Cognitive wireless systems are an innovative paradigm to describe wireless syste

ms that constantly employ information gathering mechanisms to adapt their operat

ional modes and facilitate intelligent illumination of the surroundings ( environm
ent ). Iteratively updated information about the environment ( perception ) can be uti
lized to allocate crucial resources like transmission power and spectrum in a mo
re efficient manner. This information is relayed to the transmitter by the recei
ver through a continuous loop ( feedback ), which allows the development of optimal
illumination of the environment in the next round of operation ( control ). In this
talk, we present the fundamental principles of novel cognitive wireless systems
integrating various types of cognitive engines, which include cognitive interrog
ator-sensor networks, cognitive radar-radio networks, and cognitive nano-communi
cation-sensor networks. We also discuss some important applications of these int
egrated systems in imaging, sensing, tracking, and so on.