ECE 598HH (Spring 2018): Advanced Wireless Networks and Sensing Systems


Course Description:

Wireless and mobile systems have become ubiquitous; playing a significant role in our everyday life. However, the increasing demand for wireless connectivity and the emergence of new areas such as the Internet of Things present new research challenges. This course introduces advanced research topics in wireless networks and mobile communication systems. In each lecture, we will discuss recent research papers that introduce new wireless designs, algorithms, protocols and applications. The papers are systems oriented and focus on practical challenges and solutions for building wireless and mobile systems. Students will also learn how to design and build wireless systems through a research oriented course project that focuses on the implementation aspects of practical systems.



Lecture Time & Location: Monday & Wednesday 3:00pm - 4:20pm in ECEB 4070

Instructor: Haitham Hassanieh (haitham@illinois.edu)

Office Hours: Monday 4:20pm - 5:00pm in ECEB 4070 or by appointment.

Course TA: Suraj Jog (sjog2@illinois.edu)

Office Hours: Tuesday 3:00pm - 5:00 in CSL 462 or by appointment


Topics:

► Cross Layer Networking

  • Rateless Codes & Soft Information
  • Interference Management
  • Interference Alignment & Nulling
  • Virtual MIMO
  • Opportunistic Routing
  • Network Coding
  • Wireless Multipath TCP

  • ► Internet of Things

  • LoRa Networks
  • Ultra-low Power Networking
  • Ambient Backscatter
  • Smart Cities and Environments
  • ► Wireless Sensing

  • Localization & Tracking
  • Wireless Gesture Recognition
  • Wireless Imaging
  • Contactless Bio-Sensing

  • ► Security

  • Analog Cybersecurity
  • Medical Devices Security
  • RFIDs and Low Power Devices
  • Physical Layer Security
  • Wireless Vibrometry
  • Acoustic IoT Security
  • ► Emerging Technologies

  • Millimeter Wave Systems
  • Full Duplex Radios
  • Software Defined Radios
  • Cloud RAN
  • 5G Cellular Systems
  • Dynamic Spectrum Access
  • Wireless Charging
  • Robotics and Drones
  • V2X Communications


  • Grading:
    • 10% Paper Reviews: Students will be asked to review 10 out of 25 assigned research papers throughout the semester. Student will have to identify 3 strengths and 3 weakness of each paper.
    • 20% Lab Assignments: There will be around 2 lab assignments based on software defined radios and MATLAB.
    • 20% Homework Assignments: The course will have 2 long homework assignments.
    • 50% Final Project: Students will do a research-style project in groups of 2 or 3 where they demonstrate the feasibility of a new research idea or build a new wireless system.

    Note: This schedule is tentative and subject to change over time due to unforeseen events. Please check it regularly.

    # Date Topics & Slides Notes
    Jan. 15 Martin Luther King Day
    1 Jan. 17 Lec 1: Introduction: Overview & Logistics
    [1.Introduction.pdf]
    Reading: How to Read a Paper

    2 Jan. 22 Lec 2: Wireless Communication
    [2.Wireless Communication.pdf]


    3 Jan. 24 Lec 3: Wireless Channel
    & Software Defined Radios Tutorial
    [3.1.Wireless Channel.pdf]
    [3.2.Software Defined Radios.pdf]


    4 Jan. 29 Lec 4: OFDM 1: Symbols, CP, Packet Detection
    [4.OFDM.pdf]
    Optional Reading: [Thesis] (Chapter 3)


    5 Feb. 5 Lec 5: OFDM 2: Phase Tracking, OFDMA
    [5.OFDM.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [FICA]


    6 Feb. 7 Lec 6: Rate Adaptation & Soft Information
    [6.Rate Adaptation & SoftPHY.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [RRAA], [PPR]
    Optional Reading: [SoftRate], [SampleRate], [Strider]

    7 Feb. 9 Lab 1: USRP Software Defined Radio & OFDM Documentation: [Lab1.pdf]
    Code: [Lab1.zip]
    Due: Mar. 7 at 11:59pm
    8 Feb. 12 Lec 7: Wireless MAC & Interference Management
    [7.MAC & Interference Cancellation.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [ZigZag]
    Optional Reading: [SIC], [REMAP]

    9 Feb. 14 Lec 8: MIMO 1: Multiplexing, Diversity, MU-MIMO
    [8.MIMO 1.pdf]
    Optional Reading: [Textbook 2] (Chapter 7)

    10 Feb. 19 Lec 9: MIMO 2: Interference Alignment, Nulling, & Distributed MIMO
    [9.MIMO 2.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [MegaMIMO], [IAC]
    Optional Reading: [Nplus], [AirShare], [SourceSync], [Vidyut]

    11 Feb. 21 Lec 10: Wireless Localization 1: WiFi
    [10.Localization 1.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [ArrayTrack]
    Optional Reading: [PinLoc], [PinPoint], [Chronos]

    12 Feb. 26 Lec 11: Wireless Localization 2: RFID [11.Localization 2.pdf] ► Homework 1 (Due: Mar. 26)
    Assigned Reading: [PinIt], [RFDraw]
    Optional Reading: [RFind], [RFCompass]

    13 Feb. 28 Lec 12: Wireless Sensing 1: Human Sensing
    [12.Wireless Sensing 1.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [WiTrack]
    Optional Reading: [WiVi], [WiTrack2]

    14 Mar. 5 Lec 13: Wireless Sensing 2: Vital Signs & Imaging
    [13.Wireless Sensing 2.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [VitalRadio]
    Optional Reading: [RFCapture]

    15 Mar. 7 Lec 14: Wireless Sensing 3: Physiological Signals
    [14.Wireless Sensing 3.pdf]
    ► Lab Assignment 1 Due
    Assigned Reading: [RFSleep]
    Optional Reading: [EQRadio]

    16 Mar. 9 Lab 2: RFID Readers & Localization Documentation: [Lab2.pdf]
    Code: [Lab2.zip]
    Due: Apr. 2 at 11:59pm
    17 Mar. 12 Lec 15: IoT Systems 1: RFIDs
    [15.IoT 1.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [Buzz]
    Optional Reading: [Gen2-RFID]

    18 Mar. 15 Lec 16: IoT Systems 2: Security
    [16.IoT 2.pdf]
    ► Project Proposal Due
    Assigned Reading: [RFClock]
    Optional Reading: [IMDShield],

    Mar. 19 Spring Vacation
    Mar. 21 Spring Vacation
    19 Mar. 26 Lec 17: IoT Systems 3: LoRa Networks
    [17.IoT 3.pdf]
    ► Homework 1 Due
    Assigned Reading: [LoRA]
    Optional Reading: [InterScatter], [BackFi] , [PassiveWiFi]
    20 Mar. 28 Lec 18: IoT Systems 4: Acoustics
    [18.IoT 4.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [BackDoor]
    Optional Reading: [LipRead]

    21 Apr. 2 Lec 19: Full Duplex Radios
    [19.Full Duplex.pdf]
    ► Lab Assignment 2 Due
    Assigned Reading: [FullDuplex], [RFly]
    Optional Reading: [FullDuplex MIMO], [IMDShield],

    22 Apr. 4 Lec 20: Wireless Charging
    [20.Wireless Charging.pdf]
    ► Homework 2 (Due: Apr. 30)
    Assigned Reading: [MagMIMO]
    Optional Reading: [MultiSpot]

    23 Apr. 9 Project Progress
    24 Apr. 11 Project Progress ► Project Progress Report Due
    25 Apr. 15 Lec 21: Opportunistic Routing
    [21.Opportunistic Routing.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [ExOR]
    Optional Reading: [MORE]

    26 Apr. 17 Lec 22: Network Coding
    [22.Network Coding.pdf]
    Assigned Reading: [COPE]
    Optional Reading: [ANC]

    27 Apr. 23 Lec 23: 5G Networks 1: Intro, Massive MIMO, DSA Assigned Reading: [BigBand]
    Optional Reading:[Massive MIMO 1], [Massive MIMO 2]

    28 Apr. 25 Lec 24: 5G Networks 2: Millimeter Wave Assigned Reading: [AgileLink]
    Optional Reading: [V2X 1], [V2X 2]

    29 Apr. 30 Project Progress ► Homework 2 Due
    30 May. 2 Final Project Poster Presentations
    May. 4 Final Project Report Due

    Project:

    One of the major goals of this class is to understand how wireless systems research is done. To this end, the project is the most important component of ECE 598HH, since that's where you draw upon your knowledge and experience from the course readings and elsewhere to actually do research. The relevant details for the class project will be uploaded soon.

    1. Teams:

    As far as possible, you should work in teams of teams of two or three. Working with others is a lot more fun, is often a lot more productive, and the resulting work a lot sounder than if you were working in isolation. The nature of the wireless field is one that fosters collaboration and often makes it essential for high impact work, and you should develop the ability to collaborate on projects. You need to work at least with one other person from the class, so please start looking out for team mates as soon as possible!

    2. Proposal:

    The proposal should be one or two pages. It is due on Wednesday Mar. 14, 2018. It is important that you read related background material before turning in the proposal.

    A crisp one-page write-up for the proposal should contain the following items.
    • Project title (a detailed title is better than a vague one; you can always change it later if you don't like it!) and names of investigators with email addresses.

    • A clear statement of the research problem: a one-sentence summary followed by a one-paragraph explanation (the paragraph shouldn't be more than 10-12 lines long). This should identify clearly the research question you're addressing.

    • A clear statement of your research methods. i.e., how are you going to solve the problems you've raised and motivated in the previous paragraph?

    • A statement of plan and schedule, to convince us (and yourself!) that you can complete the project by the end of the term.

    • A list of resources you need to accomplish your work, with special emphasis on important pieces you don't yet have access to. Be as clear as you can in your requirements and we will work towards getting what you need as quickly as possible. If your request can't be accommodated for any reason, we will try to get back to you about it as soon as we find out.

    • Any other questions you have or clarifications you need from us.

    3. Background:

    In a one-semester class, one can only cover a fraction of wireless topics, and there are sure to be projects where the background material won't be covered in too much detail. And even for topics that we do cover, there will almost certainly be other relevant related work that you should be familiar with. Part of doing something new is figuring out what's already been done or is known, so you should search the related literature and Web pages as extensively as you can. Keep an eye out for useful software or research methods or tools that you can leverage; this will save you tremendous amounts of time later in the term. You might find some of these useful links actually useful.

    4. Expectations:

    Aim high in a focused way, and do the best you can! The best projects are usually publishable with a bit more additional work in top ACM/USENIX/IEEE conferences in the area, such as SIGCOMM, MOBICOM, INFOCOM, and NSDI, or appear as articles in places like SIGCOMM's Computer Communications Review (CCR). The main goal, however, is to try something innovative; a failure to obtain good research results is quite acceptable, but a failure to try isn't!

    5. Suggestions:

    Where do you get a project? We will provide you with a list of suggestions a couple of weeks before the proposal deadline. Please feel free to come up with your own ideas, or modify our suggestions in any way you want. Our suggestions are simply that; and they're usually incomplete. They are usually not complete specifications of projects. Please send all questions about the project to the staff mailing list.

    6. Project Progress Report

    The progress report is due on Wednesday Apr. 11, 2018. It should explain your approach, related/prior work, any preliminary results you might have obtained, and why you believe you are on the right track. It may also include material from the proposal after you had the chance to update it based on our feedback.

    7. Final Report

    The final report is due on Friday May. 4, 2018. The report is a conference-style paper describing the project and its key contributions/findings.

    8. Poster Presentation

    Students will create posters for their projects and present these posters on Wednesday May. 2, 2018. The presentation should be a conference-style presentation.