Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Communications play an important role in diverse areas of science and technology disciplines. The demand for reliable broadband data and communications services has paved the way to proliferation of network and multimedia enabled devices and the advancement of high speed computing and wireless networking techniques. Therefore it is essential for today's communications engineers to keep up to date with these developments.

Aims

The aim of this unit is to provide you with a professional learning on advanced communication systems and underlying technologies and concepts. Technologies used for wireless broadband communications systems and efficient spectrum utilisation will also be discussed. Thus this unit will provide you with fundamental principles as well as recent developments in various communication technologies.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you will be able demonstrate:

1. Understanding of wireless channel and cellular concept
   
2. Ability to evaluate the effect of multiple transmitter and receiver diversity techniques
   
3. Application of multiple antenna systems to enhance the performance of wireless communication systems
   
4. Application of multi carrier systems for broadband wireless communications over fading channels.
   
5. Design and implementation of multi-user communications systems.

Content

1. Wireless Channels
2. Cellular Concept
3. Receiver Diversity
4. Transmitter Diversity
5. Array antenna theory
6. Multi-Carrier Systems
7. Multi-user communications/ advanced multiple access techniques
8. Cooperative and Cognitive radio systems

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Teaching Mode:
Hours per week: 3
Lecture: 2
Lab/Tutorials/Mentoring, Self-paced study sessions: 1

Learning Approaches:
There is a total of 39 hours of contact devoted to this unit comprising 26 hours of lectures, 13 hours of tutorials and labs, and general instruction including self-paced reading, formal presentations and other student-centred discussion.

Lectures are interactive with application examples and discussions. Tutorial sessions and laboratory sessions are designed to integrate theory from lectures with practice. Tutorial tasks and assessments are problem based giving you the opportunity to assess your knowledge using worked solutions.

Assessment

Assessment includes a short problem solving task, a quiz and a final exam.

You will also undertake some formative (unmarked) problem solving tasks and peer/group discussion to develop and challenge your thinking and learning skills in tutorial sessions throughout the semester.Formative feedback will occur through verbal tutor and peer group interactions throughout the semester. Written and verbal feedback will be provided for assessment results.

Assessment: Problem Solving Task
Mode of feedback: Assessment results and written feedback will be provided on your reports.
Assessment: Quiz
Mode of feedback: Feedback for your Quiz answers.
Assessment: Final Exam
Mode of feedback: oral as well as written feedback will be given on final exam scripts up on student's request.

Assessment name: Problem Solving Task
Description: You will prepare a written and illustrated report answering questions provided to you in the handout.
Relates to objectives: 1-5
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 13

Assessment name: Quiz/Test
Description: You will individually apply discipline knowledge to solve specific problems covered in the main content of the unit.
Relates to objectives: 1-3
Weight: 20%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 7

Assessment name: Examination (written)
Description: You will individually apply discipline knowledge to solve specific problems covered in the main content of the unit.
Relates to objectives: 1-5
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: End of semester

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Recommended Books

1. Glisic, Savo and Lorenzo Beatriz, ¿Advanced Wireless Networks: Conginitive, Cooperative & Oppertunistic 4G¿ Wiley, Hoboken, ISBN: 9780470745731, 2009.
   
   
2. Arunabha Ghosh, Jun Zhang, Jeffrey G. Andrews and Rias Muhamed, ¿Fundamentals of LTE¿ Prentice Hall, 2010.
   
   
3. Marvin K. Simon and Mohamed-Slim Alouini, ¿Digital Communications over fading channels¿, John Wiley and Sons, 2005.
   
   
4. Frank B. Gross, ¿Smart Antennas for Wireless Communications With Matlab¿, McGraw-Hill, 2005.
   
   
5. Hermann, Rohling, ¿OFDM Concepts for Future Communications Systems¿ e-book available through QUT Library.
   
   
6. Janaswamy, Ramakrishna, ¿Radio wave propagation and smart antenna for wireless communications¿ Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001.

Various other references will also be advised during lectures. Additional material will be made available through Blackboard website

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Risk assessment statement

You will undertake lectures in the classrooms and lecture theatres. As such, there are no extraordinary workplace health and safety issues associated with these components of the unit. The unit will require you to work in the software laboratories at QUT and to perform the safety inductions for these laboratories. You are also required to follow the Health and Safety protocols associated with software laboratory work.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 23-May-2012