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 communications systems. This course is useful for telecommunication systems designers, ICT researchers and experts in the development and design of telecommunication physical layer. The course is s strongly project-based and includes both lectures (40 %) and computer labs (60 %). The final exam consists in the development of a project, submitting the project report and discussing it in the oral session.

- 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 simulation and optimization of a communication system. - Ability to develop the numerical model for main blocks of a communication system. - Ability to develop the software for the simulation of communication systems. - Ability to properly estimate the performance of a communication. - Ability to design and optimize a communication system using simulation techniques.

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.

Lectures cover the following topics: - General characteristics of a communication system and its digital modeling (3 hours); - Basic concepts in estimation theory and its applications to the simulation of communication systems: techniques for spectral estimation and techniques for performance estimation (error probability estimation by Monte Carlo method) (9 hours) - Semi-analytical techniques for the evaluation of error probability in communication systems (6 hours) - Channel and component models (3 hours) - Simulation of advanced transmission techniques (3 hours) In parallel with lectures, computer labs sessions (36 hours) guide students through practical implementations of all introduced topics. Lab sessions concludes with the development of a project on the design and optimization of a transmission system required for the final exam.

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 lectures and discuss their results with the instructor.

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

Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria; Progetto individuale;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual project;

... The exam consists of a project devoted to the implementation of a simulation tool for the design and optimization of a communication link. Students must prepare the associated project report and they must discuss it in the oral exam. 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 lectures topics and on the project results.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.