Project Overview

The End-to-End Reconfigurability (E²R) project aims at realising the full benefits of the diversity within the radio eco-space, composed of wide range of systems such as cellular, fixed, wireless local area and broadcast. The key objective of the E²R project is to devise, develop, trial and showcase architectural design of reconfigurable devices and supporting system functions to offer an extensive set of operational choices to the users, application and service providers, operators, and regulators in the context of heterogeneous systems. Innovative research, development and proof of concept are to be pursued from an end-to-end perspective, stretching from user device through all system levels. Furthermore reconfigurability support for intrinsic functionalities, such as management and control, download support, spectrum management, regulatory framework and business models complete the project scope.

End-to-End reconfigurable systems will provide common platforms and associated execution environments for multiple air interfaces, protocols and applications, which will yield to scalable and reconfigurable infrastructure that optimise resource usage through the use of cognition based methods; reconfigurability will also increase network and equipment capability and versatility by flexibly modifying software settings of the equipment involved. Users will benefit from these capabilities by reaching the required service at times and places when and where needed and at affordable cost. Furthermore, E²R proposes to enable niche markets and provide users with specialised services via customised solutions that are open, flexible and programmable at all layers. E²R is seen by many actors of the wireless industry as a core technology to enable the full potential of Beyond 3G systems. It has the potential to revolutionize wireless communications just as the PC revolutionized computing.

Building on the successful developments of the first phase, E²R II will demonstrate and validate technologies that enable a true seamless experience based on reconfigurable heterogeneous systems. The project will pursue research into the most promising directions towards removing walls (current technical and regulatory limitations) and building bridges (technical) in order to facilitate the vision of true end-to-end connectivity.

E²R II will thus contribute to the realisation of the ambient intelligence vision through which a modern society will interact and communicates with key capabilities of the eco-system and finally actively influence European industrial and economic competitiveness. Standardisation, dissemination and knowledge sharing under training instruments will be intensely used to consolidate this influence.

This project includes the key players in the domain of Reconfigurability, Software Defined Radio and Cognitive Radio who have an accurate understanding of the state-of-the-art from various projects and bodies. These previous initiatives have motivated the E²R I project, but today’s ambitions, especially after the first phase, are to go further to the end-to-end aspect and reconfigurability support aiming at providing the seamless experience to users, enabled by the end-to-end reconfigurability.

The E²R II project addresses the core of the strategic objective "Mobile and wireless systems and platforms beyond 3G", and is part of the Wireless World Initiative (WWI).