Communication theory
Objectives and Contextualisation
A communications system in general consists of the following blocks: source, source encoder, channel encoder, modulator, channel, demodulator, channel decoder, source decoder and recipient. During the Foundations of Communications course, the emphasis was placed on the study of the modulator, channel and demodulator. In this course, first of all, they will be remembered and some new aspects of modulation and demodulation will be seen, but above all the other blocks of the system will be studied in depth, paying special attention to the characterization of the sources at the level of Information theory, compression using source codes and correction of errors introduced by the channel through channel encoding.
The specific objectives are to:
Consolidate the knowledge about modulations and demodulations, and describe some more advanced techniques than the previous courses.
Dimension communication systems from the point of view of probability of error (coding).
Analyze the flow of information throughout the communications system using the concepts of information theory.
Understand the fundamental limits given by the theory of information.
Encode fonts to reduce redundancy.
Become knowledgeable of the main methods of channel coding and its operating principles.
Competences
Apply deterministic and stochastic signal processing techniques to the design of communication subsystems and data analysis.
Communication
Design and dimension multiuser communication systems using the principles of communication theory under the restrictions imposed by the specifications and the need to provide a quality service.
Develop personal attitude.
Develop personal work habits.
Develop thinking habits.
Draft, develop and sign projects in the field of telecommunications engineering that, depending on the speciality, are aimed at the conception, development or exploitation of telecommunication and electronic networks, services and applications.
Learn new methods and technologies, building on basic technological knowledge, to be able to adapt to new situations.
Resolve problems with initiative and creativity. Make decisions. Communicate and transmit knowledge, skills and abilities, in awareness of the ethical and professional responsibilities involved in a telecommunications engineer's work.
Work in a multidisciplinary group and in a multilingual environment, and communicate, both in writing and orally, knowledge, procedures, results and ideas related with telecommunications and electronics.
Work in a team.
Learning Outcomes
Autonomously associate new knowledge and techniques that are adequate for conceiving, developing or exploiting telecommunication systems and services, with special emphasis on data transmission.
Be able to analyse, encode, process and transmit multimedia information employing analogue and digital signal processing techniques.
Classify the advantages and disadvantages of different technological alternatives for deploying or implementing communication systems in terms of digital source compression, channel coding and security mechanisms.
Combine different technological alternatives to propose data transmission systems that are optimised for features of the application scenario.
Communicate efficiently, orally and in writing, knowledge, results and skills, both professionally and to non-expert audiences.
Critically evaluate the work done.
Describe, develop, analyse and optimise the different blocks of a data transmission system.
Develop critical thinking and reasoning.
Develop curiosity and creativity.
Develop independent learning strategies.
Develop scientific thinking.
Develop the capacity for analysis and synthesis.
Differentiate and classify the main source coding and compression algorithms.
Differentiate the blocks and functionalities of a complete data transmission system.
Discuss and apply cryptography systems designed to improve the security of a communication system.
Distinguish the fundamental parameters of a complete data transmission oriented communications system.
Efficiently use ICT for the communication and transmission of ideas and results.
Identify the minimum requirements for the communication of reliable and secure digital data.
Interpret the fundamental limits of information theory.
Judge and criticise, both orally and in writing, different reliable and secure concepts, methods and techniques for digital data transmission.
Manage available time and resources.
Plan the design process as part of a digital communication systems team with emphasis on source compression, data coding and secure message transmission.
Prevent and solve problems.
Recognise different multiuser access techniques and choose the best solutions in accordance with the communication scenario.
Understand and illustrate the main methods of channel coding and its operative principles.
Use communication and computer applications (office automation, databases, advanced calculation, project management, display, etc.) to support the design of data transmission systems and facilitate posterior technological transfer.
Use the concepts of systems of data source code compression and secure digital message transmission in single-user and multiuser systems.
Work autonomously.
Work cooperatively.
Work in an organised manner.
Content
1. Definitions and basic properties to the theory of information
Introduction to data transmission systems
Detection and need of source and channel codings.
Logical channel
Entropy, relative entropy, mutuall information.
Inequality of data processing. Fano inequality.
Property of asymptotic equipartition.
2. Source coding and data compression
Type of source codes and properties.
Source coding theorem (1st Shannon theorem).
Huffman coding.
Shannon-Fano-Elias coding.
Lemple-Ziv coding.
3. Channel capacity
Type and characterization of the channel. Channel capacity.
Channel coding theorem (2nd Shannon theorem).
Differential entropy.
Gaussian channel capacity.
4. Block codes
Properties of linear block codes. Systematic codes.
Generating and parity matrices.
Basic block codes (Hamming, repetition, maximum length, BCH, Reed-Salomon).
Decoding and probability of error.
Cyclic codes.
Concatenation of codes and advanced codification (LDPC).
5. Convolucional codes
Properties of convolutional codes.
Representation and description of codes. States diagram and trellis.
Types of codes. Systematic codes. Recursive codes.
Probability of error and performance. Free distance. BER.
Optimum decoding (MLSE). Viterbi algorithm.
Presential
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Communication theory
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HaDEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. The statements made herein do not necessarily have the consent or agreement of the ASTRAIOS Consortium. These represent the opinion and findings of the author(s).
