About the Conference

GRCon is the annual GNU Radio conference, first held in 2011. With a stellar program and engaging events, our attendees report an extremely high satisfaction level year after year. In the GRCon16 Attendee Survey, 53% of conference attendees rated the conference as an overall five-out-of-five, and 42% rated it as a four-out-of-five.

Conference Program

A program can be found in tabular form here.

Packed with valuable content, the GRCon technical program is one of the best in the industry. With a great balance of cutting-edge research, new technology demonstrations, and shared insights from academia, industry, government, and the hobbyist community, GRCon is one of the best venues to learn and stay informed about the field of software radio. The GRCon program is recognized for its focus on practical design and implementation, and its content reflects the concept of “theory put into practice”.

To see last year’s technical program, check out the GRCon19’s Presentations.

Tutorials & Walkthroughs

This year will see a renewed focus on tutorials and walkthroughs, presented by GNU Radio and industry experts. We have re-structured the GRCon program to allow for more tutorials than in previous years, and there will be a healthy mix of tutorials aimed at new / novice users, and more intermediate / advanced users. Walkthroughs will provide the opportunity to see how “the gurus” do their development, and what their workflow looks like as they do something in real-time.

Published Paper Proceedings

We are pleased to once again host the Technical Proceedings of the Annual GNU Radio Conference, which is an open-access publication venue for scientific contribution to any field impacting Software Radio. The TP is available at pubs.gnuradio.org, which is indexed by Google Scholar. Submissions go through a strict peer-review process from area experts using the standard EDAS system.

Keynotes

With an attendee list that includes some of the most recognized leaders in the Software Radio industry, the GRCon keynotes offer an opportunity to get the latest insights on a wide variety of topics.

Monday: Video Decoding Adventures

Oona Räisänen, a programmer interested in signals and sound waves, shares her video decoding adventures. Find out more about Oona at https://oona.windytan.com/

Tuesday: Keeping Ham Radio Alive and Well: ARRL’s Education Initiatives

Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY, Manager of ARRL’s Publications and Editorial Department, discusses how changes in the ham radio hobby and service led ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio in the US, to survey recent licensees regarding their motivations, interests, and needs. Survey responses indicated a need for education in language that new amateurs could understand, on topics that they weren’t finding anywhere. In response to that need, ARRL has launched two education initiatives – On the Air magazine and the ARRL Learning Network – that will be discussed in this session.

Becky R. Schoenfeld, W1BXY, is Manager of the Publications and Editorial Department at ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. In 2017, she was one of the members of an ARRL staff working group that conducted research into an as-yet-unserved segment of ARRL membership – people new to amateur radio. The results of this research led to the 2020 launch of ARRL’s newest magazine, On the Air, a bimonthly targeted specifically to new and inactive amateur radio licensees. She is Editorial Director of On the Air as well as ARRL’s membership journal QST. This fall, she will celebrate 30 years in the publishing industry.

Vendor Exhibition & Demo Space

With the continued rise of GNU Radio in the commercial, academic, and government sectors, the vendor exhibits offer a unique opportunity to see the latest Software Radio technology from some of the field’s leaders.

Technology Showcase & Poster Session

Every year, vendors, students, and hobbyists show off some of their latest developments in the poster area. Meet the developers and researchers creating next-generation Software Radio technologies.

Special Interest Focus Groups

One of the most exciting aspects of GRCon is the gathering of so many active users, developers, and community leaders in one place. To this end, we are pleased to put on focus groups for special interest areas including Education & Curriculum Development, Radio Astronomy, Cybersecurity, Space-Based Communications, and others. This is a great opportunity to meet others in the Software Radio world with shared interests and discover new collaboration opportunities.

Developers’ Summit

A highlight of every year is the annual Developers’ Summit, which provides an opportunity for developers to organize and provide time for practitioners to work together & “talk shop”. This event is a great way to meet the core developers of the project, find out how you can get involved, and influence where the project is headed.