16th New England Workshop on Software-Defined Radio
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA, USA
Main Event: Friday 5 June 2026, 9:00 AM (US Eastern) – 5:00 PM (US Eastern)
Tutorials: Thursday 4 June 2026, 5:00 PM (US Eastern) – 9:00 PM (US Eastern)
The 2026 New England Workshop on Software-Defined Radio (NEWSDR 2026) is the sixteenth installment of an annual workshop series organized by the Boston SDR User Group (SDR-Boston). We are very excited about this year’s NEWSDR event being hosted in-person in the beautiful and historic Atwater Kent Laboratories Building of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, MA, USA. The primary goal of this workshop is to provide a forum that enables SDR enthusiasts to get together, collaborate, and introduce SDR concepts to those interested in furthering their knowledge of SDR capabilities and available resources. NEWSDR 2026 welcomes both experienced SDR enthusiasts as well as individuals who are interested in getting started with SDR.
Click here for the informational flyer regarding NEWSDR 2026!
This website will continue to be updated as the event evolves, so please visit frequently for the latest information about NEWSDR 2026!
Workshop Registration
Attendance at NEWSDR 2026 is free, but advance registration is required to ensure access to on-campus parking, guest Wi-Fi, and meals. Click here to register. The deadline to register is at Noon on 29 May 2026 25 May 2026.
Community Spotlight Talks & Posters: Abstract Submission
Interested in giving a 2-3 minute spotlight talk and a poster presentation about your SDR-related activities at NEWSDR 2026? If so, click here to submit your talk/poster abstract information. Deadline for abstract submission is at Noon on 29 May 2026 25 May 2026. Acceptance notifications will be sent out by COB 29 May 2026.
Latest Agenda
NEWSDR 2026 activities are distributed over Thursday June 4th (evening tutorials) and Friday June 5th (main event) on the first and second floors of the Atwater Kent Laboratories Building (see map below).
Thursday 4 June 2026 — Evening Session
(Rooms AK218, AK219, AK232, AK233)
| 05:00pm – 06:00pm EDT | Networking Session (with Pizza) 1st Floor Lounge Area (Atwater Kent) |
| 06:00pm – 09:00pm EDT | Tutorial (Sponsor): “How to build your own SDR“ Pi-Radio Room AK233 |
| 06:00pm – 09:00pm EDT | Tutorial (Sponsor): “5G Network Modeling Workshop“ Mathworks Room AK218 |
| 06:00pm – 09:00pm EDT | Tutorial (Sponsor): “FPGA Programming on the USRP with the RFNoC Framework“ NI/Emerson Room AK232 |
| 06:00pm – 09:00pm EDT | Tutorial (Sponsor): “Driving Resilient 6G & SATCOM Connectivity with SDR-Based ISAC, Scalable MIMO Testbeds, Phased Array and Education“ TMYTEK Room AK219 |
Friday 5 June 2026 — Morning Session
(Room AK116)
| 09:00am – 09:15am EDT | Welcome Address and Event Overview NEWSDR Organizing Committee |
| 09:15am – 10:00am EDT | Opening Talk: “RF in Slow Motion: Using Acoustics to Teach SDR Concepts“ Dan Boschen (SigPro Labs, LLC) |
| 10:00am – 10:40am EDT | Spotlight Talks/Poster Preview Session Posters P1-P15 |
| 10:40am – 11:15am EDT | Networking Session (with coffee) AND WPI Wireless/RF Lab Tours (reg desk check-in) |
| 11:15am – 12:15pm EDT | Sponsor Talks: FlexRadio NI/Emerson (Neel Pandeya) Pi-Radio (Aditya Dhananjay) Mathworks (Mike McLernon) Per Vices TMYTEK |
Lunch will be served during 12:15pm – 1:15pm EDT in 1st Floor Lounge Area in Atwater Kent Laboratories Building (priority access given to online registrants)
Friday 5 June 2026 — Afternoon Session
(Room AK116)
| 01:15pm – 02:15pm EDT | Fireside Chat: “Working in the Extremes of Radar“ Panelist: Greg Charvat Moderator: Alex Wyglinski (WPI) |
| 02:15pm – 02:30pm EDT | Networking Session (with coffee) AND WPI Wireless/RF Lab Tours (reg desk check-in) |
| 02:30pm – 03:15pm EDT | Invited Talk: “Underwater Acoustic Communications: From Fundamentals to Latest Results“ Milica Stojanovic (Northeastern University) |
| 03:15pm – 03:30pm EDT | Networking Session (with coffee) AND WPI Wireless/RF Lab Tours (reg desk check-in) |
| 03:30pm – 03:50pm EDT | Short Talk 1: “The Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths (GO-LoW): Harnessing software radio and megaconstellations for science“ Mary Knapp (MIT Haystack Observatory) |
| 03:50pm – 04:10pm EDT | Short Talk 2: “Wireless and All-Digital Synchronization of Software-Defined Radios and Radars Using gr:harmonia“ Russel Kenney (University of Oklahoma) |
| 04:10pm – 04:30pm EDT | Short Talk 3: “Motivations, challenges, and opportunities to catalyze spectrum coexistence“ Mariya Zheleva (University of Albany) |
| 04:30pm – 04:45pm EDT | Closing Ceremony NEWSDR Organizing Committee |
Presenter & Panelist Information
Fireside Chat: “Working in the Extremes of Radar“
Abstract: This fireside chat will explore the challenges, innovations, and unconventional thinking required to design and deploy radar systems in demanding environments and applications. From harsh operating conditions and nontraditional platforms to rapid prototyping, experimental hardware, and emerging SDR-enabled capabilities, the discussion will highlight how engineers and researchers continue to push the boundaries of modern radar technology. Blending technical insight with practical experience and historical perspective, this session will offer an engaging look at where radar has been, where it is going, and what it takes to innovate at the edge.
Panelist: Greg Charvat is Co-founder and CTO of TeraDAR and author of the book Small & Short-Range Radar Systems. Previously, he served as CTO of Humatics, where he developed the company’s Micro Location technology. He was also a co-founder of Hyperfine and Butterfly Network, where he prototyped early proof-of-concept medical imaging systems that helped enable major fundraising rounds. As a Visiting Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab, Charvat developed the Time of Flight Microwave Camera. During his time on the technical staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, he created a through-wall radar imaging system that received the Best Paper Award at the 2010 MSS Tri-Services Radar Symposium and was recognized as a 2011 MIT Office of the Provost Research Highlight. Charvat also created the MIT “Build a Small Radar” course—widely known as the “coffee can radar course”—which became the top-ranked MIT Professional Education course in 2011 and has since been adopted by universities, laboratories, and organizations worldwide. Earlier in his career, while serving as a Research Assistant with the EM Research Group at Michigan State University, he developed four SAR imaging systems and a MIMO phased-array radar system. His work has resulted in more than 100 U.S. patents, over 75 publications, and more than 6,000 citations. Charvat is a Senior Member of the IEEE and has served on the International Phased Array Symposium and Boston Executive Committee. He has also appeared as a guest commentator on CNN, CBS, and Sky News, and has contributed articles to Hackaday. A licensed amateur radio operator for more than 30 years (N8ZRY), Charvat has maintained a lifelong fascination with RF and audio systems since childhood.
Moderator: Alexander M. Wyglinski is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Worcester, Mass, USA, as well as the Director of the Wireless Innovation Laboratory at WPI. Dr. Wyglinski served as the President of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society during 2018-2019. He received his B.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from McGill University, Montreal, Canada in 1999 and 2005, and his M.Sc.(Eng.) degree in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada in 2000. Dr. Wyglinski’s current research interests are in wireless communications, cognitive radio, machine learning for wireless systems, software defined radio prototyping, connected and autonomous vehicles, and dynamic spectrum sensing. Dr. Wyglinski has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal papers, over 135 peer-reviewed conference papers, and 3 textbooks throughout his academic career. He has been sponsored by both government agencies and industry such as the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Research Laboratory, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Toyota InfoTechnology Center USA, Verizon, MITRE, Analog Devices, and Raytheon.
Invited Talk: “Underwater Acoustic Communications: From Fundamentals to Latest Results“
Abstract: Underwater wireless communication is an enabling technology for applications ranging from basic sciences to offshore oil & gas industry and exploratory missions. Electro-magnetic waves do not propagate through water except over short distances, leaving acoustic waves as the preferred choice for many of these applications. Acoustic waves, however, are confined to low frequencies (usually up to a few tens of kHz), and the communication bandwidth is limited. Sound travels underwater at a very low speed (1500 m/s) and propagation occurs over multiple paths. Delay spreading results in a frequency-selective channel, while motion creates an extreme Doppler effect. The worst properties of radio channels—poor link quality of a mobile terrestrial channel, and long delay of a satellite channel—are thus combined in an underwater acoustic channel, which is often said to be the most difficult communication medium in use today. The quest for bandwidth-efficient acoustic communications has progressed over the past decades from an initial feasibility proof of phase-coherent detection to the development of the first high-speed acoustic modem, and finally to a plethora of innovative solutions on both the signal processing and the networking fronts. In this presentation, we begin with an overview of channel characteristics, focusing on the major differences between acoustic and radio channels. We outline a recent effort on building a library of acoustic channels recorded in geographically diverse locations around the globe. We follow with a discussion of signal processing methods, including both single-carrier and multi-carrier signal detection on Doppler-distorted channels, whose performance is illustrated through experimental results. Finally, we discuss several issues important for the design of underwater acoustic networks.
Biography: Milica Stojanovic (SM’08, F’10) graduated from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, in 1988, and received M.S. (’91) and Ph.D. (’93) degrees in electrical engineering from Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. She was a Principal Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in 2008 joined Northeastern University, where she is currently a professor of electrical and computer engineering. She is also a Guest Investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her research interests include digital communications theory, statistical signal processing and wireless networks, and their applications to underwater acoustic systems. She is an Associate Editor for the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering and has also served on the editorial boards of the IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, Vehicular Technology, Communication Letters and Signal Processing Magazine. She chairs the IEEE Ocean Engineering Society’s (OES) Technical Committee for Underwater Communication, Navigation and Positioning. Milica is the recipient of the 2015 IEEE OES Distinguished Technical Achievement Award, 2018 IEEE OES Distinguished Lectureship, 2019 IEEE WICE Outstanding Achievement Award, and 2023 IEEE Communications Society’s Stars in Computer Networking and Communications Award. In 2022, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Aarhus University in Denmark and was elected to the Academy of Engineering Sciences of Serbia.
Opening Talk: “RF in Slow Motion: Using Acoustics to Teach SDR Concepts“
Abstract: What if you could hear a QAM or OFDM signal? By translating RF waveform experimentation into the acoustic domain, the exploration of realistic multipath, Doppler, digital modulation, and other physical-layer effects encountered in SDR implementation can be accomplished with purpose-built hardware, without the cost barrier of equivalent RF hardware. The key insight is wavelength-consistent scaling: compressing the frequency axis by the ratio of the speed of light to the speed of sound — roughly a factor of one million — maps RF waveforms into the audio band while preserving the underlying physics of propagation, reflection, and interference. SigPro Labs, LLC has developed the RadioSonic platform for just this purpose. This talk examines the real challenges in using acoustics for wavelength-consistent modulation of traditional RF waveforms. Here we’ll see (and hear!) how RF modulation behaves when viewed “in slow motion” and the extent to which traditional SDR algorithms for carrier and timing recovery can be applied in a consistent manner. As bandwidth increases, impairments familiar to SDR practitioners emerge in exaggerated form: intersymbol interference requiring equalization, carrier and timing offsets demanding recovery algorithms analogous to those in production SDR systems, and a substantially enhanced Doppler effect inherent to the acoustic propagation speed. This talk concludes by comparing where acoustic emulation faithfully mirrors RF behavior and where it departs. Targeted for release in Summer 2026, RadioSonic is intended as an open platform for the SDR education and research community, offering a reproducible testbed for exploring physical-layer algorithm development and wireless channel effects.
Biography: Dan Boschen has a MS in Communications and Signal Processing from Northeastern University, with over 25 years of experience in system and hardware design for radio transceivers and modems. He has held various positions at Signal Technologies, MITRE, Airvana and Hittite Microwave designing and developing transceiver hardware from baseband to antenna for wireless communications systems and has taught courses on DSP for over 20 years. Dan is a contributor to http://dsprelated.com and Signal Processing Stack Exchange https://dsp.stackexchange.com/, and is currently at Microchip leading design efforts for advanced frequency and time solutions.
Short Talks:
(1) “The Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths (GO-LoW): Harnessing software radio and megaconstellations for science“
Abstract: Commercial and academic/scientific technology development have long gone hand-in-hand, each pushing the other forward. GO-LoW is an ambitious Flagship-class radio telescope concept that combines advances in satellite constellations, software radio, and heavy lift launch capabilities to create an entirely new kind of telescope – a megaconstellation telescope. GO-LoW is an interferometric constellation composed of thousands of small spacecraft equipped with low frequency antennas; it is designed to study the low frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum (< 10 MHz) that is blocked by the Earth’s ionosphere. This part of the spectrum is largely unexplored, but promises advances in the fields of exoplanets, galactic structure and evolution, and the very early history of the universe.
Biography: Mary Knapp is a research scientist at MIT Haystack Observatory. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace engineering (MIT 2011) and a PhD in Planetary Science (MIT 2018). She has served as Project Scientist for the ASTERIA CubeSat mission and deputy PI/PM for the AERO-VISTA mission. Currently, Dr. Knapp splits her time between the GO-LoW NIAC Phase II study and a project management role in the NSF-funded SpectrumX center.
(2) “Wireless and All-Digital Synchronization of Software-Defined Radios and Radars Using gr:harmonia“
Abstract: Distributed coherent radar operations have the potential to dramatically increase system performance in comparison to traditional monostatic radar systems, enabling higher resolutions, multi-dimensional imagery, increased probability of detection, and robustness to Doppler ambiguities. For these coherent systems to work in practice, they require highly precise synchronization between systems in time, frequency, and carrier phase, particularly at higher frequencies where seemingly small timing errors can significantly degrade performance. Although many synchronization techniques exist, many of them are unsuitable for general software-defined applications since they require additional hardware or are application-specific. This talk will provide a mathematical and computational overview of a recent synchronization technique which is entirely digital/software-defined, making it suitable for out-of-the-box implementation on standard SDR hardware with no additional requirements or add-ons. The talk will also introduce a GNU Radio module currently under development called gr:harmonia. This module is intended to be an open-source implementation of the all-digital synchronization procedure, and preliminary experimental results have demonstrated the potential for sub-nanosecond synchronization accuracy.
Biography: Russell Kenney received the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA, in 2024. He is currently an assistant professor with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Oklahoma and is a member of the Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC). He was the recipient of the University of Oklahoma Dolese Teaching Fellowship, and in 2021, he was awarded the DoD National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. His research interests include radar signal processing and imaging, signal processing and positioning, navigation, and timing for distributed radar networks, and RF and microwave components and system design.
(3) “Motivations, challenges, and opportunities to catalyze spectrum coexistence“
Abstract: The radio spectrum is a precious, finite and instantly renewable natural resource upon which we all depend in more ways than we realize. While our personal and professional lives thrive on mobile broadband communications, a plethora of other applications, such as weather forecasting, climate science, astronomy, space exploration, and civil/military navigation also critically depend on the radio spectrum. Furthermore, a large percentage of the world population lives in areas that are only reachable by wirelessly enabled Information and Communication Technologies, and thus, bridging the digital divide also hinges on the availability of radio spectrum. Although these technologies are vastly different in terms of sensitivity levels, interference tolerance, space, time, and frequency usage patterns, they increasingly converge towards the same frequency bands. We currently lack both in technological and policy frameworks to enable harmonious coexistence of such vastly different spectrum stakeholders. In this talk, I will introduce challenges in harmonious spectrum coexistence that emerge from the convergence of disparate spectrum stakeholders with often conflicting goals. I will outline a vision for Radio Dynamic Zones as regional-scale testbeds that facilitate spectrum coexistence experimentation at the fringes. I will then focus on mutual awareness as a key functional component for coexistence. I will introduce our recent work on automating the measurement and management of the radio spectrum for future spectrum-sharing applications. Finally, I will discuss the importance of spectrum coexistence to bridge the digital divide while allowing critical sciences to thrive.
Biography: Mariya Zheleva is an Associate Professor in Computer Science at University at Albany – SUNY. She graduated with her PhD in Computer Science from University of California Santa Barbara in 2014. She holds a M.Eng. and B.Eng. in radio communications from the Technical University, Sofia, Bulgaria. She leads the UbiNET Lab, which conducts research at the intersection of wireless communications and Information and Communication Technology for Development. Mariya is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award, the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance 2019 Award for University Research on New Opportunities for Dynamic Spectrum Access, the University at Albany 2019 President’s Award for Exemplary Public Engagement, and the University at Albany 2024 President’s Award for Exemplary Research and Creative Activities. She is the co-lead for the NSF-supported National Radio Dynamic Zones Partnership and Workshop Series; and a founding member of NSF SpectrumX. Additional information at: http://www.cs.albany.edu/~mariya/lab/ and http://www.cs.albany.edu/nrdz-ra/.
Spotlight Presentations & Posters
P1: “Open-source Full-Duplex with Software Defined Radios“
Author(s): Kevin Hermstein, Alon S. Levin, Manav Kohli, and Gil Zussman
Primary Affiliation: Columbia University
Abstract: We present three generations of full-duplex (FD) radios created as part of the FlexICoN project at Columbia University. Each radio is built on a software-defined radio (SDR) platform, with unique frontend RF canceller circuitry to perform self-interference cancellation (SIC) to enable simultaneous transmission and reception. Along with custom hardware, we present a suite of dedicated GNURadio-based tools to perform optimization-based RF canceller tuning, digital cancellation, and other signal processing tasks necessary to enable FD communication. Experimentation using these radios, as well as a repository of characterized RF canceller performance datasets, is available through the open-access COSMOS testbed. Furthermore, we discuss future FD research, including the use of FD arrays and the continuing deployment of additional nodes on the COSMOS testbed. To summarize, we present a high-level overview of the SDR-based open-source FD radios, detailing their novel circuitry, optimization algorithms, and higher-layer experiments.
P2: “Link-Level Evaluation of 5G NR PC5 Sidelink Mode 2 under BICTR Lunar South Pole Propagation: First-CRC BLER, HARQ, and Throughput in OpenAirInterface RFSim“
Author(s): Christopher Santorelli, Christopher Santorelli, Ejaz Ahmed, Deokseong Kim, Noel Teku, Melissa Cusack, and Alexander M Wyglinski
Primary Affiliation: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Abstract: As lunar exploration expands, surface communication between rovers, landers, and astronauts will increasingly rely on out-of-coverage device-to-device links. 3GPP NR PC5 sidelink is a promising standards-based candidate, but while prior modeling efforts have evaluated general lunar scenarios, NR PC5 sidelink performance over site-specific South Pole propagation environments remains largely unanalyzed. This work presents a link-level study of NR PC5 sidelink Mode 2 over the Barren, Irregular, Chaotic Terrain (BICTR) model parameterized for lunar south-pole propagation, implemented in the OpenAirInterface RF simulator. A SyncRef transmitter and a nearby receiver exchange physical-layer traffic under terrain-based propagation and configurable noise. A fine-resolution Monte Carlo campaign sweeps MCS across QPSK, 16-QAM, and 64-QAM transition regions, executing ~1140 instrumented trials (five per MCS/noise cell) across the MCS–SINR grid. We evaluate Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) first-transmission block error rate (BLER), HARQ retransmission statistics, the SNR required for a 10% error target, and LDPC decoder iteration counts, complemented by application-layer throughput on a separate knee-focused grid. These results identify SNR operating limits under lunar constraints and establish a native PC5 instrumentation baseline. Future work will extend this framework to infrastructure-assisted Mode 1 resource allocation and multi-UE sidelink scenarios.
P3: “Wireless Two-Way Interferometry for SDR Mesh Systems: Sub-30 ns PPS Alignment for GNSS-Denied Synchronous Data Recording“
Author(s): Vladyslav Mishyn, Eugen Hauptmann, Elijah Chau, and Artem Laptiev
Primary Affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract: Wireless Two-Way Interferometry (Wi-Wi) is a GNSS-independent synchronization method that uses two-way wireless carrier-phase measurements to estimate and correct the clock offset between distributed radio nodes and allows for under 30 ns synchronization precision without the need for expensive oscillating devices. We use Wi-Wi as the synchronization layer for an SDR-based TDoA localization system, where multiple receivers must timestamp the same RF event with nanosecond-level agreement. This is important for indoor robot tracking, factory monitoring, and other GNSS-denied environments where GPS-disciplined clocks are unavailable or unreliable. The main blocker is that standard wireless links such as LTE, Wi-Fi, or LoRa are not designed to provide nanosecond-class timing accuracy for distributed SDR localization. Another blocker is that SDR networks usually need either expensive clock distribution hardware or external GNSS references. We propose an evaluation of Wi-Wi synchronization and TDoA localization in a low-cost SDR mesh network via simulation. Our framework performs under different synchronization obstacles and compares the precision of Wi-Wi against alternative synchronization approaches reported in existing work. Our benchmark proves that Wi-Wi could make precise RF localization possible for SDR mesh in indoor or jammed environments without requiring GNSS or wired clock distribution.
P4: “Private 5G Network Testbed for Mixed-Reality Unmanned Ground Vehicles Applications“
Author(s): Tatiana Dragun, Rupin Raj Kumar Pradeep, Tatiana Dragun, Smriti Shankar, Nicolas Mejía Munoz, Alexander M. Wyglinski
Primary Affiliation: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Abstract: This work presents a private, over-the-air 5G-NR testbed supporting real-time digital twin communication for Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs). Operating over the unlicensed CBRS band, the network uses an Ettus Research B200 Mini SDR with srsRAN and Open5GS as the base station, and a Quectel RM520N-GL 5G module on a Raspberry Pi 4B as the user equipment. Throughput testing across 1–25 meters yielded downlink speeds of 25–45 Mbps and uplink speeds up to 2.5 Mbps. Live positional data streamed to an Unreal Engine digital twin simulation demonstrated negligible latency, validating the testbed for mixed-reality vehicle applications.
P5: “Liquid Neural Networks for Channel Prediction and Beam Prediction“
Author(s): Rana Böğrekci, Zhilin Ren, John Dooley, and Miriam Leeser
Primary Affiliation: Northeastern University
Abstract: Wireless communications have evolved in a sense that forecasting is a need for providing users with quality communication links that have low latency and high throughput. Especially in 5G and 6G systems, prediction of the channel state information (CSI) and optimal beam pairs in advance has become essential to maintain link reliability, spectral efficiency, and to reduce overhead in the system. In wireless communications, ML applications emerged as a promising solution due to these requirements. Liquid Neural Networks (LNN) offer continuous-time modeling and high adaptability to temporal patterns, making them well suited for rapidly changing channel states and directional beam requirements of mobile users; and they model complex temporal behaviors with fewer neurons compared to Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN). LNNs are inspired by the biological nervous system; therefore, they have a resilience to signal noise and irregular sampling, which are common in wireless environments. Our results show that two types of LNNs, Liquid Time Constant (LTC) networks and Closed-form Continuous Time (CfC) networks, outperform traditional RNNs on accuracy for both channel and temporal beam prediction. CfC also provides a parameter efficient alternative for these tasks, while LTC helps to model the system with ODE solvers inside its neural architecture.
P6: “On the Utility of Signals of Opportunity for Spectrum Awareness and Sharing“
Author(s): Ishrat Jahan Mohima, Matton Clark, and Mariya Zheleva
Primary Affiliation: University At Albany, SUNY
Abstract: As disparate users of the finite radio frequency (RF) spectrum crowd together, they must learn to coexist. This first requires awareness, a data driven task that aims to discern unoccupied bands from occupied. Achieving the most reliable awareness requires the highest signal to noise ratio (SNR) data possible. However, low-cost Software Defined Radios (SDRs) often degrade over long-term measurement campaigns, producing artificially low SNR measurements. Traditional lab calibration involving a signal generator and Faraday cage are expensive, time consuming and must be performed in-lab by an expert. So, we propose a framework utilizing concepts from satellite radiometry such as radiometric resolution and regular measurement of a hot and cold load for calibration to quantify sensor reliability “in the wild.” By measuring a “hot load” (a high power signal of opportunity) and a “cold load” (a scientifically protected band), we track SNR stability against a reference point to discern the stability of sensor operation. Our three stage evaluation experiments cover: (1) Sensor warm-up and verification of loads suitability (2) In-lab controlled gain/multipath changes (3) Applicability of sensor stability detection in uncontrolled real-world conditions. Our framework achieves 90% accuracy in detecting reliability issues from gain variations and 65% from multipath effects.
P7: “A Modular Testbed Framework for Analyzing Wireless Network Performance in Dynamic Multi-Node Environments“
Author(s): Dat Trinh, Giovani DeOliveira, Shaliah Fricas, David Malone, Shabnam Azizi, and Michael Rahaim
Primary Affiliation: University of Massachusetts, Boston
Abstract: Indoor localization remains a major challenge because signals are weak or blocked in dense indoor environments such as data centers, laboratories, warehouses, and large venues. Two common approaches used to solve this problem are Radio Frequency (RF) localization and Optical Wireless Communication (OWC). RF systems are widely used, but they are limited by bandwidth competition, multipath fading, and sensitivity to environmental changes. In contrast, OWC provides a larger available spectrum and improved positioning potential through Visible Light Positioning (VLP), but this technology is still affected by line-of-sight blockages and occlusions. To address these limitations, our team in the Ubiquitous Communication and Networking (UcaN) laboratory developed a modular indoor localization testbed framework that integrates both RF and OWC technologies. The framework incorporates mobility platforms such as TurtleBot4 to emulate dynamic indoor environments. A centralized Raspberry Pi controller manages communication between distributed nodes through SSH, SCP, XML-RPC, and ZeroMQ protocols, enabling scalable and automated experimentation across multiple Software Defined Radio (SDR) nodes. Initial validation experiments successfully collected RF in-phase and quadrature (I/Q) traces for classification analysis while also demonstrating beacon-based RF and VLP localization capabilities. Overall, the proposed framework provides a modular design for future indoor localization and communication research.
P8: “SDR-Based Testing and Analysis of Distributed Spectrum Sensing (DSS) in Clustered Environments“
Author(s): Dat Trinh, Josh Vo, Simon Pham, Osiris Germain, Johnny Daou, and Michael Rahaim
Primary Affiliation: University of Massachusetts, Boston
Abstract: As technology continues to advance and becomes increasingly reliant on data transfer, the demand for higher data capacity and lower latency has become essential daily. In addition, the current AI boom has further increased the need for robust communication networks and efficient methods for transmitting and receiving data. As a result, there has been a strong push to improve communication systems, particularly in Radio Frequency (RF) technologies. One proposed solution is Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA), which dynamically allocates devices to vacant frequency bands when available. A major focus in this field is Distributed Consensus Algorithms. While Centralized Algorithms offer faster decision-making and simpler infrastructure, they are more vulnerable to cyberattacks (i.e., single-point failure). In contrast, Distributed Consensus ensures reliability by allowing neighboring nodes to share information and reach consensus, though this often results in slower convergence times. Built upon work within the Ubiquitous Communication and Networking (UCaN) Lab, our research focused on implementing Distributed Consensus Algorithms using both experimental and simulation-based approaches. Using the MATLAB Communications Toolbox for simulation and Raspberry Pi nodes, a network router, and ADALM-PLUTO and RTL SDRs for experiments, the team was able to perform comparative analysis and develop a framework for future research.
P9: “RIFTS: An RFSoC-Based Software-Defined Radio Architecture for Lightning Interferometry“
Author(s): Ningyu LIu, , Stephen Horn, Frank D. Lind, Mark Stanley, and Joseph Dwyer
Primary Affiliation: University of New Hampshire
Abstract: The Radio Interferometer for Thunderstorm Studies (RIFTS) is a deployable high-performance radio sensor array specifically designed to map and image lightning. Developed collaboratively by UNH and MIT Haystack Observatory, the 8-node array utilizes a mix of LWA, SKALA-2, and OmniLOG antennas to cover a massive frequency range from 10 MHz to 1.6 GHz. The array nodes are connected via RF coaxial cables to a central station, where signals are coherently digitized using the latest RF system-on-chip (RFSoC) technology. At its core, the SDR architecture leverages the Xilinx RFSoC ZCU216 for direct RF digitization up to 2.5 GHz. To handle the extreme data throughput, we developed custom FPGA designs via the CASPER toolflow. RIFTS currently supports two adaptable modes: a triggered mode utilizing a coarse polyphase filter bank (PFB) to capture 0.5-second bursts across eight 500 MHz channels to onboard DDR4, and a continuous observation mode streaming four 31.25 MHz channels via 10 GbE. This poster presents the design, hardware integration, and software development of the RIFTS SDR architecture, alongside testing results from the operational array.
P10: “Toward Nanosecond-Accurate Timestamping on Low-Cost SDRs“
Author(s): Ali Abedi, Kevin Chu, and Logan Byard
Primary Affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Abstract: Accurate timestamping is essential for distributed sensing, localization, spectrum monitoring, and multi-SDR experiments, yet the timing accuracy exposed to users by software-defined radios is often misunderstood. In this work, we study the practical limits of GPS-disciplined timestamping on SDRs and describe our ongoing effort to enable nanosecond-scale timestamping on low-cost platforms such as the bladeRF. We first build a reference implementation using a USRP B210 disciplined by an external GPSDO providing a 10 MHz reference, 1 PPS, and absolute time over NMEA. The host uses the GPS time to set the SDR time at the next PPS edge. To validate the resulting timestamps, we construct a calibration experiment in which a signal source is gated by an RF switch triggered by the same PPS edge delivered to the SDR. Ideally, the first detected RF sample should appear at an integer-second boundary. Instead, we observe deterministic offsets that depend on SDR sampling rate and hardware configuration, likely due to analog and digital frontend group delay. These offsets can reach hundreds of nanoseconds or more, and differ across SDR models. Our results highlight the need for explicit calibration before claiming nanosecond synchronization, and motivate hardware/software modifications for calibrated timestamping on lower-cost SDRs.
P11: “An Intelligent Drone-borne SDR based Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)“
Author(s): Saeed Haghniaz Jahromi, Saeed Haghniaz Jahromi, Yasin Nooran, Vincent Filardi, and Seyed Reza Zekavat
Primary Affiliation: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Abstract: This poster presents the design, implementation, and testing of a Software-Defined Radio (SDR) based Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) designed to optimize irrigation in mega-farms and map soil texture for agricultural analysis. To ensure accessibility and cost-effectiveness, the system utilizes a Stepped-Frequency Continuous Waveform (SFCW), which significantly reduces hardware costs. Deploying this GPR on an autonomous drone enables efficient data collection from remote or inaccessible areas, allowing for the precise scanning of subsurface soil layers and moisture distribution. Soil moisture levels are estimated using machine learning models trained on directly measured, labeled datasets. Ultimately, integrating these accurate range profiles with estimated moisture provides a foundation for creating high-fidelity soil digital twins. This technology offers farmers and agricultural engineers actionable, data-driven insights to enhance water management and soil health monitoring.
P12: “RLX-EDA: Differentiable RF“
Author(s): Eugene Hauptmann, Eugene Hauptmann, and Nataliya Kosmyna
Primary Affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract: rlx-eda treats the SDR analog/RF front-end — reference oscillator, PLL, mixer, LNA, ADC, baseband DSP — as a single differentiable Rust program. Where today’s RF flow demands a manual loop of hand-tune → SPICE → mask-check → repeat, rlx-eda lets a stochastic optimizer close it end-to-end. The loss is any combination of measurable RF figures of merit (integrated phase noise, EVM, NF, mask margin, Pdc) and the gradient w.r.t. every continuous device parameter is recovered from an eda-mna adjoint solve over a SPICE-grade BSIM6 model — one extra sparse LU per loss. The trajectory lands in a DRC/LVS-clean GDSII via klayout-based PNR — Sky130, GF180MCU, IHP-SG13G2, and a photonic stack are wired into one PDK abstraction, ready for the next efabless OpenLane shuttle (or IHP open-source MPW). We demonstrate joint co-optimization across block boundaries (PLL phase noise vs. LNA NF), corner-cube mask compliance, and a tape-out-ready LNA + SAR-ADC + RV32I baseband validated against an analytic → FD → ngspice → Xyce → silicon witness pyramid. Repo: github.com/MIT-RLX/rlx-eda.
P13: “Moisture-Sensitive Waveform Design for Intelligent SDR-based GPR“
Author(s): Noushin Khosravi Largani, Vincent Filardi, and Seyed (Reza) Zekavat
Primary Affiliation: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Abstract: Drought conditions threaten water management systems and agricultural productivity, making accurate soil moisture estimation critical. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) combined with intelligent SDR-implementable drone-borne systems is an effective non-invasive method for large-scale subsurface soil sensing. Reliable estimation of soil properties using intelligent GPR systems depends on the extraction of proper features from received signals, which is affected by the design of the transmitted waveform. In this study, we design transmitted waveform parameters to improve the extraction of moisture-sensitive features from received GPR responses. Using Stepped Frequency Continuous Wave (SFCW), we collect real GPR data using experimental measurements and analyze the soil medium behavior across different frequencies. Based on the soil medium properties, we propose different waveform designs, where each strategy considers a different aspect of moisture-sensitive sensing. We compare the performance of the proposed methods with that of conventional SFCW in terms of Mean Squared Error (MSE) metric. The comparison shows that improving the moisture sensitivity using the proposed methods is achieved without significantly degrading the estimation accuracy. This study is based on the statistical properties of the soil medium and its results form a bridge toward adaptive sensing.
P14: “The Mobil Experiment Platform & Spectrum Data System“
Author(s): Frank Lind
Primary Affiliation: MIT Haystack Observatory
Abstract: Software Defined Radios (SDR) are widely used in radio astronomy, where progress in their design has enabled recording increasingly broader spectral bandwidths. With the surge of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) sources in historically quiet parts of the spectrum, using such bandwidths requires however an increase of the instrument dynamic range. Observatories have traditionally been built in remote locations to provide isolation from human made noise. The growing number of mega-constellations of satellites, increased pressure from wireless providers for more spectrum, and new applications are creating new challenges for radio astronomy and environmental monitoring. The National Science Foundation Center, Spectrum X is rising to these challenges by in a number of ways including developing ways to spectrum measurement methods, create a new generation of scientists and engineers who understand how to analyze the RF spectrum. The Mobile Experiment Platform (MEP) is an open platform for radio spectrum monitoring, active reproducible measurements, and co-existence experiments. The MEP is a deploy-able weatherproof “SDR in a box” with passive thermal management that allows for muli-channel receive and currently some transmit capability. The MEP has been deployed and used in a number of field campaigns where data was collected by researchers from students to full professors. Spectrum X is continuing to add new features and capabilities with the MEP and Spectrum Data Systems.
P15: “Rethinking SDR Undergraduate Education“
Author(s): Octavio Bittar, Galahad Wernsing, and Christopher Santorell
Primary Affiliation: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Abstract: Until the early 2020s, SDRs were perceived as complex radio development tools used in graduate research and commercial activities, rarely accessible to motivated undergraduate students. Early undergraduate courses, such as ECE 4305, left a disconnect between theoretical concepts and practical experiences. Physical layer topics such as modulation and phase-locked loops would not correlate with the hands-on projects, leaving practical considerations that can make-or-break a communication system mystified to students. Through ECE 331X, we introduced a new pedagogy for teaching Communications System Engineering with SDRs. Instead of focusing on theoretical concepts and briefly introducing a real SDR for oversimplified demonstrations, we start by introducing the hardware then discuss the relevant topics necessary to take advantage of that hardware and build a working SDR in an accessible curriculum. The seven-week course progresses naturally through each stage in the receiver pipeline, starting from a raw transmission, then using software to demodulate it, correct it, and decode information. Students complete weekly cumulative practicums using Python to implement each step necessary to receive meaningful transmissions with a PlutoSDR. Upcoming improvements to the course include preparing a tailored textbook for reference and a final transmission practicum combining everything students learned to broadcast to a weather station.
Tutorials
“How to build your own SDR“
Abstract: Ever wanted to build your own SDR? Attend this tutorial. It will be fun. We will also have a live demo during the tutorial.
“5G Network Modeling Workshop“
Abstract: The 5G Network Modeling Workshop provides hands-on exercises to help you learn the end-to-end 5G network modeling workflow in MATLAB. With minimal coding effort, you will be able to:
(a) Create a 5G network scenario
(b) Configure 5G network nodes
(c) Add mobility and traffic models
(d) Specify the 3GPP TR 38.901 Channel models
(e) Run simulations of the 5G scenario
(f) Visualize network behavior
(g) Evaluate key performance metrics
“Driving Resilient 6G & SATCOM Connectivity with SDR-Based ISAC, Scalable MIMO Testbeds, Phased Array and Education“
Abstract: This tutorial explores how SDR-based mmWave platforms are accelerating the development of resilient 6G and SATCOM connectivity through Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), scalable MIMO testbeds, and hybrid beamforming technologies. As wireless research moves toward FR3, FR2 and NTN researchers and educators require flexible and cost-effective platforms that bridge theoretical simulation with real-world over-the-air experimentation.
The session introduces an end-to-end SDR-based mmWave testbed architecture integrating RF up/down conversion, scalable phased array systems, and hybrid beamforming techniques for 6G and satellite communication research. Participants will learn how these platforms enable rapid prototyping of ISAC, beam tracking, MIMO, and resilient connectivity use cases across terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks. The tutorial also highlights practical implementation using MathWorks and SDR environments to support waveform generation, signal processing, and hardware-in-the-loop validation.
In addition, the tutorial emphasizes the importance of hands-on education for cultivating next-generation wireless talent. Through scalable education and research platforms, attendees will discover how universities and research institutes can accelerate learning, experimentation, and innovation in emerging 6G and SATCOM applications while reducing the complexity of building custom testbeds from scratch.
“FPGA Programming on the USRP with the RFNoC Framework“
Abstract: This workshop provides a tutorial on the RFNoC framework, including a discussion on its design and capabilities, demonstrations of several practical examples, and a walk-through of implementing a user-defined RFNoC Block and integrating it into both UHD and GNU Radio. The RFNoC (RF Network-on-Chip) framework is the FPGA architecture used in USRP devices, specifically the E310, E312, E320, X300, X310, N300, N310, N320, N321, X410. The RFNoC framework enables users to program the USRP FPGA, and facilitates the integration of custom FPGA-based algorithms into the signal processing chain of the USRP radio. Users can create modular, FPGA-accelerated SDR applications by chaining multiple RFNoC Blocks together and integrating them into both C++ and Python programs using the UHD API, and into GNU Radio flowgraphs. Attendees should gain a practical understanding of how to use the RFNoC framework to implement custom FPGA processing on the USRP radio platform.
On-Campus Parking
Online registrants will be sent by COB June 2nd a PDF file of a visitor parking pass that must be clearly displayed on the dashboard of the vehicle (any other vehicle without a visitor parking pass or the pass is not clearly presented will be ticketed). All attendees should park in the main parking area (not the visitor parking spots) of the Park Avenue garage located at 151 Salisbury St, Worcester, MA (see map below) or the Library/Boynton Parking Lot – North (see map below).
Park Avenue Parking Garage:
Library/Boynton Parking Lot – North:
Sponsors/Exhibitors
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If your company is interested in participating in NEWSDR 2026, please contact us at gr-newsdr-info@wpi.edu for additional information.
Questions or comments? Please feel free to contact us at gr-newsdr-info@wpi.edu.