A Mobile Platform Using Software Defined Radios For Wireless Communication Systems Experimentation

A distinctive feature of wireless communication systems is implied by the fact that there is no physical connection between the transmitter and its corresponding receiver, which enables user mobility. However, experimenting with wireless communication systems is mostly done in the lab, where transmitters and receivers are setup on benches, in stationary settings. This prevents students from experiencing fading and other propagation effects associated with mobile wireless channels. This paper describes a mobile platform for wireless communication experimentation that enables students to run experiments beyond the confines of a traditional lab, in realistic settings that cover indoor and outdoor scenarios with both fixed and mobile propagation characteristics. The platform presented consists of a Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) from National Instruments to implement the transmitter, an affordable RTL-SDR USB dongle to implement the receiver, a laptop computer used to program the SDR boards, and equipment for visualizing radio signal characteristics such as a portable spectrum analyzer or oscilloscope. This choice results in a moderate overall cost for the radio hardware required by the platform, which can be easily programmed using open source software such as GNU Radio as well as software packages like Matlab or LabView. For experimentation in wireless scenarios with low mobility (both indoors and outdoors, corresponding to walking speeds) the transmitter and receiver may be placed on push carts, while for higher mobility they may be placed on university owned golf carts moving at faster speeds on the designated campus routes. Furthermore, mobile transmitters and receivers may also be placed in cars driving on the campus streets and through the university parking lots/garages to enable experiments simulating vehicle to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications

Integration of a wireless sensor network project for introductory circuits and systems teaching

This paper presents an integration of a wireless sensor network design project in an introductory course about circuits and systems. In the project, students will design a wireless sensor network that constitutes of sensors, for a creative surveillance application. Through a versatile project vehicle, project-oriented learning modules, a comprehensive assessment strategy and public learning communities, students can learn contemporary concepts of circuits and systems from the system perspective, as well as develop ability to design a basic electronic system. © 2013 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Senior Elective Communications Systems Courses as Pathways to Capstone Projects in Electrical Engineering Technology Program

In any engineering program the capstone project is the most comprehensive work completed by the students, and is regarded as the pinnacle of their engineering studies, with all their course work culminating with this major design, implementation and reporting product. Coming up with the actual topic of the project is sometimes the most difficult part of the project, especially in programs where the project topics are not solely proposed by the faculty, and they are for the student and advisor to develop together. This is especially the case of engineering technology programs, where a large percentage of students have work background (either from military training or industry, as interns or full-time employees) to which they can relate their senior projects, and the programs allow and encourage them to apply their coursework studies to application areas where they have strong hands-on skills. While core courses of any curriculum provide the foundation of the engineering education, the elective courses give the students the chance to refine their education path and focus on the area of their interest. Senior elective courses are defining the areas of specialization within a major, and they may also serve as grounds for the students to explore potential options for the capstone project, and to have the opportunity to get a good starting point for it, ahead of the capstone semester. In this paper, the senior level courses specific to communication systems area of concentration within an electrical engineering technology program are discussed, their course content and the term projects included, and how they offer venues to capstone project choices. The paper presents specific examples of how these course projects gave students successful pathways for capstone projects. The course content that can be covered by the curriculum of an undergraduate technology program is somehow limited, especially for a broad field such as communication systems, and beyond the fundamental theories, the courses can go in more details only on very few narrow areas. Therefore, with a term project in an elective course, students have the opportunity of a semester of deeper study of a topic of their choice, and the learnings and new skills developed can be later applied for the completion of a capstone project. The paper also discusses students’ opinions on the option of developing initial results or skills as part of a course project and continuing such project into a senior project, as well as how their topic selection is related to their background, previous experience and future goals

Upgrading of a Data Communication and Computer Networks Course in Engineering Technology Program

Data network communications is traditionally a course offered by computer engineering technology curricula, with the primary objective to introduce to the fundamental concepts in data communication and computer networks, as well as some level of hands-on component related to this area. Typical topics in such courses are the layered model of data communication, specifically the OSI seven-layered model, Internet routing, communication standards, protocols and technologies, and learning methods used to design the network and send data over the network in a secure manner. In the last decades, the data communication and applications have grown and become ubiquitous in both industry and people\u27s everyday life, alongside with increasing data rates and emerging broadband technologies, i.e., Internet access technologies. The ability to connect with other computers, remote systems, and mobile devices is also contributing to the increased number of applications in our daily life. Consequently, courses related to computer networks become imperative for students in engineering technology programs, as they are essential in preparing the students for the level of technology required on the current job market. However, it is challenging to keep up in classrooms with today\u27s industry requirements for graduates in terms of both content and hands-on activities. Firstly, the course content should be updated with emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, 5G, cybersecurity, etc. The knowledge of emerging communication technologies is crucial for student\u27s awareness of new trends and to prepare them for the industry, especially telecommunication and Information Technology (IT) sectors. Secondly, the course should cover hands-on activities that are aligned with the theoretical upgrades introduced in the class. Such activities should include the use of network analyzer tools for network analysis and communications protocol development, as well as a network simulator to provide students with a technology development environment for network design, troubleshooting, and protocol modeling in a simulated environment. Following these considerations, this paper presents the way the Data Network Communications course was updated as part of an overall curriculum revision in an Electrical Engineering Technology program. The paper discusses the course topics, the course objectives, and the software tools introduced to support the hands-on activities in the class, including the Wireshark software tool, for network troubleshooting, profiling network traffic and analyzing packets. The paper also presents the way the course was received by students, as well as lessons learned after the first semester of offering it in the new format and the modifications planned for future semesters

CAREER: Data Management for Ad-Hoc Geosensor Networks

This project explores data management methods for geosensor networks, i.e. large collections of very small, battery-driven sensor nodes deployed in the geographic environment that measure the temporal and spatial variations of physical quantities such as temperature or ozone levels. An important task of such geosensor networks is to collect, analyze and estimate information about continuous phenomena under observation such as a toxic cloud close to a chemical plant in real-time and in an energy-efficient way. The main thrust of this project is the integration of spatial data analysis techniques with in-network data query execution in sensor networks. The project investigates novel algorithms such as incremental, in-network kriging that redefines a traditional, highly computationally intensive spatial data estimation method for a distributed, collaborative and incremental processing between tiny, energy and bandwidth constrained sensor nodes. This work includes the modeling of location and sensing characteristics of sensor devices with regard to observed phenomena, the support of temporal-spatial estimation queries, and a focus on in-network data aggregation algorithms for complex spatial estimation queries. Combining high-level data query interfaces with advanced spatial analysis methods will allow domain scientists to use sensor networks effectively in environmental observation. The project has a broad impact on the community involving undergraduate and graduate students in spatial database research at the University of Maine as well as being a key component of a current IGERT program in the areas of sensor materials, sensor devices and sensor. More information about this project, publications, simulation software, and empirical studies are available on the project\u27s web site (http://www.spatial.maine.edu/~nittel/career/)

Engineering News, Fall 2019

https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/eng_news/1043/thumbnail.jp

Planning and Assessment of a Workshop on Undergraduate Education in Biometric Systems

Biometrics is the science of recognizing and authenticating people using their physiological features. Border and immigration control, restricted access to facilities and information systems, cybersecurity, crime investigations and forensic analysis are just a few of the primary application areas of biometrics used by commercial, government and law enforcement agencies. The global biometrics market has a compound annual growth rate of 21.3 percent. There is much research interest in different biometric systems and this has led to increasing efforts in ensuring that biometrics is taught at the undergraduate level. The authors are in the final year of an NSF TUES Type 2 grant that is based on the theme of vertically integrating biometrics experiments throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Three universities have joined together in this effort. This paper is about the planning and assessment of a 3 day workshop that is based on the NSF funded effort. Fifteen faculty from across the country participated in this workshop. Undergraduate and graduate students also attended. The key points of the workshop included invited lectures and hands-on laboratory activities. The invited lectures included a tutorial on biometrics, detailed lectures on speaker recognition and a lecture on how to assess an educational intervention. The hands-on activities were presented such that the attending faculty could take them back to their respective universities. They were based on the following learning outcomes: • Enhanced application of math skills • Enhanced software implementation skills • Enhanced interest in biometrics • Enhanced ability to analyze experimental results • Enhanced communication skills • Comprehension of the importance of vertical integration, in that students realize that their experiences are part of a flow that contributes to a unified knowledge base. The workshop assessment results are very positive with respect to organization, quality of the invited lectures, quality of the hands-on activities and the social program

TechNews digests: Jan - Mar 2010

TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month

UMaine Engineering

Promotional magazine for the University of Maine\u27s College of Engineering. This issue explores the energy generation and energy transmission-related engineering programs being conducted by faculty, staff, and students with the College of Engineering. Topics include the College of Engineering\u27s response to COVID-19, particle research in aquaculture, Evergreen AI, and harnessing off-shore wind power.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/umaine_today/1078/thumbnail.jp

Serious Toys: Teaching Computer Science Concepts to Pre-Collegiate Students

Advancements in science and engineering have driven innovation in the United States for more than two centuries. The last several decades have brought to the forefront the importance of such innovation to our domestic and global economies. To continue to succeed in this information-based, technologically advanced society, we must ensure that the next generation of students are developing computational thinking skills beyond what was acceptable in past years. Computational thinking represents a collection of structured problem solving skills that cross-cut educational disciplines. There is significant future value in introducing these skills as early as practical in students\u27 academic careers. Over the past four years, we have developed, piloted, and evaluated a series of outreach modules designed to introduce fundamental computing concepts to young learners. Each module is based on a small embedded device a \u27serious toy\u27 designed to simultaneously engage visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners through lectures, visual demonstrations, and hands-on activities. We have piloted these modules with more than 770 students, and the evaluation results show that the program is having a positive impact. The evaluation instruments for our pilots consist of pre- and post-attitudinal surveys and pre- and post-quizzes. The surveys are designed to assess student attitudes toward computer science and student self-efficacy with respect to the material covered. The quizzes are designed to assess students\u27 content understanding. In this dissertation, we describe the modules and associated serious toys. We also describe the module evaluation methods, the pilot groups, and the results for each pilot study