Software-Defined Radio (SDR)

A software-defined radio (SDR) system is a radio communication system that uses software to process various signals (modulation, demodulation, decoding, etc.) in lieu of the traditional hardware components that are generally made for those dedicated tasks. It is mostly used in mobile communications, research and development, and military projects. A typical SDR setup involves an RF front-end connected to a computer that will perform the conversions from analog to digital, and the inverse for receiving or sending signals, respectively. Because of rapidly developing digital electronics, the capabilities of SDR continue to increase.