The University of Southampton
×
Electronics and Computer Science

ELEC6245 Wireless Networks

Module Overview

Aims and Objectives

 This course is intended to give students an outline of how wireless communication and computer networks work "above the physical layer". This includes the interoperability of wireless networks such as WiMax/GPRS and WiFi to provide WiFi on trains etc. How wireless sensor networks gather and report physical parameters including body sensor networks. We also look at the evolution of cell phone networks from GSM->GPRS->3G->LTE->"4G"

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • Radio propogation - how it is helped and hindered by the environment., Protocols that allow the through routing of data out of a network of sensors., how resource wireless resources can be allocated,

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • How to make wireless sensor networks available as web services.

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Present work to orally and as a written report. Read and understand a technical specification and understand why things are done as they are.

Syllabus

Syllabus

  • Introduction: How to locate source material, read specifications and present material.
  • An introduction to GSM
  • GPRS/ 3G/ LTE/ "4G"
  • Bluetooth/ Bluetooth Low Energy/ Profiles/ security/ Service discovery
  • WLAN evolution
  • WiMAX security.
  • Wireless sensor networks, Zigbee, time synchronised networks.
  • Wireless Resource Allocation
  • Protocols. 
  • Digital TV/ Digital Radio

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
LectureThe course is run primarily as a series of student led seminars for which individual students will give a talk of about 25 minutes. Topics are allocated in the first session. The first talk in each topic covered will serve as an introductory overview.24
TutorialThese are a series of short (~20minute) held with each coursework group to ensure that the specification is clear and that progress is satisfactory and that resources are available.12

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Tutorial presentation-20%
A group coursework-70%
Coursework Presentation-10%

Referral Method: By set coursework assignment(s)

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

ELEC6242 Cryptography

Module Overview

This module covers the mathematics, techniques, and applications of modern cryptography.

Aims:

  • This module gives a broad introduction into the subject of cryptography as it applies to electronic and computer systems
  • We will look at the history of code making and code breaking, and draw lessons for the future from the mistakes and successes of the past.
  • We will give a gentle introduction to the mathematics underlying modern cryptosystems.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • The historic struggle between code-makers and code-breakers
  • The broad categories of codes and ciphers, and appropriate uses for each

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Perform simple mathematics appropriate to public-key encryption, and to cryptosystems based on polynomials over the binary numbers

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Use graduate-level literature to investigate areas of mathematics previously unfamiliar to you

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Attack classical ciphers such as Vigenère, and LFSR-based stream ciphers
  • Select appropriate ciphers, cipher modes, and protocols for simple applications

Syllabus

  • Cryptography background
    • Vocabulary
    • History
    • Steganography
    • Simple codebreaking
    • Information: confusion and diffusion, entropy
    • One-time pads and their failures (Venona).
  • Mathematical background
    • Finite Abelian Groups
    • Finite Fields.
    • Groups based on integer multiplication
    • Discrete logarithms
    • Groups based on elliptic curve
  • Public and private key cryptography, shared secrets
  • Public key cryptosystems
    • RSA, ElGamal
    • Authentication
    • Signatures
    • Deniability
    • Identity-based cryptography
  • Private key cryptosystems
  • Stream ciphers: LFSR, RC4, and later.
  • Block ciphers: Feistel, Rijndael, and later
  • Cryptographic modes: ECB, CBC, GCM.
  • Cryptographic protocols, including TLS.
  • “Random numbers” and their weaknesses
  • Elementary cryptanalysis
  • Weaknesses in implementations
  • Hardware
  • Quantum cryptography

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
Lecture36
Tutorial6
Demonstration or Examples SessionFormative assignment6

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Cryptanalysis Investigation-20%
Exam2 hours80%

Referral Method: By examination

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

ELEC6241 System on Chip Design Techniques

Module Overview

This module is designed to give students a borad understanding of the main principles required for system on chip design. The module will discuss the required design flow, and specific techniques for low power and reliable integration of cores into a complete System on Chip. Other advanced techniques such as timing analysis and asynchronous design will also be introduced. In addition, the module extensively covers hardware architectures and timing behaviours of fundamental computer arithmetic ciruits.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • Specify and design electronics systems on chip
  • Optimise the performance and power of electronics systems on chip
  • Verify a system design in terms of timing and functionality by constructing and applying appropriate tests
  • Undertake research into electronics design problems
  • Arithmetic datapath design

Syllabus

  • Introduction to IC Design
    • IC system design options
    • CMOS processing, layout and design rules
    • Stick diagrams
    • Static complementary gates
    • System design using standard cells
  • Timing Schemes in Digital Systems
    • Principles of Synchronous Design
    • Clock trees and clock management
    • Asynchronous Circuits
    • Design and implementation of Synchronisers
    • Metastability in Digital System
  • Design of large digital Systems
    • Fundamental concepts of datapath and controller
    • Circuit Power Consumption, design tradeoffs speed-power, introduction to low power circuit design
    • Design hierarchy
  • Architecture of Arithmetic  Datapath Blocks (Adders and Multipliers)
    • Comparision of standard designs
    • Complexity analysis
    • Delay analysis     

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
LectureOne double lecture slot and one single lecture slot per week.36
Tutorialone single lecture slot per week.12

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Exam2 hours100%

Referral Method: By examination

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

ELEC3221 Digital IC and Systems Design

Module Overview

This module aims to provide a coherent introduction to digital VLSI design in CMOS, and  to give students a broad understanding of the main principles required for system-on-chip design. Advanced techniques such as timing analysis and asynchronous design will also be introduced. In addition, the module extensively covers hardware architectures and timing behaviours of fundamental computer arithmetic ciruits.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • The Principles of CMOS Digital Circuits
  • Power-reduction Techniques

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Describe the principles of asynchronous circuits
  • Analyse the performance of synchronous systems
  • Describe architectures for Arithmetic Datapath Blocks

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Design and layout simple digital CMOS logic gates

Syllabus

  • Introduction to IC Design
    • IC system design options
    • CMOS processing, layout and design rules
    • Stick diagrams
    • Static complementary gates
    • System design using standard cells
  • Timing Schemes in Digital Systems
    • Principles of Synchronous Design
    • Clock trees and clock management
    • Asynchronous Circuits
    • Design and implementation of Synchronisers
    • Metastability in Digital System
  • Design of large digital Systems
    • Fundamental concepts of datapath and controller
    • Circuit Power Consumption, design tradeoffs speed-power, introduction to low power circuit design
    • Design hierarchy
  • Architecture of Arithmetic  Datapath Blocks (Adders and Multipliers)
    • Comparision of standard designs
    • Complexity analysis
    • Delay analysis     

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
LectureOne double lecture slot and one single lecture slot per week.36
Tutorialone single lecture slot per week12

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
L-Edit Gate Design-10%
Exam2 hours90%

Referral Method: By examination, with the original coursework mark being carried forward

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

ELEC3219 Advanced Computer Architecture

Module Overview

This module covers the development of modern computer architectures for servers, workstations, hand-held devices, signal processing and embedded systems from the introduction of the four-stage RISC pipeline to the present day.

Aims

  • This module gives a broad introduction into the study of computer architecture as it applies to current electronic and computer systems
  • We will look at the history of specialist architectures and draw lessons for the present from the successes and failures of the past
  • We will investigate simulation techniques of use in developing and analysing modern architectures

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • The evolution of modern computer architectures
  • The design decisions taken in modern architectures

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Evaluate the likely performance of a proposed computer architecture
  • Outline the design of a computer system to meet a performance requirement

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Use graduate-level literature to expand your understanding of future architectures

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Evaluate by simulation the performance of key architectural features

Syllabus

  • Evolution of hardware capabilities: density, speed, power, communications
  • Virtual memory, virtualised processors
  • The programming interface: instruction sets and memory models, compiler support
  • Memory Hierarchies: cache architectures
  • Branch prediction
  • Cache coherence
  • Instruction parallelism: pipeline optimisations, superscalar and out-of-order execution
  • Data parallelism: dataflow, vector, SIMD
  • Interconnects, buses and network-on-chip
  • Field-programmable gates array (FPGA) 
  • Thread parallelism: hyper-threading, latency hiding, multi-core
  • GPUs and other accelerators, Intel Phi
  • Architecture performance simulation

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
Lecture36
Tutorial6
Demonstration or Examples SessionFormative assignments6

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Computer architecture simulation-35%
FPGA architecture simulation-15%
Exam2 hours50%

Referral Method: By examination

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

ELEC3218 Signal and Image Processing

Module Overview

Signal processing is an essential part of human life and of modern industrial systems. As humans we see and hear and process signals. This is the same in electronic systems: we sense and then process signals. We need to be able to understand these signals, sometimes to interpret them, sometimes to filter them and sometimes to develop systems to process them automatically. That is what this module is about, and we shall apply the processes to images and to music in continuous and discrete systems.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • Apply signal processing techniques to understand and analyse 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional signals

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of frequency domain analysis and synthesis Be able to use basic techniques to process 1-dimensional signals Be able to implement standard approaches to process 2-dimensional images

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Apply signal and image processing in research and industrial environments

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Understand the basic approaches in a technology fundamental to perception of signals

Syllabus

  • Statistical signal processing[rm1] 
  • Human audiovisual system
  • Continuous Fourier analysis, Fourier transform (FT). Amplitude and power spectrums for periodic and non-periodic signals. Power spectral analysis and cosine transform (CT)
  • Convolution, correlation and Fourier Transform
  • Analogue filter design
  • Sampling and aliasing
  • Discrete signal analysis and z transforms
  • Discrete FT (Fast FT – FFT; Discrete CT - DCT)
  • Digital filters and their design (FIR and IIR)
    • Random signals
    • Adaptive filtering
    • 2D FTs (difference between 2D and 1D, 2D DCT)
    • Mpeg (music) and jpeg (image) coding
    • Point and group image operators (and convolution)
    • Edge detection in images
    • Image shape extraction (Template matching, HT and correlation))
    • Shape extraction by evolution
    • Image filtering
    • Image restoration

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
Lecture36
Tutorial
Demonstration or Examples Session

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Exam2 hours100%

Referral Method: By examination

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

ELEC3217 Photonics

Module Overview

To introduce basic concepts governing optical waveguides, fibres, lasers and optical amplification

To foster a physical and quantitative understanding of key photonic devices

To foster an understanding of the use of photonics in sensing and communications applications.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • Understand basic concepts governing optical waveguides and fibres, lasers and optical amplification
  • Describe key photonic devices
  • Describe the use of photonics in sensing and communications applications.

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Understand the operation of many photonic devices, physically and theoretically
  • Approach research into photonic devices

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Use theoretical techniques for the solution of engineering problems

Syllabus

Laser and amplifier fundamentals

- Absorption and emission of radiation

- Einstein relations

- Population inversion and threshold conditions

- Gain saturation

- Lineshape function and line broadening mechanisms

- Laser modes and pulsed lasers.

Semiconductor sources

- DH, DFB, DBR

- Single frequency operation

- Intensity and Phase noise

Optical detectors

- Photodiodes

- Receiver circuits

- Responsivity, bandwidth, noise

Optical amplifiers

- Properties - bandwidth, gain, polarisation effects

- Semiconductor amplifiers

- Rare-earth doped fibre amplifiers

- Noise contributions

Optical devices

- The electro-optic effect

- Modulators

- Fibre polarisers

- Fibre couplers

- Polarisation scramblers

- Fibre Bragg gratings

Optical fibre sensors

- Discrete sensors

- Signal processing schemes

- Distributed sensors

Optical waveguides

- The planar dielectric waveguide

- Waveguide fabrication

- Waveguide phase and amplitude modulators

Optical fibres

- Step index fibre theory

- Gradient index fibre theory

- Optical fibre fabrication

- Optical fibre attenuation

- Optical fibre dispersion

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
Lecture36

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Exam2.5 hours100%

Referral Method: By examination

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

ELEC3216 Mechanical Power Transmission and Vibration

Module Overview

The module provides an overview of relevant topics in mechanical power transmission and methodology of vibration analysis for such mechanical assemblies.

The main objective of the module is to learn methods of analysis and design of machines and their components, which are relevant to most industrial applications, including Automotive, Marine and Power Engineering transmissions.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • The relations between power supply and demand
  • Importance of gear boxes and applications of different configurations: simple, compound, epicyclic and differential
  • Applications of gear boxes and split-power drives
  • Operational principles of hydrostatic pumps and motors
  • Importance of energy storage elements and their applications
  • Mathematical techniques to analyse torsional vibration of drive systems and of flexible rotors

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • To model real engineering systems, to define their power transmission and vibration characteristics

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Tackle multidisciplinary problems as encountered in real engineering systems

Disciplinary Specific

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • To match power supplies to their loads
  • To choose a suitable gear trains: simple, compound, epicyclic and differential
  • To construct a simple gear box and to select correct gears and tooth profiles
  • To select hydrostatic pumps and motors for power transmission systems, and to calculate the torque-speed characteristics
  • To select fluid coupling devices or torque converters based on required torque-speed characteristics
  • To design energy storage elements and to understand their limitations
  • To calculate natural vibrational frequencies of composite assemblies
  • To predict torsional vibration of drive systems which include gearing
  • To analyse dynamics of flexible rotors and the influence of their support bearings

Syllabus

  • Matching power converters to their loads.
  • Gear trains: simple, compound, epicyclic and differential gears, gear tooth profiles, split-power drives, power flows. Automotive and marine applications.
  • Hydrostatic drives: Hydrostatic pumps and motors, capacities and leakage coefficients, flow-controlled and valve-controlled systems, efficiencies and torque-speed characteristics; comparison with electro-mechanical drives.
  • Hydrokinetic drives: The fluid coupling and the torque converter, torque-speed characteristics. Automotive, marine and power-plant applications.
  • Belts and linkage mechanisms.
  • Energy storage elements and their limitations.
  • Natural frequencies of composite assemblies, incorporating component sub-systems, by the use of receptances.
  • Torsional vibration of drive systems which include gearing.
  • Rotor dynamics of flexible rotors and the influence of their support bearings.

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
Lecture3 lectures per week36
Demonstration or Examples Session1 tutorial per week10
Specialist Labin-class tests, summative assessment elements, mean to provide additional feedback before exams.2

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
formative assessment element on matching power supply to the demand and on linkage mechanisms-10%
Exam2 hours90%

Referral Method: By examination, with the original coursework mark being carried forward

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

ELEC6217 Radio Communications Engineering

Module Overview

This course introduces the principles and techniques needed to design a wireless transceiver. We will cover the process needed to take the main principles of digital communications such as digital modulation and detection in noise. Through lectures and coursework, we cover the engineering trade-offs needed to design a transceiver starting from a detailed performance specification.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

 When completing this module, you will be expected to be able to:

  • learn how to simulate communication systems using computational baseband models;
  • be able to specify active and passive components required for a wireless transceiver;
  • be able to design a transceiver system architecture against a comprehensive performance specification;
  • design and present a simulation of a communication system using computational baseband models;
  • appreciate the practical challenges of digital transmission by using software defined radio.

Syllabus

Noise and Noise figure

  • Sources of noise
  • Noise models
  • Noise figure
  • Cascaded noise figure
  • Measurement of noise figure

Link budgets

  • Sources of loss
  • Link loss equations
  • Maximum noise figure
  • Maximum range

The superhet

  • Filter selectivity
  • Adjacent channels
  • Image frequencies
  • Multiple stage superhets
  • The frequency mixer
  • Intermodulation products

Transceiver Design

  • Components used in transceiver designs
  • Typical transceiver design examples
  • Specifying amplifiers, mixers

Synchronisation

  • The timing and carrier synchronisation problem
  • Timing sync methods - delay locked loop and dsp equivalent
  • Data randomisation (scrambling)
  • Open-loop timing sync
  • Zero Crossing detection
  • Carrier sync methods -
  • Carrier regeneration
  • Costas loop introduction
  • Decision directed
  • Pilot tone aided synchronisation

Review of Passive Filters 

  • Synthesis of doubly terminated filters 
  • Low-Pass to Band-Pass transformation 
  • Filter implementations - ceramic, SAW
  • Fractional bandwitdh 
  • Software-assisted specification and design
Review of Matching 
  • Maximum power transfer
  • RLC Matching networks 
Power amplifiers 
  • Class A, B, AB, C
  • Power efficiency
  • Linearisation techniques
  • Suitability of PA classes to modulation types
Antennas
  • Fundamental model
  • Types of omnidirectional antennas
  • Physical limits - volume vs bandwidth and efficiency
  • Low-cost pcb trace antennas
  • Ceramic antennas
  • Simulation

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
Lecture20
Tutorial6
Specialist LabSoftware defined radio lab using USRP and LabVIEW.3

Assessment

Assessment methods

Laboratory sessions are scheduled in the labs on level 2 of the Zepler building
Length of each session: 3 hours
Number of sessions completed by each student: 1
Max number of students per session: 12 (constrained by number of USRPs)
Demonstrator:student ratio: 1:12
Preferred teaching weeks: 8 to 11

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Software defined radio exercise: modulation, demodulation and bit timing recovery of DBPSK-5%
Matlab simulation: effect of SNR, channel impulse response on BER, issues in simulation, bit timing sync, frequency offset-15%
Transceiver System Design (group exercise): System and major component-level (filter, amplifier, mixer) design from a requirement specification of a 2.4GHz superhet transceiver, including Matlab code for modulation, demodulation, bit timing recovery and carrier synchronisation. -50%
Exam1 hour30%

Referral Method: By examination

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

COMP6234 Data Visualisation

Module Overview

  • To introduce the fundamentals of data visualization in data science, including core terminology, concepts, techniques and state-of-the-art tools
  • To give an overview of key approaches and technologies for data and interaction design
  • To discuss challenges and pitfalls in data visualisation
  • To introduce technologies and tools to create meaningful visualisations on the Web

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Aim

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Become familiar with core data visualisation approaches and tools

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • Key concepts in data science, including tools, approaches and application scenarios
  • Topics in information design
  • Topics in interaction design and user engagement
  • State-of-the-art tools to build useful visualisations for different types of data sets and application scenarios

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Understand and apply the fundamental concepts and techniques in data visualisation

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Solve specific real-world problems related to the visualisation and interpretation of data analysis results

Syllabus

Fundamentals of data visualisation and storytelling

  • History of data visualisation
  • Planning a visualisation
  • Types of data stories and principles to design them
  • Types of charts and how to choose them
  • Bad design and lying with statistics
  • Visual insights: relations and structures
  • Visual perception and information design for the mind
  • Interactive visualisations
  • Online tools and technologies (e.g., Tableau, D3)

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

Lectures, tutorials, invited talks, group presentations. Assessment via technical report and group projects.

ActivityDescriptionHours
LectureLectures and demonstrations of material, invited talks18
TutorialPresentations of visualisation tools and technologies, feedback and advice on group projects and assessed coursework18

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Critiquing good and bad designs (report)-30%
Group project: tell your data story (with D3)-70%%

Referral Method: By set coursework assignment(s)

70% is the final mark is a group project, hence the module cannot be repeated externally.

Share this module FacebookTwitterWeibo

Pages