18-452 / 18-750 Wireless Networks and Applications

Spring 2022


This course introduces fundamental concepts of wireless networks. The design of wireless networks is influenced heavily by how signals travel through space, so the course starts with an introduction to the wireless physical layer, presented in a way that is accessible to a broad range of students. The focus of the course is wireless MAC concepts including CSMA, TDMA/FDMA, and CDMA. It also covers a broad range of wireless networking standards, and reviews important wireless network application areas (e.g., sensor networks, vehicular) and other applications of wireless technologies (e.g., GPS, RFID, sensing, etc.). Finally, we will touch on public policy issues, e.g., as related to spectrum use.

Some of the material on the web site is from the Spring 2021 edition of the course. It will be updated with the Spring 2022 material throughout the semester.

This course is has both a graduate and undergraduate section. This semester, the course is only offered on the Pittsburgh campus.

The course will specifically cover:

All information regarding this course will be posted on this web page so please check the page regularly. We use Gradescope for submitting homeworks, and Piazza for discussion on homeworks and project 1. Recordings of the lectures and recitations will be posted on Gradescope. The current plan is that both the midterm and final will be in-person.

Prerequisites: 18-213 or 15-213 (for 18-452) or 15-513 (for 18-750) or evidence that you have the equivalent background. C and/or Java programming skills may be needed for the project.

News

Useful Links

Instructor

Prof. Peter Steenkiste
E-mail: prs AT cs.cmu.edu
Office: Gates 9111 ( Zoom when remote)
Office Hours: Monday 11-noon, Friday 10:30-11:30

Teaching Assistant

Ahn Le Hoang
E-mail: alehoang AT andrew.cmu.edu
Office: Porter Hall PH-B48 (ECE MS Suite);
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 3-4pm

Course Assistants

ECE course management assistant:

Michele Passerrello
E-mail: mpasserr AT andrew.cmu.edu
Office: HH 1112

Course assistant (for appointments)

Trace Farbacher
E-mail: tracyf AT cs.cmu.edu
Office: virtual

Textbook

The textbook for the course is "Wireless Communication Networks and Systems", Cory Beard and William Stallings, Pearson, first edition, 2015. It does not cover all the course material, but it is the "best fit".

Course schedule

Lectures are Monday and Wednesday, 2:30-4:20pm EDT in BH 255A. Recitations sessions are on Friday, 11:50am-1:10pm EDT in GHC 4215. Not all recitation slots are used so please check the schedule below.

The schedule below is a tentative schedule for Spring 2022. The slides are those used in Spring 2021 and will be updated as the semester progresses. The course content will be roughly the same, except for updates on newer technologies and standards.

To access some of the papers of the surveys, you may need a CMU IP address, i.e., you need to be on campus or use a VPN.

; Q and A midterm br>.
Week of Monday Wednesday Friday
Jan 17 No class - MLK day 1. Course overview and wireless introduction 2. Wireless challenges and signals
Jan 24 3. Physical layer: basics 4. Physical layer: modulation 5. Physical layer: diversity
Jan 31 6. Recitation: Project 1; Physical layer: OFDM 7. Wireless MAC Recitation: Project 2, Survey overview ; catch up lectures
Feb 7 8. WiFi basics 9. WiFi 10. WiFi Versions
Feb 14 11. Today's Wifi - paper
Optional: FAQ 802.11 futures
12. Ad Hoc Networks 13. Cellular 1
Feb 21 14. Cellular 2 15. Cellular 3 16. Cellular 4
Feb 28 17. Cellular 5G catch up 18. Midterm (lectures 1-13) Spring break
Mar 7 Spring break Spring break Spring break
Mar 14 19. Wireless and the Internet 20. Wireless and the Internet: TCP , PAN 21. PAN, Sensor networking, RFID
Mar 21 22 Sensor networking, RFID 23. RFID , Localization 24. Lecture DSA
Mar 28 No Class No class No class
Apr 4 No class No class No class: Carnival.
Apr 11 No class No class No class
Apr 18 25. Student survey presentations (18 min slots):
Localization
Low power wireless
5G - Milimeter networking
Spectrum auctions
Optimizing 5G deployments
Mobile user experience
26. Student survey presentations (18 min slots):
Internet in the sky
Wireless Security
Vehicular offloading
WiFi sensing
C2V networking
No class
Apr 25 27. Project presentations No class Recitation: Canceled

Assignments

Four homeworks will be assigned throughout the course. Homeworks will be posted and submitted using Canvas or Gradescope. The project also includes two projects and a survey, each involving a number of deadlines as described below.

The course has a midterm and a final. The midterm will be in the week before spring break during class time. It is closed book and will cover the material in lectures 1-13. The final will be during finals week, on a date and time posted by the registrar.

Project

The educational objectives of the course project include the ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering; to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data; to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within real-world constraints; the ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams; and to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems.

This will be achieved using two hands-on projects that are executed by teams of 2 (sometimes 3) students. The first project will be a small measurement project to gain a better understanding of the properties of wireless channels. The second project involves the design, implementation, and evaluation of a wireless system. Details on the projects will be discussed in class.

Survey presentations

Two-three lectures in the course will be dedicated to more advanced topics. Teams of two students will prepare and present one survey. More details on the survey assignment, including list of topics, can be found in the Survey Handout. That page also includes a list of papers for each topic.

The survey lectures are part of the course, and the material presented in the presentations will be covered in the homeworks and final. Specifically, the slides used in the survey presentation and one of the papers on the reading list, should be studied to prepare for the final. Both the slides and the selected paper can be found in the table with the course schedule.

The education goals for the survey presentations include a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning; and an ability to communicate effectively.

Regrading

If you think we made a mistake in grading, please return the assignment with a note explaining your concern to the course secretary no later than two weeks after the day the assignment was returned. We will have the question re-graded by the person responsible for grading that question.

Late Policy

Assignments that are handed in late will be assessed a 15% penalty per day. No assignment will be accepted more than two days late.

If you have a documented medical problem that prevents you from handing an assignment in on time, we will work with you to find a suitable replacement turn-in time. "Documented" means that you have a medical note, e.g., from a doctor or the health center. Similar arrangements can be made for other emergencies if they are documented (e.g., an e-mail from your advisor). Scheduled absences, e.g., interviews or vacations, are not an acceptable justification for extentions.

Academic Integrity

Students at Carnegie Mellon are engaged in preparation for professional activity of the highest standards. Each profession constrains its members with both ethical responsibilities and disciplinary limits. To assure the validity of the learning experience a university establishes clear standards for student work, as described in the document on Academic Integrity. These rules will be strictly enforced in this course.

If you drop the course it is your responsibility to notify the instructor and your team member(s) in your project and survey team as soon as possible. Losing a team member is very disruptive to the rest of the team, so it is important that we can adjust the team as quickly as possible.

Grading

Grades will be determined based on homeworks (10%), projects (5% and 25%), survey talk (10%), and 2 exams (20% midterm and 30% final).