A Cooperative Scheme for Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Radio Systems

As wireless communication systems become more and more pervasive, demand for spectrum is following an ever increasing trend. At the same time, studies conducted by governmental bodies show that a considerable part of the allocated spectrum is underutilized. This paper aims to design and develop a cooperative spectrum sensing scheme from a comprehensive perspective including sensing, communication, decision, and transmission along with some other additional features. The scheme is based on dynamic weighting of cooperating users according to their reliability based on historical decision data. The work is articulated into a model development, the definition of mathematical metrics, and rounds of simulations to asses the validity of the model. Simulation results indicate that the model provides an adequate answer to some of the most challenging aspects of cognitive spectrum sensing.