• Offered by Research School of Engineering
  • ANU College ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Course subject Engineering
  • Areas of interest Engineering
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in Second Semester 2018
     See Future Offerings
Special Topics in Engineering 2 (ENGN4521)

** Course not confirmed yet** Please make sure you have another option for enrolment. Semester 2 2016 Special Topic Course: EMBEDDED WIRELESS

    

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Knowledge Base
  1. Acquire an intuitive understanding of electromagnetism.
  2. Learn rf engineering techniques and technology.
  3. Understand how a radio works.
  4. Become familiar with common radio dsp blocks.
  5. Become familiar with LINUX and other Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).
  6. Become familiar with a range of industrial embedded radios and their general function.
Engineering Ability
  1. Critically evaluate existing and potential applications of rf.
  2. Know how to design and test rf front ends, antenna systems and to compute communications link budgets.
  3. Evaluate FOSS for the solution of engineering problems.
  4. Become acqainted with radio emission regulations.
Practical Skills
  1. Read and interpret datasheets of rf components and decide which rf components are suitable for specific applications.
  2. Design rf circuits and develop matlab models.
  3. Use open source cad tools to implement an rf circuit on a printed circuit board (PCB).
  4. Assemble a simple rf circuit.
  5. Use a spectrum analyser to perform test and measurement of rf circuits and antennas.
  6. Develop a communication system using a commercially available embedded radio.
  7. Setup and debug a radio link for the transmission of data.
Professional Skills Mapping:
Mapping of Learning Outcomes to Assessment and Professional Competencies 

Other Information

Radiofrequency (rf) and digital electronics form the engineering basis of a range of modern day
technologies. Systems as diverse as cellular mobile and satellite communications networks, GPS, DVB-T
television, WiFi, Bluetooth, radar, radio-location, RFID and magnetic resonance imaging all rely on
complex systems based on rf and digital electronics. These days, low-cost, off-the-shelf embedded
systems have become widely available and make it relatively easy for engineers to implement new solutions.

In particular, the low cost of miniaturised wireless devices running embedded processsors that are
programmable with free and open source software (FOSS) makes it possible for any engineer,
knowledgeable in radio and microprocessors, to rapidly develop and deploy wireless solutions.
Often however, successful implementation of a wireless solution may demand more than direct implementation of off-the-shelf solutions. For example, how does an engineer decide whether a frequency synthesiser employed in a commercial radio is sufficiently stable for a radar application? What does an engineer do if a FOSS package does not meet all the features demanded by a project? When should an engineer decide to build a dedicated radio front end?

Companies that adopt or adapt OEM wireless solutions often need engineers experienced in rf and digital electronics to get the job done.

Special topics ENGN4521/6521, Embedded Wireless, expands on previous courses offered by the
college by covering radiofrequency engineering and digital electronics together in the context of several realworld applications. Students completing this course will obtain a deep understanding of radiofrequency (rf) engineering, learn how to design and build an rf transceiver and be able to program and deploy off-theshelf embedded radios. Students will also learn how to program embedded microprocessors using FOSS. In labs, students will become familiar with modern radiofrequency test and measurement equipment, PCB manufacture and a low cost LINUX based embedded system.

There is no proprietory software used in the course. All RF designs are performed using scripts in
OCTAVE.

Indicative Assessment


  • Midterm exam 10%
  • Project I (mid-semester) 20%
  • Project II (end-semester) 30%
  • Exam 40%

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

2 lots of 1-hour lecture per week. Either 3 or 6 hours of Lab per week. Plus self study. Lecturer availability for questions as necessary

Requisite and Incompatibility

You will need to contact the Research School of Engineering to request a permission code to enrol in this course.

Prescribed Texts

http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~Gerard.Borg/engn4545_borg/introduction.html

Assumed Knowledge

Students should have a basic background in signal processing, MATLAB and engineering mathematics. Some prior course work in analog electronics would be beneficial but is not essential.

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
2
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500

Course fees

Domestic International
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2018 $4080
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2018 $5400
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
2018
2019
2020

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
7305 23 Jul 2018 30 Jul 2018 31 Aug 2018 26 Oct 2018 In Person N/A

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