Academic Staff / Research areas; Research Groups; Call for paper; Journals; Major IEEE ComSoc Conferences; ACM Proceedings; Publications in EE; Technical writing skill; members only / Postdoctorate Fellowship, / Postgraduate programs in EE, Application and Finance in EE / Postgraduate programs in CS / Postgraduate courses; Undergraduate courses; 2006Schedule; 2006Calendar / Teaching and Research Facilities / Sponsors
Studies and Research in Broadband Communications /
Telecommunications / Wireless Networks at UCT
The ability to communicate through a high speed network at an affordable price is important to people, business, and industry in every country that wants to compete in the global market in this Information Age. Within the general areas of broadband communication, UCT offers both courses and research opportunities in the electrical engineering and computer science departments. The electrical engineering department offers PhD and MSc (Electrical Engineering) by research. The MSc (Engineering) in Electrical Engineering may also be by thesis research supplemented by coursework. Research in the general areas of broadband communication includes several research groups in areas of data communication, telecommunication, data network architecture, wireless networks, satellite communication, and speech technology.
The curriculum consists of both postgraduate and undergraduate level courses, and thesis research guided by the faculty.
Academic Staff:
Professors:
Edwin Blake (Department of
Computer Science)
Mike Inggs (Department of
Electrical Engineering)
Pieter S Kritzinger (Department
of Computer Science)
Visiting Professor:
Associate Professors:
Mqhele Dlodlo
(Department of Electrical Engineering)
Gary Marsden (Department of
Computer Science)
Senior Lecturers:
Alexandru Murgu
(Department of Electrical Engineering)
Andrew Hutchison (Department
of Computer Science)
Neco Ventura (Department
of Electrical Engineering)
Hussein Suleman (Department of
Computer Science)
Yoann Paichard
(Department of Electrical Engineering)
Andrew Wilkinson
(Department of Electrical Engineering)
Postdoctorate:
The Department of Electrical Engineering at University of Cape Town is interested in hosting Claude Leon Foundation postdoctoral fellows to expand the research efforts in emerging technologies and applications in communication networks and telecommunication (http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/commnetwork/), which are fast growing in South Africa. The postdoctorate will assist the research group in leading a team of talented PhD and masters students in research and will publish joint work in journals and in major international conferences. It is an opportunity to contribute significantly to the much needed research that can ICT-enable developing countries, while further substantiating one's expertise as an international leader in the field. The term is no more than 2 years after which one should be well prepared for academic positions or other leadership research positions.
Interested candidates with strong research experience and skills in relevant areas are encouraged to contact the research group and also apply for the postdoctoral fellowship from the Claude Leon Foundation. (http://www.leonfoundation.co.za)
Early application is necessary. PhD students expecting to graduate within a year are welcome to start contacting individual academic staff (http://web.uct.ac.ca/depts/commnetwork/) for a possible match of research interests. The individual academic staff and the department head can support your application by hosting the Fellowship with matched research interests.
Research areas:
Broadband Data /
Communications Networks:
Computer Networks;
Digital Divide;
Distributed Virtual Environments;
Human Language Technologies (HLT in HCI);
IP Multimedia Subsystem;
Multimedia and Voice of IP;
Multiservice Platform;
Next Generation Network;
Network Architecture;
Network Availability and Reliability;
Network Convergence;
Network Management;
Network Performance; Network Evaluation
Network Security;
Optical Burst Switching;
Quality of Service;
Soft-switch;
Transmission Networks
RF and Microwave:
Fields and Waves;
Filter;
Microwave Systems and Circuits;
Radar Remote Sensing;
Satellite Systems
Wireless
Communication and Networks:
3G Wireless; 4G Wireless
ad hoc Wireless Sensor Area Network
IFDMA, IOFDMA, CDMA: Multiuser detection in FEC coded and uncoded MA systems;
Channel coding: Efficient error correction coding and Iterative decoding;
Diversity: Space-time block (STB) coding;
UMTS;
IEEE802.11 WirelessLAN; IEEE802.16 WiMAX; IEEE802.20
Interworking of different wireless networks;
Mobility;
QoS and Security in future wireless networks;
Speech processing;
Cognitive communications;
Voice and Multimedia over IP in Wireless
Research Groups:
Center
of Excellence in Broadband Networks and Applications ; Communications Research Group
The increasing use of high speed communication network requires research to
increase the competitiveness of many businesses and industries. Research areas
include next generation network, optical burst switching, 3G/4G and next
generation wireless networks, IP multimedia subsystem, ad hoc and sensor
networks, mobility, quality of service, security, billing, interworking, CDMA,
channel coding, diversity, MIMO.
Collaborative Visual Computing /
Advanced Information Management
Research areas include: Mobile digital library; universal web service; rural
tele-health; and multimedia over mobile devices.
Data Network
Architectures Group
Research areas include: service oriented computer architecture, software
engineering, and storage systems.
Radar
Remote Sensing Group
Research aims at applying radar and radar signal processing techniques to
instrumentation problems. It is also participating in the Karroo Array
Telescope (KAT) research program.
Speech
Technology Research Group
Research focuses on the human language technology which is a combination of cognitive
communications, speech research and human languages. Main areas
of interest are text to speech and speaker recognition with applications to multilingual education, the
issues of the digital divide and the indigenous South
African languages.
Postgraduate
Programs
Information for Postgraduate programs, Application and Finance, in the Department of Electrical Engineering may be found at http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/commnetwork/postgraduatestudies.html
Information for Postgraduate programs in the Department of Computer Science may be found at http://www.cs.uct.ac.za/newstudents/postgrad.html
Courses
There is a wide range of different courses in broadband communication at UCT. The courses combine the analytic strength from the academia with the practical experience from the industry. The course materials are constantly updated to reflect the fast changes in these areas.
Besides taking the general courses in electrical engineering, students may take the following courses in order to master the field.
Undergraduate courses:
Courses with subfix F are offered in the First semester (Feb-May) each year.
Courses with subfix S are offered in the Second semester (Aug-Nov) each year.
Postgraduate courses:
Please also check the website of the Department of Electrical Engineering for a partial list of courses.
Postgraduate
courses: courses offered in the first semester (Feb-June) and second semester
(Aug-Nov) are indicated in the table above.
EEE5025Z
(15 SAQA credits) / CSC400W: Wireless Data Networks and Systems:
Wireless network technoloy: wireless applications, wireless links, mobility in
different wireless systems, wireless security.
Wirless network systems: Architecture, components, protocols, and standards;
Cellular technology, GSM and General Packet Radio Service 2.5G Wireless, 3G
Wireless: UMTS and CDMA2000, 3.5G and 4G Wireless, WirelessLAN, Bluetooth, ad
hoc networks, Sensor area networks.
Course webpage: http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/commnetwork/eee5025/
EEE5026Z
(15 SAQA credits): Convergent Telecommunication and Data Networks:
Network Convergence: Network Overview, Telecommunication standards, Network
evolution from Telecommunication network to IP network, API.
Voice in Telecommunication: Transmission, Multiplexing, Signaling, Routing,
Switching.
Broadband access network: Cable modem, DSL, Fiber-To-The-Home.
Multimedia in data network: Network requirements for multimedia services, QoS
in Voice network, Coding, Signaling in data network H.323/SIP/MGCP,
Internetworking with PSTN, Transport in data network (including RTP, MPLS),
Voice over Frame Relay, Voice over ATM, Voice over IP, FAX over data network.
Course webpage: http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/commnetwork/eee5026/
EEE5027Z
(15 SAQA credits) / CSC400W: Networks and Internet Security:
Security services; conventional encryption (classical encryption techniques,
DES/AES, key distribution, key generation); public-key cryptology (RSA
algorithm, key management, certification hierarchies); authentication and
digital signatures; LDAP directory services for authentication &
authorization ; security protocol analysis; intruders, viruses and worms
(intrusion detection); cryptographic algorithms (MD5, SHA, IDEA, SKIPJACK);
authentication and key exchange (Kerberos, Diffie-Hellman); electronic mail
security (PEM/PGP); world-wide web authentication (Basic, Digest, Mediated,
RPA); world-wide web security (S-HTTP, SSL, capabilities); secure electronic
commerce (SET/iKP); web-services security (WS-Security, SAML)
EEE5028Z
(15 SAQA credits): Optical Communication Networks:
Propagation of Signals in optical fiber; photonic components, free-space
communication, optoelectronic and all-optical systems; Modulation and
demodulation, transmission system engineering; Client layers of the optical
layer; WDM network elements; WDM network design; Control and management; Network
survivability; Access networks; Photonic packet switching.
EEE5029Z
(15 SAQA credits) / CSC400W: Broadband communication networks
High-speed switching and router, MPLS, ATM; High speed Metropolitan area
networks, high speed local area networks; Traffic control in high speed
networks, performance considerations in high speed networks, multimedia
transmission.
Course webpage: http://crg.ee.uct.ac.za/~eee403s
EEE5030Z
(15 SAQA credits) / CSC400W: Formal Methods and Analysis of Computer Network
Basic Markov theory and queuing theory, Poisson processes and Bernoulli and
Poisson Modulated Markov Processes for network traffic models. Finite state
machine methods with SDL, UML, MSC. Also modelling network protocols with
Ordinary and Stochastic Petri nets, process algebras and LOTOS.
EEE5032Z
(20 SAQA credits): Digital Communications
Propagation: radio wave propagation, antenna gain, channel characteristics,
multipath fading and signal modelling, Fresnel zones, link budgeting,
instrumentation and measurements, delay spread measurements.
Modulation-Demodulation Methods: Advances in baseband and bandpass digital
modulation, MODEM architectures and performance, noise and interference, modem
performance for coherent and non-coherent systems without coding, multilevel
modems, adaptive equalisation, synchronisation.
Error Control Coding: the error control problem, interleaving, block coding,
convolutional coding, advanced error control coding, effects of coding on
throughput, automatic repeat request; trade-offs between modulation and coding.
Spread-Spectrum Systems: elements of spread-spectrum systems, pseudo-noise
sequences, direct sequence spread-spectrum system performance, direct sequence
and frequency hopping code division multiple access, synchronisation,
applications, detection and estimation.
Diversity Techniques: diversity branch and signal paths, techniques for
combining and switching, antenna diversity and space-time coding, performance
improvement.
Optical Communication Systems: optical fibre fundamentals, modulation schemes,
line codes, wavelength division multiplexing.
Systems Engineering: concepts, access schemes, performance comparison of advanced
modulation techniques, radio link design, spectrum utilisation, capacity and
throughput, digital wireless personal communications.
EEE5051Z
(10 SAQA credits): Applications of Digital Signal Processing
General introduction to concepts and methods used in computer vision. Image
representation and fundamentals of image formation. Multidimensional signal
processing.
Speech technology and speech processing. Representing and processing speech
signals.
Principles of radar and radar signal processing. Digital signal processing
techniques for radar.
Fourth year
undergraduate courses:
EEE4002F
(20 SAQA credits): Telecommunication and Data Networks
Lectures are concurrent with the 2 postgraduate courses EEE5025Z: Wireless Data
Networks and Systems and EEE5026Z: Convergent Telecommunication and Data
Networks in year 2005, but the assessments are different.
EEE4003S
(10 SAQA credits): Broadband Networks
Lectures are concurrent with the postgraduate course EEE5029Z: Broadband
communication networks, but the assessments are different.
Lectures are concurrent with the postgraduate course EEE5028Z: Optical
communication networks, but the assessments are different.
EEE4086F
(20 SAQA credits): Rf and Microwave Systems
Course website: http://web.uct.ac.za/courses/rfmicrosys/
EEE4026Z
(20 SAQA credits): Digital Communication Engineering
Propagation: radio wave propagation, antenna gain, channel characteristics,
multipath fading and signal modelling, Fresnel zones, link budgeting, instrumentation
and measurements, delay spread measurements.
Modulation-Demodulation Methods: Advances in baseband and bandpass digital
modulation, MODEM architectures and performance, noise and interference, modem
performance for coherent and non-coherent systems without coding, multilevel
modems, adaptive equalisation, synchronisation.
Error Control Coding: the error control problem, interleaving, block coding,
convolutional coding, advanced error control coding, effects of coding on
throughput, automatic repeat request; trade-offs between modulation and coding.
Spread-Spectrum Systems: elements of spread-spectrum systems, pseudo-noise
sequences, direct sequence spread-spectrum system performance, direct sequence
and frequency hopping code division multiple access, synchronisation,
applications, detection and estimation.
Diversity Techniques: diversity branch and signal paths, techniques for
combining and switching, antenna diversity and space-time coding, performance
improvement.
Optical Communication Systems: optical fibre fundamentals, modulation schemes,
line codes, wavelength division multiplexing.
Systems Engineering: concepts, access schemes, performance comparison of
advanced modulation techniques, radio link design, spectrum utilisation,
capacity and throughput, digital wireless personal communications.
Lectures are concurrent with the postgraduate course EEE5032Z: Digital
communications, but the assessments are different.
EEE4022S/F
(40 SAQA credits): Undergraduate Thesis Project
Third year
undergraduate courses
EEE3080F
(20 SAQA credits): Communication Network and System Fundamentals
Introduction to Networks: Internet, protocol, network edge, core network and
access networks, circuit switching and packet switching, physical media, delay
and loss, layered architecture, Internet structure.
Application layer: service, client-server paradigm. Application protocols:
http, ftp, email, socket programming, POP, DNS.
Transport layer: Introduction, UDP, reliable data transfer, TCP, connection management,
congestion and congestion control.
Network layer: Introduction, routing algorithms, network layer service models,
virtual circuit versus datagram networks, Dijkstra's link-state algorithm,
distance vector routing, hierarchical routing start, addressing, DHCP, IP
datagram, fragmentation, ICMP, Intra-AS routing, router, OSPF, BGP, router
internal structure and architecture, IPv6.
Data link layer: link layer services, error detection and correction. Multiple
access: TDMA, Aloha, CSMA. LAN technologies: IEEE 802 family, MAC, LAN
addressing, ARP, Ethernet, Token Rings, Interconnecting.
Case studies: PPP, ATM, Frame Relay, all IP networks
EEE3058S
(20 SAQA credits): Fundamentals of Communications Engineering (Analogue and
digital communication):
Introduction: overview of analogue and digital Communication systems,
applications of communication, physical link, physical media.
Analogue modulation and demodulation: radio spectrum and frequency division
multiplexing, amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, phase modulation.
Performance and S/N in communication system: physical link, noise power,
propagation of noise through a linear system.
Information: basic information theory, channel capacity, quantization noise.
Baseband modulation: overview of digital communication system, probability of
error, matched filter detection, Eb/n performance, pulse shaping, equalization.
Bandpass modulation/detection: bandpass modulation schemes (ASK, FSK, PSK),
bandpass demodulation/detection schemes, phase-shift keying and amplitude phase
keying in vector representation, orthogonal frequency shift keying, probability
of Error with bandpass detection, QPSK, MSK.
Voice coding.
Courses
pre-requisite to this specialization
EEE2036F
(12 SAQA credits): Probability and statistical design in engineering
2nd/3rd year first semester course at UCT.
EEE2035F
(12 SAQA credits): Signals and Systems I (Fourier analysis with applications in
Electrical Engineering)
2nd year first semester course at UCT.
EEE2032F
(32 SAQA credits): Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering 1
2nd year first semester course at UCT.
EEE2033S
(32 SAQA credits) / EEE2034S (24 SAQA credits): Fundamentals of Electrical
Engineering 2
2nd year second semester course at UCT.
Teaching/Research
Facilities:
The
communication research lab and communication teaching lab are equipped with OPNET for simulation of
the network. OPNET is primarily used in the laboratory of advanced network
courses.
NS2
network simulator is primarily used in network simulation for thesis research
because of its open source codes. One may learn NS2 from the NS2 tutorial from the isi website
or the NS2 tutorial in adobe form.
The
computer lab is equipped with SystemView for laboratory sessions in
communication.
The
communication research lab is equipped with Intel Network processor for
research.
The Network laboratory is equipped with routers and
switches.
Sponsors:
Telkom
Siemens
Intel
National
Reserch Foundation