Patent ID: 8896415

Claim:
A programmable radio communication system comprising a transmitter section and a receiver section, wherein the transmitter section comprises a radio transmitter and a processor, the processor being configured to: execute transmitter firmware; execute a transmitter software application; and operate an interface between the transmitter firmware and the transmitter software application, wherein the interface supports one or more operators, each operator acting on one or more elements, wherein the transmitter firmware comprises instructions for: receiving across the interface from the transmitter software application, an operator and an element, associated with a virtual pipe; encoding the operator and the element; constructing a data packet; and using the radio transmitter to transmit the radio packet including the encoded operator and element by radio, and wherein the receiver section comprises a radio receiver and a processor, the processor being configured to: execute receiver firmware; execute a receiver software application; and operate an interface between the receiver firmware and the receiver software application, wherein the receiver firmware comprises instructions for: using the radio receiver to receive the data packet including the encoded operator and element; deconstructing the data packet; decoding the operator and element; and sending the operator and the element across the interface to the receiver software application, thereby creating the virtual pipe between the transmitter software application and the receiver software application, wherein the receive-side firmware is configured to use a lookup table to determine said operator and element from a received pipe identifier.