https://wireless.ee.ucla.edu/cosmos/
Instructors
Lara Dolecek, Professor, Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and of Mathematics, UCLA, dolecek@ee.ucla.edu
Ian Roberts, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UCLA, ianroberts@ucla.edu
Coursework Prerequisites
The prerequisite for this class is Algebra 2. Students should also be somewhat familiar with vectors, matrices, and basic probability. Basic exposure to any programming language is preferred, but not required. However, in an effort to make this cluster inclusive, students will be introduced to any relevant Python programming that is necessary, throughout the course via dedicated modules. It is expected that students who are new to programming will complete required background materials provided by the instructors.
Course Description
How does NASA communicate with the Voyager space probe over 15 billion miles from Earth? How does this relate to QR codes and .zip files? How do Wi-Fi and 5G deliver real-time video using wireless signals? In this cluster, we will explore how information is stored, protected, and reliably communicated in today’s increasingly digital world. Whether you are sending a text, streaming a video, or making an online purchase, information is constantly being transported from one point to another. How do we make sure that this information does not get lost, corrupted, or intercepted along the way? You will learn how special techniques are used to protect privacy, compress data, and detect and even fix errors when storing and communicating information. Then, you will learn how a transmitter encodes this data onto a wireless signal and how a receiver can reliably extract this data from that signal. This cluster will provide you with a deeper understanding of the mathematics and technologies underpinning the ongoing Information Age through hands-on learning, field trips around Los Angeles, the implementation of an end-to-end wireless communication system using software-defined radios.
Structure
This 4-week course will be divided into two 2-week sections. The first two weeks will focus on information coding techniques. The second two weeks will focus on communication of information using wireless signals. Lectures will be given each weekday morning for 2.5 hours by UCLA faculty, followed by a break for lunch. Afterwards, 4 hours of lab work with the teaching assistant will be used to reinforce lecture material through hands-on exercises, programming assignments, and course project modules. Through this lab work, students will have the opportunity to work individually and in groups. The course will culminate with a final project where students will employ the skills and knowledge attained throughout the entire cluster to implement a reliable end-to-end wireless communication system using software-defined radios.
Final Project
At the culmination of this cluster, students will have the opportunity to implement an end-to-end wireless communication system, as illustrated in the cluster description, fully integrating all of the concepts learned throughout the cluster. Successful completion of the final project will result in transmitting and receiving an image over the air, from one point to another across the UCLA campus, using software-defined radios. Accomplishing this will require each team of students to develop and implement in Python the core coding and signal processing building blocks of a transmitter and receiver.
Possible Field Trips
During the first three weeks of the cluster, the instructors plan to take advantage of UCLA’s proximity to prominent organizations specializing in information and communication technology. These visits will not only motivate and excite students but also supplement their classroom learning. The instructors have planned for the following field trips.
Google Venice: The cluster will visit the Google Office in Venice, CA, where students will have the opportunity to see first-hand how Google/Alphabet employs mathematical tools from information/coding theory in their many products and services, including state-of-the-art quantum information systems.
NASA JPL: The cluster will visit NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA, where students will meet engineers that create, control, and communicate with deep space satellites. Students will be exposed to information coding and signal processing techniques that enable reliable wireless communication with space probes that are over 15 billion miles away.