Fajemilehin, TemitopeOlatunji, SamuelOpadiji, Jayeola2019-06-032019-06-032019-05http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2034Background: The performance of algorithms used in white space detection in cooperative spectrum sensing is largely dependent on the sensitivity of the cognitive radios used. The sensitivity of the radios is measured in terms of the probability of missed detections and probability of false alarms. Aim: This work is aimed at improving on the detection sensitivity of the Conventional Energy Detection (CED) algorithm while preserving its simplicity. Method: The detection performance of the CED was improved by avoiding the misdetections caused by instantaneous signal energy drops through the use Modified Energy Detection (MED) and Improved Energy Detection (IED) algorithms in cooperative spectrum sensing. Results: The IED scheme proposed reduces the false alarm ratio of the MED scheme while preserving the detection performance improvement attained with respect to the CED method. With a probability of false alarm at 0.1, the MED algorithm increases the CED detection probability from 0.2 to 0.4, while the IED algorithm increases the probability of detection to 0.8, in poor channel conditions where the CED performs unreliably. This fulfils the objective of improving the sensitivity of energy detection in cooperative spectrum sensingenCognitive RadioCooperative Spectrum SensingDetection SensitivityEnergy detectionArticle