COST Action IC0902: "Cognitive Radio and Networking for Cooperative Coexistence of Heterogeneous Wireless Networks"

The Action IC0902 is funded by the intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Domain. You can find more information regarding COST on the COST home page and on the page about COST on the same website.
The COST Action IC0902 involves about 150 researchers from almost 30 different countries throughout and outside Europe. More in detail, the following COST countries are already participating in the Action activities:
Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovinia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom
The following non COST partners participate in the Action:
United States of America, Joint Research Center (Ispra)

The main objective of the COST Action IC0902 is to integrate the cognitive concept across all layers of communication systems, resulting in the definition of a European platform for cognitive radio and networks.
The Action proposes coordinated research in the field of cognitive radio and networks. The cognitive concept applies to coexistence between heterogeneous wireless networks, that share the electromagnetic spectrum for maximum efficiency in resource management. Several efforts are currently in place in European research centers and consortia to introduce cognitive mechanisms at different layers of the communications protocol stack. This Action goes beyond the above trend by integrating the cognitive concept across all layers of system architecture, in view of joint optimization of link adaptation based on spectrum sensing, resource allocation, and selection between multiple networks, including underlay technologies.
The cross-layer approach will provide a new perspective in the design of cognitive systems, based on a global optimization process that integrates existing cognitive radio projects, thanks to the merge of a wide-range of expertise, from hardware to applications, provided by over 30 academic and industrial partners.
The final result will be the definition of a European platform for cognitive radio and networks. To reach this goal, algorithms and protocols for all layers of the communications stack will be designed, and a set of standard interfaces as well as a common reference language for interaction between cognitive network nodes will be defined.
A complete description of the objectives and of the technical program of the Action can be found in the official Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) approved by the COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO), available for download.