By Maria Callier, Air Force Office of Scientific Research Public Affairs
ARLINGTON, Va. (AFMCNS) — An Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded researcher whose work focused on multi-user detection technology has made radio reception clearer in locations where interference is a challenge for deployed military personnel.
Dr. Rachel Learned’s work in multi-user detection, or MUD, examined the reception of radio signals that interfere with one another. She developed a scheme for organizing the interfering transmissions and the corresponding receiver processing algorithms. This allows for small, lightweight, real-time receivers that are capable of pulling apart interfering signals.
Dr. Learned continues to work on the advancement of wireless communication in scenarios where the number of interfering radio signals is extremely high. In 1998 she established a research and development group at BAE Systems and began to champion the adaptation and advancement of multi-user detection for military applications. Because of her work and the work of her group, radios have recently been developed that can successfully transmit at the same time while sharing the same frequency.
In Iraq, the MUD technology could prove to be very helpful in areas where interfering electronic transmissions substantially reduce the amount of critical military communications that can be transmitted. MUD technology allows more traffic on various networking systems, which would be an advantage to military personnel with critical needs for high throughput air-to-air, air-to-ground and person-to-person communications.
“The goals now have shifted toward the development of a prototype that can be built with all the necessary processing on one small chip, so that a handheld radio can be made,” Dr. Learned said. “Another goal is to adapt and further the interference mitigation work to allow for communication through jamming signals.”
BAE Systems is advancing MUD technology by showing its ability to operate without infrastructure and power control. In addition, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has developed new MUD algorithms to create the DARPA Interference Multiple Access program that is advancing what MUD technology began. The enhanced technology will enable warfighters to dispense critical intelligence during battle without impeding multi-channel interference.
