SCA-based Open Source Software Radio: OSSIE Release 0.7.0 Available for Free Download, SDR Short Courses Available
Since Dr. Max Robert (then an IC Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Jeff Reed) and several of Dr. Reed's students began the project in 2003, OSSIE has been expanded into a suite of open source SDR software that includes rapid development and debugging tools, as well as infrastructure software based on the SCA. OSSIE is used around the world for research, education, and rapid prototyping.
OSSIE release 0.7.0, now available at http://ossie.wireless.vt.edu/start.html, includes a core framework, rapid prototyping tools for waveform applications and components, a library of ready-to-use signal processing components, device interface software, and node configuration files.
The recommended operating systems for OSSIE 0.7.0 are Fedora Core 8, Fedora Core 9, and Ubuntu 8.04, but it can be ported to other versions of Linux.
How to Preview the Software
A VMware image is posted at http://ossie.wireless.vt.edu/download/vmware and can be used to try OSSIE under operating systems supported by the VMware player, freely available at http://www.vmware.com/download/player.
In addition, a bootable live DVD image can be downloaded at http://ossie.wireless.vt.edu/download/live_dvds/ . The live DVD allows a user to run Ubuntu and OSSIE with tools and USRP support, from the DVD, or to install Ubuntu, with OSSIE and related software, to a computer's hard disk drive.
Highlights of OSSIE 0.7.0
1. Improved Installation: RPM install
A yum repository for use with Fedora has been created for users who do not wish to download, compile, and install OSSIE from the source code. Is it still possible to build from source, but the yum repository allows users who do not need to do framework development the option of a faster and easier install.
2. Tools: New OSSIE Eclipse Feature
An OSSIE plug-in for Eclipse has been developed to make development easier as well as to consolidate the multiple tools already in existence. This tool, the OSSIE Eclipse Feature (OEF), provides a drag and drop interface for waveform and component generation, as well as a single source for developing and running waveforms.
3. Added Ubuntu 8.04 Support
In addition to supporting Fedora 9, OSSIE now supports running on Ubuntu 8.04.
4. Improved Documentation
- An Installation and User Guide is available at http://ossie.wireless.vt.edu/start.html.
- The Naval Postgraduate School and Virginia Tech have developed laboratory/tutorial exercises for use with OSSIE. These labs are available for download, and are being updated for use with version 0.7.0.
- A four-minute video on the web site shows how to build a simple waveform with OEF.
SDR Short Courses
Several short courses that use the OSSIE software to provide a hands-on introduction to SCA-based software defined radio have been offered at the SDR Forum Technical Conference, the Wireless @ Virginia Tech Symposium, and on-site for industry and government entities. These courses can be adapted to a particular organization's needs.
Please contact Dr. Carl Dietrich for more information.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the OSSIE team for all their work on the release, and to our sponsors for their continued support. OSSIE is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0520418. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Additional sponsors of OSSIE related projects include ETRI, the Laboratory for Telecommunications Sciences, the Office of Naval Research, SAIC, Tektronix, Texas Instruments, and U.S. ARMY CERDEC.