The EULER project: application of software defined radio in joint security operations
Résumé
Recently, the task of improving the effectiveness of public safety communications has become a main priority for governments. This is partly motivated by the increased risk of natural disasters such as flooding, earthquakes and fires, and partly, due to the risks and consequent impact of terrorist attacks. This paper focuses on the experience from the European Commission (EC) Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) project known as EULER, which seeks to demonstrate the benefits of Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology to support the resolution of natural disasters of significant stature, which require the participation of different public safety and military organizations, potentially of different nations. In such scenarios, the presence of interoperability barriers in the disaster area is a major challenge because different organizations may use different wireless communication systems. In this context, the main aspect investigated in EULER is the definition of a common waveform that respects the Software Communications Architecture (SCA) constraints, and guarantees maximum portability across SDR platforms. This paper discusses a range of issues which have been identified thus far within the EULER project; in particular the perceived pan-European interoperability needs of Public Safety and the coordination with military devices and networks. Aspects of interoperability are also extended to the three dimensions of platform, waveform and information assurance.