The course teaches how to use computer simulation in the design of physical layer transmission protocols that are too complex for a purely analytical approach. The goal of the course is to offer the theoretical and practical tools for performing modelling, analysis and design of the physical level of wireless transmission systems including cellular and personal communication systems, satellite systems, and radio relay links. This course is useful for telecommunication systems designers, ICT researchers and experts in the development and design of telecommunication physical layer protocols.
The course is s strongly project-based and includes both lectures (60 %) and computer labs (40 %). The final exam consists in the development of a computer project and of a project report.

- Knowledge of the modeling techniques for the main blocks of a communication system.
- Knowledge of the techniques for performance estimation of a communication system.
- Knowledge of techniques for computer-aided design and optimization of a communication system.
- Ability to develop the numerical model for main blocks of a communication system.
- Ability to properly estimate the performance of a communication system with a software program.
- Ability to design and optimize a communication system using Montecarlo simulation.

Students are assumed to have basic knowledge on the following topics:
- probability theory,
- random processes,
- signal theory and system theory,
- digital communications,
- digital signal processing and digital filtering.

The necessary basic concepts will however be briefly recalled during the lectures.

The class covers the following topics:
- General characteristics of a communication system and its digital modeling (10 hours);
- Characteristics of practical transmission schemes and development of their simulation models (including radio relay links, satellite links, wireless links based on OFDM modulation (10 hours);
- Basic concepts in estimation theory, and techniques for performance estimation of transmission systems (including error probability estimation with Montecarlo techniques) (16 hours);
- Techniques for computer-aided design and optimization of transmission systems. Development of a computer project on the design and optimization of a transmission system. (24 hours).

Lectures are held with the support of slides and computer-based examples. During the computer labs students are asked to develop Matlab scripts following the instructions received during the lectures and discuss their results with the instructor. Frequent technical discussions during class lectures and labs will be used to assess the acquired level of knowledge and ability at the different stages of the course.

The teaching material (slides, lab assignments, sample scripts and reference articles) is available on the web portal of the course.
A useful reference is:
' Michel C. Jeruchim, Philip Balaban, K. Sam Shanmugan, Simulation and Software Radio for Mobile Communications, ISBN: 1580530443, Artech House (Fitchburg, MA, USA), 2002

The exam consists of a project and an oral exam. Specifically, the student must develop a simulation program for the design and optimization of a communication link, and must write the associated project report.
The report must contain:
- a brief description of the considered system and of its simulation model,
- a discussion of the main parameters adopted in the simulations and of the adopted simulation approach,
- an analysis of the system using simulation tools like eye diagrams, scattering diagrams, spectra estimation, BER curves,
- a description and discussion of the optimization procedure,
- a clear presentation and discussion of the obtained results and of the system losses,
- the final conclusions and discussion of the main results.

The report is evaluated based on its correctness, the level of knowledge that the student has acquired on the topic, the ability to apply the acquired know-how, the student’s ability to precisely perform the required optimization, to clearly communicate the technical material with accurate terms and to correctly analyze, interpret, and comment the obtained results.

The oral exam consists of a discussion on the class topics and on the project results. The simulation programs developed by the student must also be delivered and discussed during the oral exam.