Digitized Radio broadcast seeker (DRBS)

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dc.contributor.advisorWinberg, Simon
dc.contributor.authorSithole, Simbisai Mfunani
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-27T10:50:46Z
dc.date.available2026-01-27T10:50:46Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.date.updated2026-01-27T10:48:28Z
dc.description.abstractThe use of Software Defined Radio (SDR) has greatly increased the flexibility and programmability of radio systems due to the implementation of radio functions in software. The transfer of traditionally hardware-based signal processing to the software domain enables web SDR receivers to be hosted on the internet as data streaming services. Hosting SDR receivers online allows many users to tune in and listen to broadcast transmissions simultaneously. While significant advancements have been made in SDR hardware technology and making data easily accessible to users, developer productivity has been lacking. The market lacks a simple software development kit that would enable researchers and developers to experiment and create innovative software applications using existing data and components. The aim of this project is to develop an application framework that provides a collection of pre-built modules, components, code libraries, tools and Application Programmable Interfaces (API) that will allow developers to quickly create innovative applications using broadly available Software Defined Radio (SDR) data by leveraging pre- developed infrastructure. The Digitized Radio Broadcast Seeker (DRBS) application as an implementation of the application framework provides a platform for web streaming that aggregates web SDRs and helps developers search for broadcast transmissions of interest as well as build solutions around the streamed transmissions. The research project demonstrated that DRBS could be used to monitor Morse code signals to detect emergencies such as distress calls, weather alerts and other critical broadcasts. After conducting latency and average server response time performance tests, it was concluded that despite the additional infrastructure layer, the DRBS application did not add significant overhead to the signal processing path and could be considered for additional use cases such as identifying FM radio stations and analyzing spectrum usage across different geographical regions.
dc.identifier.apacitationSithole, S. M. (2025). <i>Digitized Radio broadcast seeker (DRBS)</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,Department of Electrical Engineering. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42698en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSithole, Simbisai Mfunani. <i>"Digitized Radio broadcast seeker (DRBS)."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,Department of Electrical Engineering, 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42698en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSithole, S.M. 2025. Digitized Radio broadcast seeker (DRBS). . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,Department of Electrical Engineering. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42698en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Sithole, Simbisai Mfunani AB - The use of Software Defined Radio (SDR) has greatly increased the flexibility and programmability of radio systems due to the implementation of radio functions in software. The transfer of traditionally hardware-based signal processing to the software domain enables web SDR receivers to be hosted on the internet as data streaming services. Hosting SDR receivers online allows many users to tune in and listen to broadcast transmissions simultaneously. While significant advancements have been made in SDR hardware technology and making data easily accessible to users, developer productivity has been lacking. The market lacks a simple software development kit that would enable researchers and developers to experiment and create innovative software applications using existing data and components. The aim of this project is to develop an application framework that provides a collection of pre-built modules, components, code libraries, tools and Application Programmable Interfaces (API) that will allow developers to quickly create innovative applications using broadly available Software Defined Radio (SDR) data by leveraging pre- developed infrastructure. The Digitized Radio Broadcast Seeker (DRBS) application as an implementation of the application framework provides a platform for web streaming that aggregates web SDRs and helps developers search for broadcast transmissions of interest as well as build solutions around the streamed transmissions. The research project demonstrated that DRBS could be used to monitor Morse code signals to detect emergencies such as distress calls, weather alerts and other critical broadcasts. After conducting latency and average server response time performance tests, it was concluded that despite the additional infrastructure layer, the DRBS application did not add significant overhead to the signal processing path and could be considered for additional use cases such as identifying FM radio stations and analyzing spectrum usage across different geographical regions. DA - 2025 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Software Defined Radio KW - Application Programmable Interfaces LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2025 T1 - Digitized Radio broadcast seeker (DRBS) TI - Digitized Radio broadcast seeker (DRBS) UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42698 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/42698
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSithole SM. Digitized Radio broadcast seeker (DRBS). []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment ,Department of Electrical Engineering, 2025 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42698en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Electrical Engineering
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectSoftware Defined Radio
dc.subjectApplication Programmable Interfaces
dc.titleDigitized Radio broadcast seeker (DRBS)
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMSc
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