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EENG22000
Communications
This version of the EENG22000 unit was adapted for delivery during the Covid-19
pandemic. A number of adaptations have been made to accommodate the constraints
on learning, teaching and studying. These include:
A reduction of the course syllabus of around 10% to reduce student workload
Removal of the assessed laboratory assessment (commonly referred to as the
‘Modem lab’) to further reduce student workload
Adjustments to the lecture delivery to create a suite of smaller modular ‘lectures’
for asynchronous online study
Arrangements for Synchronous teaching activities
Addition of online tests in preparation for the final summative assessment taking
place online as opposed to the normal written examination under controlled
conditions
Throughout the remainder of this course content directly addressing these Covid-19
adaptations will appear in this boxed format.
THIS VERSION IS AN INTERIM VERSION COVERING
PARTS 0-2. A REVISED VERSION COVERING ALL OF
SECTIONS 0-4 WILL BE PROVIDED AT A LATER DATE.
0. Introduction
Throughout the last century electronic communications systems have made massive
progress in terms of the service that they are capable of providing. Analogue wireline
technology progressed from simple telegraph systems to telephony. Analogue radio has
facilitated television and radio broadcasting and even early mobile telephone technology.
However, with the advent of digital signal processing technology, communications has
evolved into a digital age where a previously unimaginable range of services can be
provided and the use of sophisticated communication technology is a ubiquitous feature
of human life.
Modern wireless communications systems are capable of supporting robust and reliable
access to data and the mobile phone and WiFi services are simply taken for granted. High
speed, low latency communications, video streaming, cloud computing access and more
or less any other application the individual user can dream of accessing can be facilitated.
Even highly demanding services such as mobile cloud gaming are now reaching the
mainstream user. Simultaneously, cable and fibre technologies have evolved to provide
the infrastructure capable of meeting our mass needs. Now, not all communication even
has a human user with machine to machine communications rapidly expanding for
application such as smart cities, smart grid, smart transport and digital health care.
Whilst wireless, cable and fibre links all pose significantly different challenges and
opportunities in the design of communications systems, many of the techniques employed
to address these challenge have a degree of commonality.
0.1. Who and what is this unit for?
This course is intended to provide the student with an introduction to the fundamental
concepts of communications systems as applied to a wide variety of different applications.
Emphasis is placed on the concepts and terminology used in communications systems
and not on complex mathematical proofs and analysis. The goals of the unit are for
students:
To understand the language of communication engineers and be able to use it
competently themselves
To understand the physical limits of communication systems and consequently
what is possible and what is not possible
To understand the wide variety of significant challenges faced in the design of
communication systems
To understand various options in system design (factors such as modulation
schemes, coding rates, filtering parameters)
For to be able to design a good communication system for a given scenario
For some students this unit will be the first in a sequence of communication focussed units
that you will study. This unit will provide the foundation for your communication
engineering education. A plethora of later units will enable you to specialise your expertise
further and study more advanced aspects of communications. These units include Mobile
Communication Systems, Advanced Mobile Radio Techniques, Broadband Wireless
Communications, Coding Theory, Networking Protocol Principles, Advanced Networking,
Optoelectronic Devices and Systems, Optical Communications Systems and Data
Networks, Data Centre Networking. You likely won’t be able to study all of these units but
many will be available, depending upon which programme you are studying.
Other students may choose to specialise in area other than communications (hey, no one
is perfect!) but many other areas of engineering and science make use of communications
and a basic knowledge of communications will still support your studies in those areas.
For example, take a look at a computer. Count the number of communications interfaces
you can see on the outside of a desktop PC or Laptop. If you are really keen, take it apart!
USB, HDMI, Ethernet, Wifi PCI, SATA, etc – these are all communication interfaces.
Over the course of this unit we will learn techniques used in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G mobile,
WiFi, Bluetooth, ADSL, DOCSIS and Fibre (Broadband), USB, Ethernet, Television and
Broadcast Radio and many other technologies that people use in everyday life.
While you study this unit, think of yourself as a communication engineer. That’s the way
that I will address you in the lectures and in these notes. Whilst you may not pursue a
career in communications during study or beyond, try to retain that mindset whilst studying
this unit.
0.2. Unit Structure
This unit is structured into four parts:
Part 1 provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts of communications,
including the basic building blocks of a communications system, various factors
engineers have to consider in their designs and then moves on to identify a number of
numerical metrics that apply to communication systems relates them together in a key
theorem; the Shannon capacity theorem.
Part 2 covers the basic forms of digital bandpass modulation available to the
communications engineer. Part 2 keeps this simple by considering only binary
modulation and considering modulation of the Amplitude, Frequency and Phase of a
waveform in turn.
Part 3 explores more advanced modulation schemes by considering what we can
achieve with non-binary modulation and by modulating more than one property of the
waveform.
Throughout parts 2 and 3, filters are seen to be used in communications systems. The
details of these filters are important but aren’t discussed in detail in parts 2 and 3. Thus
in part 4, we investigate these filters in detail. Part 4 also explores the concept of error
control coding which is another key tool in the design of communication systems.
0.3. Learning Materials
A suite of materials is provided to aid study. This suite consists of:
This course handbook, which discusses all the topics in the syllabus in detail.
Sections 1-4 of this handbook correspond directly to parts 1-4 of the course.
A set of lectures, recorded, so that you the student can watch them in your own
time (so called ‘asynchronous study’).
A timetabled schedule of ‘synchronous’ classes. This is where we will meet as a
group (whether virtually or in person) to discuss the syllabus topics in detail.
Problem sheets; 1 per part of the course, as outlined above, to be taken in your
own time. Questions will be released after the synchronous sessions for each part
of the course is complete.
Online tests; 1 per part of the course to be taken within a scheduled window. These
tests will be indicative of the final unit assessment if it takes place online.
Some software lab experiments which will enhance understanding through
experimentation. These software lab experiment activities will be led by Dr
Tommaso Capello.
All of this material will be provided on ‘Blackboard’, the Universities Online Learning
Environment.
0.4. Recommended Texts
Whilst the materials described in section 0.3 above provide the essential study material
the following texts are recommended as optional supporting reading material for this
course:
1. Digital Communications, Andy Bateman, Addison Wesley, 1998
2. Communication Systems (3rd/4th Edition), S Haykin, Wiley, 1994
3. Communication Systems, F G Stremler, Addison Wesley, 1990
4. Principles of Communication Systems (2nd Edition), Taub & Schilling, McGraw-Hill.
5. Communication Systems: An Introduction to Signals and Noise in Electrical
Communication, A B Carlson, McGraw Hill, 1968
0.5. Mathematical Background
Students are expected to have good understanding of the following mathematical
concepts:
Fourier series and analysis
Fourier transforms
Time/frequency representation of signals
Trigonometric identities and substitutions.
Class 1 will provide an overview of the whole course and introduce the supporting
resources.