A Review of Sensing and Distributed Detection Algorithms for Cognitive Radio Systems

Optimized spectrum sensing using distributed detection techniques for secondary user spectrum access is becoming important in Cognitive Radio (CR) systems, which have been proposed to utilize the available frequency spectrum more efficiently. For achieving best performance and ensuring minimal acceptable interference to spectrum owners, it is important to accurately sense and detect the presence or absence of primary licensed users. For this purpose, the solutions learned within the framework of distributed detection in wireless sensor networks have been considered. In this paper, we review sensing algorithms and approaches of distributed detection and their relevance to CR systems.