EEE8099 : Information Theory and Coding (Inactive)
- Inactive for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Stephane Le Goff
- Owning School: Engineering
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
To ensure students have a sound knowledge of the fundamental concepts of information theory and its application to the detection and/or correction of transmission errors in communication systems.
To provide students with a thorough understanding of the coding techniques used to detect and/or correct errors in today’s communication systems.
Outline Of Syllabus
The first part of the module consists of an introduction to Shannon theory in which several concepts such as entropy, mutual information, communication channel models, and channel capacity are explained.
In the second part, the general theory of linear block codes is presented. The techniques for encoding and decoding these codes are discussed, and their bit error performance is studied. A few examples of simple linear block codes, such as repetition and parity-check codes, are considered.
In the third part of the module, several types of practical error-correcting codes are presented and their performance analyzed by using the general tools introduced in the second part. Particular attention is paid to near-capacity codes such as turbo and low-density parity-check codes.
The fourth part consists of MATLAB computer simulations done in a laboratory setting. During these MATLAB sessions, students evaluate channel capacities using numerical integration methods and study the bit error rate performance of coded communication systems.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 2 | 4:00 | 8:00 | Writing of two summatively-assessed lab report. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 12 | 2:00 | 24:00 | 3 x 2-hour lectures per week, over 4 weeks. |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 50 | 1:00 | 50:00 | Revision for 2-hour coursework. |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | 2-hour coursework consisting of problem-solving exercises to be done at home during a 24-hour time window on the last two days of the block, |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 8 | 2:00 | 16:00 | 2 x 2 hour MATLAB sessions per week, over 4 weeks in the EEE Computing room (1st Floor Merz Court). |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 100:00 | 100:00 | Reviewing lecture notes, tutorials, and recap recordings. |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Learning outcomes are achieved by a combination of lectures, tutorials, and laboratory sessions. In lectures, students are introduced to Shannon’s theory of information and its application to the field of error detection/correction in digital communication systems, while, in the laboratory part of the module, the theoretical material is applied to investigate, via MATLAB simulations, various concepts of information theory such as the channel capacity limit and the error performance of coded communication systems.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practical/lab report | 1 | M | 10 | First report on MATLAB implementation and results obtained during the lab sessions. |
| Practical/lab report | 1 | M | 10 | Second report on MATLAB implementation and results obtained during the lab sessions. |
| Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | 80 | Two-hour coursework to be done at home in a 24-hour period at the end of the teaching block. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The concepts studied in lectures and tutorials are assessed via a two-hour open-book coursework consisting of several problem-solving exercises. Students complete it at home during a 24-hour period at the very end of the four-week teaching block. In addition, students write two reports of the MATLAB experiments performed during the lab sessions. This report is formally assessed. The MATLAB sessions illustrate the various concepts explained in lectures and tutorials and provide students with several examples of problems encountered by R&D engineers in the telecommunication industry.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- EEE8099's Timetable