Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here you will find answers to some of our most frequently asked questions in regards to your challenge.

Can team members change over the course of the Challenge?

We expect that students will continue to graduate, and thus the team may change over the years. At least one of the original members of the team must remain on the team.

If an original team member graduates, can he or she still be on the team?

Students who have graduated and are working full time in industry are no longer eligible to be on the team. Students who have received their doctorates and are now post doctoral fellows are also no longer eligible to be team members (because they are working).

Can a student team include students from more than one university?

Yes, but the advisor must be from the university of the student who is the point of contact.

If student teams change members and eventually win the Challenge, are all of the students who were involved at any time eligible for the prize?

No, the prizes are awarded only to the team members at the time of submittal of the final product.  Each team can, on their own initiative, decide how students who are no longer on the team can be recognized.

Does our university have to be a member of the SDR Forum to enter the Challenge?

No, the competition is open to all universities worldwide; membership in the SDR Forum is not required.

Does our team have to find a sponsor?

No.  Teams do not need to find their own sponsors. Sponsors are encouraged to participate through the SDR Forum to make resources available fairly to all teams.

Is there any specific technology that teams must use?

All teams will be given a set of hardware and software technologies provided by the sponsors for each problem, including both components and tools. Teams are encouraged to evaluate and use these technologies, but they have the option to use alternative technologies.

Can part-time students participate in the Smart Radio Challenge?

Part-time students who are actively taking classes and have student standing with the university are eligible to participate

In problem 1, what spectrum should we plan on?

A. The SDR Forum intends to pursue an experimental license to allow for operation within the FRS band in the manner described. Should such a license not be obtained, then an alternative will be provided.

The Forum welcomes proposals on alternative frequency assignments, etc., should the student teams choose to provide them.

What is the size, shape, route width, etc. to be used in problem 3?

The SDR Forum will not prepublish the size, or shape or complexity of the route(s) for the test course. Our plan is to make it sufficiently realistic to be a meaningful exercise.  The test course will be provided sufficiently in advance of the actual test event for the teams to enter the course data into their planning system. The size of the test course will allow for sufficient operating range of standard remote control devices. For purposes of the proposal each team should state their assumptions and plans

In problem 3, the description says “the control link must operate in either FRS band, or the IEEE 802.11 ISM band.” Does that mean we cannot control the RC vehicle using the original RC vehicle radio band?

Direct control of the RC vehicle may be provided using the controller provided with the RC vehicle overthe RC vehicle radio band. Communications between the vehicle tag and the infrastructure system/s must occur over the specified “control link”, as well as guidance to the operator.

Are there additional waveform design considerations such as multiple access (MA) techniques which may also be expected of the waveform design parameters?

CDMA will will not be expected. However, TDMA and FDMA may be expected options.

Must we design all the components of the RF front end, or may we use integrated circuits?

Yes, integrated circuits may be used.

What are the requirements for the radio challenge notebooks? Do we need the traditional bound engineering notebook, or can people use three ring binders? What about electronic notebooks?

Three ring binders or electronic media will be acceptable, as long as they are complete.