Overview of ISM bands and Software-defined Radio Experimentation

TL;DR

This paper reviews ISM frequency bands worldwide and demonstrates how software-defined radio can be used to analyze signals from wireless electric switches, advancing home automation research.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of ISM bands and showcases practical SDR experimentation for analyzing wireless signals in home automation applications.

Findings

Analysis of signals from wireless electric switches at 433 MHz

Demonstration of SDR-based signal analysis in ISM bands

Insights into ISM band usage for home automation

Abstract

Wireless systems using low-power wireless communication protocol are rapidly gain popularity in the license-free industrial scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency bands. One such emerging trend in ISM frequency bands is home automation. Historically, all the home devices were once unconnected, today are now being connected either by a wired or wireless connection. The low-power wireless communication protocols enable integration of all the digital home devices into a single system and enhance end user product experience. The rapid prototyping of these end user product using programmable radio system such as software-defined radio (SDR) has been the game-changer in the field of home automation. In this article, we present an overview of popular ISM bands in different regions of the world. Furthermore, we analyze the signals from the wireless electric switch using a software-defined radio in 433 MHz ISM band.