At the end of the course, the student will acquire the following knowledges and abilities: - knowledge of the main wireless and wired communication channels in terms of their attenuation and available bandwidth - knowledge of the methodologies to mathematically model electrical noise sources and their impact in transmission systems - ability to solve simple signal-to-noise ratio and power budget exercises - knowledge of the basic digital modulations (i.e. PAM, PSK and QAM) - knowledge of linear distortion effects on digital modulations - ability to solve simple numerical design exercises on transmission systems - ability to program in Matlab/Simulink some basic simulation algorithms for the emulation of the performance of digital transmission systems

This course has no formal pre-requisite, but the following “practical” ones: • a good understanding of the mathematical topics presented in the first two years in Engineering (with a particular focus on Geometry and Probability Theory) • an excellent understanding of the methodologies and techniques given during the "Signals and Systems" course of the previous semester

• Introduction to wireless and wired communication channels in terms of attenuation and available bandwidth. (lessons: 4 hours) • Noise in electronic circuits (noise figure concepts) (lessons: 4 hours) • Baseband digital modulation (PAM), geometrical representation of signals, bit error probability (lessons: 12 hours) • Spectral properties of baseband digital modulation (lessons: 4 hours) • Inter-symbol Interference, Nyquist Theorem and spectral occupation (lessons: 8 hours) • Passband modulation formats (PSK, QAM, FSK): bit error probability and spectral properties. (lessons: 10 hours) • Block diagram of digital receivers (lessons: 4 hours) • Final system examples: hints on some selected physical layer standards, such as ADSL or DVB-T (lessons: 2 hours) • Numerical exercises on each of the previous topics (18 hours) • Matlab/Simulink simulations of some selected topics from the previous list (14 hours)

Theoretical lectures will be complemented by practice classes, which will be devoted to the solution of numerical problems and of small design projects on the course main topics. The numerical exercises will be of two different types - Exercises allowing either a symbolic solution or a numerical solution using a pocket calculator (about 30 hours) - Exercises requiring the development of a code in Matlab/Simulink (about 14 hours). For this part, each student should use her/his own personal laptop PC in class.

The slides and the handouts used by the Course Professors during the classes will be available on the POLITO Didattica web portal. A draft of the course online book will be given to the students at the beginning of the course. The official textbook is: • Benedetto, S., Biglieri, E., “Principles of Digital Transmission With Wireless Applications”, Kluwer Academic Publishers, eISBN: 9780306469619 The book is available in the POLITO library system, as reported in the following link: https://pico.polito.it/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990002003050107866&context=L&vid=39PTO_INST:VU&lang=it&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,benedetto%20biglieri&offset=0 When possible, the lecture will follow some Chapters of the book and use the same notation.

Lecture slides; Lecture notes; Video lectures (previous years);

Exam: Written test; Optional oral exam; Individual essay;

The written exam is based on: - 2-3 numerical exercises, similar to those that will be solved during the course. - 2-3 theoretical questions, requiring a free-text answer. The written exam will last two hours and it will be scored on a full scale up to 27 points. The evaluation of the written exam is based on the correct development of the proposed exercises from the description of the symbolic-formula solutions up to the numerical results. The theoretical questions will be judged according to the completeness of the answers, but also on the ability of the students to reply in a concise way. This written exam is a “closed-book exam”. During the written exam the student can use only: • A pocket calculator (NO laptop, tablets etc. Any type of cellphone should be switched OFF) • A 4 pages (max) summary of formulas written by the student herself/himself (4 pages total, meaning 2 sheets if one writes on the front and back of each sheet) • Optionally, the tables of numerical values for the erfc function and of Fourier transforms • No other technical material is allowed (thus no books, handouts, old exercises, etc) The students who will get a score above 15/30 at the written exam can ask for an optional oral exam, where the questions will mostly regard the theoretical aspects of the course. The optional oral exam is always organized a few days after the written exams. It gives rise to -3 to +3 points that are added to the result of the written exam. The written exam proposes exercises that allows to judge if the student knows the topic of the course and is able to apply this knowledge to solve some simplified design examples on modern digital transmission systems. The open questions allows to judge if the student has acquired the most relevant theoretical topic of the course. During the written exam, the students will be allowed to carry with them a pocket calculator, paper and pen and two pages of formulas written by themselves. No other material will be allowed (such as laptops, handouts, etc). During the semester, the Teacher may propose some optional technical challenges and/or interim tests, that the students may try to solve and send to the Teacher. These optional technical challenges will be evaluated, giving a maximum score of up to 3 points. The students must also prepare a written report of the Matlab/simulink Exercises that will be proposed during the semester. The report will be evaluated, giving a score of up to 5 points, that will be added to the aforementioned results of the written exam, optional technical challenges and of the optional oral exam. If this final sum is above 32, the student will get “30 cum laude”.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.