EEE8120 : Wireless Communication Systems (Inactive)
- Inactive for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Martin Johnston
- 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 advance the students' general knowledge of current data communication technology with emphasis on cellular systems and multiple access methods.
Outline Of Syllabus
Part A
Elements of mobile and cellular communication networks, frequency reuse, network planning, cell sectorisation, hand-over and commercial aspects will be covered, including coverage of 4G/LTE and 5G architectures and the state-of-the-art physical layer considerations including optical fibre backhauling, new-radio and other physical layer aspects such as massive-MIMO.
Other aspects of cellular communications will also be covered in Part A including multiple access methods; frequency, time, code, space and wavelength division multiple access (FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, SDMA and WDM).
Part B
Consists of advanced material drawn from digital modulation formats and theoretical developments of baseband and passband representations of QAM, QPSK, OFDM and CAP and non-orthogonal modulation, among others. Digital receivers will be covered, including hard decisions, log-likelihood ratio and maximum a posteriori methods as well as state-of-the-art equalisation techniques. Error quantification will be considered including bit-error rate (BER) and error vector magnitude (EVM) which are linked to signal-to-noise ratio. Multi-path channel models and physical impairments such as non-linear amplifiers will also be discussed.
The module will be examined via one MATLAB workshop that will focus on realistic modelling of physical layer communications systems including multi-path channels and how to recover signals effectively with the maximum performance via equalisers, as well as physical impairments and representation of modulation formats.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Final Exam in Assessment Period |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 10:00 | 10:00 | Revision for online NUMBAS test |
| Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 36 | 0:30 | 18:00 | Non-synchronous recordings to support lectures |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | Formatively assessed online NUMBAS test at end of second week |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 5:00 | 5:00 | Writing of summatively assessed lab report |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 16 | 2:00 | 32:00 | 8x2hr lectures per week over 2 weeks |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 24 | 1:00 | 24:00 | Revision for final exam |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | One three-hour practical lab session on equalisation. There is also an alternative equalisation expe |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 4 | 2:00 | 8:00 | Reading activity to supplement knowledge of material taught in each week. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 4 | 2:00 | 8:00 | Two online synchronous tutorial per week in first and second week, covering tutorial sheets |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 36 | 0:30 | 18:00 | Student study time of non-synchronous pre-recorded material |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 71:00 | 71:00 | Reviewing lecture notes; general reading |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The module will be taught via a mix of online synchronous and non-synchronous lectures that introduce the knowledge on cellular systems encompassing 5G new-radio, optical backhauling and other physical and planning aspects. An introduction to MATLAB will be given via some skeleton codes that will lead the students self-directed programming sessions that will provide the students with the building blocks required to tackle the two assessed MATLAB assignment. Each programming activity will be supported by guided independent study. A set of guidance notes will also be provided. Additional support will be provided by interleaved online Q&A sessions. Communication systems are most effectively taught with a hands-on approach, allowing the students to discover theory can be applied in practice and most importantly, how to break the problems down into subsystems and diagnose problems effectively. The students also have significant scope to show initiative and to investigate a variety of solutions to a given problem.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | 1 | M | 100 | MATLAB simulation - 4000 word report submitted online. |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer assessment | 1 | M | Formatively assessed online timed NUMBAS test in 2nd week of block. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The module is assessed via report writing and software code development. Report writing assesses the understanding of underlying theoretical concepts, while simulation, implementation and modelling is assessed via software code development in MATLAB. The programming sessions consider the various concepts explained in the lectures and provide students with several practical problems encountered by R&D engineers in the telecommunication industry.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- EEE8120's Timetable