Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Applications

[bksutherland]

A software defined radio (SDR) is a type of low cost open source USB dongle that can transmit and receive information over the EM spectrum, but they have not been assigned to a structured set of communication frequencies and protocols like bluetooth, wifi, or smartphones -- these parameters are programmable in software! In a combined presentation and live demonstration, participants will explore the history and development of SDR, will look at security and privacy implications of these liminal devices in legislation, Dunne and Raby's "Hertzian Tales" (2004) and ways these devices have been used to constitute interesting device networks and solve problems in the EM -- e.g. car key fobs, beacons, IoT devices, and weather satellites overhead. The talk will finish by walking participants through building a simple FM tuner using GNU public radio and SDR, accompanied by instructions, videos and support materials.

Type: [ streamed talk ]
Length*: [ 30 minutes ]
Date: [ Tuesday, September 8, 2020 ]
Duration: [ once or repeating (up to organizers) ]
Language: [ english ]

*Note: all talks will be capped at 30 minutes with time for discussion and questions OK

Objectives

• learn the history and basic operation of SDR
• become familiar with open source systems and projects with SDR
• appreciate privacy and security legislation that governs the use of these devices
• understand how they may be used for communication problem-solving

Material and Technical Requirements

Platform: [ videoconferencing: I can use my Bb Collaborate Ultra account at University of Toronto or I'm open to some other platform recommended by the organizers]
Technical considerations: [Bb Collab Ultra has no install file, runs in a browser, supports mic and webcam sharing, application sharing, polling, breakout groups, etc. -- very reliable and easy to use]
Additional considerations: [Bb Collab Ultra supports over 250 users if all interactive features except the chat are disabled. For participants 20-100 would be a good sized group, then we could use the five additional mic/webcam spots during the Q&A which Bb Collab Ultra affords]

I have a range of SDR dongles at home I will demo, from basic to advanced. If participants want to buy their own and follow along the FM tuner building, or do it afterwards from the recordings -- Nooelec has them -- https://www.nooelec.com/store/sdr/sdr-receivers.html

Presenter(s)

Name: Brian Sutherland
Email: [email protected]
Url(s): https://ischool.utoronto.ca/profile/brian-sutherland/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bksutherland
GitHub: https://github.com/bksutherland

Presenter Bio

Brian Sutherland is a PhD Candidate researching the sustainability of new communications networks at the University of Toronto Faculty of Information in the Knowledge Media Design Institute/Semaphore group. He is also an experienced lecturer in UofT's Biomedical Communications program [https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/]-- art as applied to medicine, where he lectures about e-learning, critical making, wearable health within digital networks, and effective information and data visualization. Brian's dissertation work, in progress, is "Energy Harvesting Information Systems".

[bksutherland]

I mentioned one of the applications is communicating with "weather satelllites overhead", this correlates very well with the Open Weather proposal from Sophie Dyer and Sasha Engelmann which is a demo and archive of images produced from that technology -- [https://github.com//issues/20].