computer science

Universal Software Radio Peripheral

Universal Software Radio Peripheral is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Universal Software Radio Peripheral rather than just read about it. In short: Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) is a range of software-defined radios designed and sold by Ettus Research and its parent company, National Instruments. Developed by a team led by Matt Ettus, the USRP product family is commonly used by research labs, universities, and hobbyists.

Key takeaways

Universal Software Radio Peripheral belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Universal Software Radio Peripheral to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Universal Software Radio Peripheral from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) is a range of software-defined radios designed and sold by Ettus Research and its parent company, National Instruments. Developed by a team led by Matt Ettus, the USRP product family is commonly used by research labs, universities, and hobbyists. Most USRPs connect to a host computer through a high-speed link, which the host-based software uses to control the USRP hardware and transmit/receive data. Some USRP models also integrate the general functionality of a host computer with an embedded processor that allows the USRP device to operate in a stand-alone fashion. The USRP family was designed for accessibility, and many of the products are open source hardware. The board schematics for select USRP models are freely available for download; all USRP products are controlled with the open source UHD driver, which is free and open source software. USRPs are commonly used with the GNU Radio software suite to create complex software-defined radio systems.

Design The USRP product family includes a variety of models that use a similar architecture. A motherboard provides the following subsystems: clock generation and synchronization, FPGA, ADCs, DACs, host processor interface, and power regulation. These are the basic components that are required for baseband processing of signals. A modular front-end, called a daughterboard, is used for analog operations such as up/down-conversion, filtering, and other signal conditioning. This modularity permits the USRP to serve applications that operate between DC and 6 GHz. In stock configuration the FPGA performs several DSP operations, which ultimately provide translation from real signals in the analog domain to lower-rate, complex, baseband signals in the digital domain. In most use-cases, these complex samples are transferred to/from applications running on a host processor, which perform DSP operations. The code for the FPGA is open-source and can be modified to allow high-speed, low-latency operations to occur in the FPGA.

Software The USRP hardware driver (UHD) is the device driver provided by Ettus Research for use with the USRP product family. It supports Linux, macOS, and Windows platforms. Several frameworks including GNU Radio, LabVIEW, MATLAB and Simulink use UHD. The functionality provided by UHD can also be accessed directly with the UHD API, which provides native support for C++. Any other language that can import C++ functions can also use UHD. This is accomplished in Python through SWIG, for example. UHD provides portability across the USRP product family. Applications developed for a specific USRP model will support other USRP models if proper consideration is given to sample rates and other parameters. Several software frameworks support UHD:

GNU Radio is a Free/Libre toolkit that can be used to develop software-defined radios. This framework uses a combination of C++ and Python to optimize DSP performance while providing an easy-to-use application programming environment. GNU Radio Companion is a graphical programming environment provided with GNU Radio. National Instruments sells the NI USRP 292x series, which is functionally equivalent to the Ettus Research USRP N210. NI also offers LabVIEW support for this device with the NI-USRP Driver. USRP N210 and USRP2 are supported by MATLAB and Simulink. This package includes plug-ins and several examples for use with both the devices. OpenLTE is an open source implementation of the 3GPP LTE specifications as a SDR. Many users develop with their own, custom frameworks. In this case, the USRP device can be accessed with the UHD API. There are also examples provided with UHD that show how to use the API.

Products

Networked series The USRP N200 and USRP N210 are high-performance USRP devices that provide higher dynamic range and higher bandwidth than the bus series. Using a Gigabit Ethernet interface, the devices in the Networked Series can transfer up to 50 MS/s of complex, baseband samples to/from the host. This series uses a dual, 14-bit, 100 MS/s ADC and dual 16-bit, 400 MS/s DAC. This series also provides a MIMO expansion port which can be used to synchronize two devices from this series. This is the recommended solution for MIMO systems. The X300 and X310 are third-generation USRPs that feature two full-duplex daughterboard slots and feature full 200 MS/s DACs and ADCs. As network interface, 10GBase over SFP+ allows full 200 MS/s on both channels in full-duplex operation. The N300, N310, N320 and N321 are current dual-channel models offering SFP+ connectivity, up to 200 MS/s and optionally sharing of local oscillators and TPM modules for verifiable software deployments.

Bus series All products in Ettus Research Bus Series use a USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 interface to transfer samples to and from the host computer. Models include the USRP B206mini-i, B205mini-i, B200mini-i, and B200mini. Board-only versions without the outer protective case are also available.

Embedded series The Embedded Series combines the same functionality of other USRP devices with an OMAP 3 embedded processor. The E310, released in November 2014, utilizes the Zynq SoC platform and the Analog Devices AD9361 RFIC for a very compact, embedded USRP. The devices in this family do not need to be connected to an external PC for operation. The Embedded Series is designed for applications that require stand-alone operation.

Discontinued models The USRP2 was developed after the USRP and was first made available in September 2008. It has reached end of life and has been replaced by the USRP N200 and USRP N210. The USRP2 was not intended to replace the original USRP, which continued to be sold in parallel to the USRP2. This first generation USRP is also no longer available publicly. The E100 series of embedded USRPs is no longer available.

Daughterboard modules

The original USRP, USRP2, USRP E1xx, USRP N2xx and X3xx families feature a modular architecture with interchangeable daughterboard modules that serve as the RF front end. Several classes of daughterboard modules exist: Receivers, Transmitters and Transceivers.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Universal Software Radio Peripheral

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Universal Software Radio Peripheral claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Universal Software Radio Peripheral before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Universal Software Radio Peripheral ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Universal Software Radio Peripheral

In research: Universal Software Radio Peripheral appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Universal Software Radio Peripheral in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Universal Software Radio Peripheral is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amateur radio, Open hardware electronic devices, Software-defined radio, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Universal Software Radio Peripheral outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Universal Software Radio Peripheral in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Universal Software Radio Peripheral means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Universal Software Radio Peripheral out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Universal Software Radio Peripheral in simple terms?

Why does Universal Software Radio Peripheral matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Universal Software Radio Peripheral?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Universal Software Radio Peripheral.