BWE) curriculum at Auburn University. In particular, we focus on developing an SDR laboratory course based on the GNU Radio and Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) platform. We describe the detailed lab course structure, compare it with existing approaches, and present sample labs and results. A small scale assessment was conducted for the Spring 2013 offering with positive student response observed. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2014.