CS 655: Wireless and Mobile Computing
Fall 2019
Time and location
Mondays, 4:30 pm - 7:10 pm
Innovation Hall 134
Instructor
Parth H. Pathak
Assistant Professor
Computer Science Department
Webpage: www.phpathak.com
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: TBD
Course description
This course will cover state-of-the-art topics in wireless networking and mobile computing. The objective of the
course is to introduce students to recent advances in mobile networking and sensing, with an emphasis on
practical design aspects of mobile systems.
We will start with introductory topics in wireless networking and mobile sensing which will cover design of
today’s wireless networks such as 802.11n and 802.11ac, and smartphone/wearable sensing techniques
including activity and context recognition. In the second part of the course, we will cover more advanced
topics including next generation multi-gigabit wireless networks (5G) such as millimeter wave (802.11ad) and
visible light communication, integrated sensing paradigms including localization and RF sensing, low power
networking with a focus on RFID backscatter and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and networking aspects of
future mobile systems such as drones and autonomous cars.
A list of topics that will be covered in the course is provided below. Please note that this is a tentative list and
is subject to change (including the order of topics) based on our progress. Instructor will provide required and
optional reading material (lecture notes and research papers) for each class. Detailed schedule and course
material will be posted on the course website.
1. Wireless networking [5 weeks]
Primer on wireless communications and networking
1.1. Physical layer
- OFDM and 802.11 (WiFi) PHY
- Multi-antenna systems and MIMO
- Overview of 802.11n/ac PHY including beamforming
1.2. MAC layer
- CSMA/CA and WiFi MAC overview
- Wide bandwidth channel access techniques (802.11n/ac)
- Energy efficiency and rate control
1.3. Network layer
- Wireless routing protocols
- Multi-hop wireless networks
1.4. Transport layer
- Reliable delivery over wireless networks
- TCP/UDP variants for unreliable wireless links
1.5. Applications and cross-layer design
- Communication between layers for wireless networks
2. Mobile and wearable sensing [3 weeks]
2.1. Overview of smartphone/wearable sensors
- Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer etc.
- Smartphone orientation and heading detection
2.2. Activity recognition and healthcare
- Identifying human activities and context through sensors
- Health monitoring and fitness tracking
2.3. Wearables overview
- Wrist-worn wearables - gesture and remote interaction
- Sensor fusion in body-area networks
3. Multi-gigabit wireless networks [2.5 weeks]
Next generation (5G) wireless technologies
Upper Gigahertz and Terahertz wireless communications
3.1. Millimeter wave networking
- Directionality and beamforming
- Mobility and signal blockage
- IEEE 802.11ad (60 GHz WLAN) MAC and PHY overview
3.2. Visible light communication
- High-speed networking using LEDs
- IEEE 802.15.7 PHY and MAC overview
3.3. Sensing through visible light
- Visible light indoor localization and positioning
4. Indoor localization and RF sensing [2 weeks]
4.1. Smartphone localization
- WiFi fingerprinting - protocols and challenges
- Non-WiFi localization
4.2. Device-free sensing with radio frequency
- Mining wireless PHY channel state information
- Device-free localization and indoor human tracking
- Activity and gesture recognition through RF
5. Low-power networking [2 weeks]
5.1. Backscatter communication
- Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology overview
- Energy harvesting tags and applications
5.2. Internet-of-Things (IoT)
- IoT protocol overview - CoAP and MQTT
- IPv6 networking in low-power PANs (6LoWPAN)
6. Future mobile networks [If time permits]
6.1. Drone networking
- Multi-UAV networks, architectures and civilian applications
- Communication challenges and protocols for micro UAVs
6.2. Connected and autonomous cars
- Wireless technologies for Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V)
communications
Required and reference textbooks
The course has no required textbook. The course is based on lecture notes and a list of research papers from
recent conferences and journals, both of which will be provided by the instructor.
The following textbooks can serve as good references -
1. 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, Book by Matthew Gast (available online through GMU
library).
2. Wireless Communications: Principles and Practice, by Theodore S. Rappaport, Prentice Hall.
3. 802.11n: A Survival Guide, by Matthew Gast, O'Reilly Media.
4. 802.11ac: A Survival Guide, by Matthew Gast, O'Reilly Media.
5. Wireless Networking Complete, by Pei Zheng et al., Morgan Kaufmann.
Prerequisites
CS 555: Computer Communications and Networking
Course structure and grading
Reviews 15%
Programming assignments 25%
Class participation 10%
Class presentation 10%
Class project 40%
Reviews and presentation: Students will be provided with 1-2 research papers after every alternate class.
You will be asked to read the papers and write a short review (2-3 paragraphs) explaining the important
aspects (central idea, pros, cons) of the papers. A format of the review will be provided beforehand. The
presentation will include one oral presentation per student. A list of topics/papers relevant to the course will
be provided to choose from.
Programming assignments: The course will include 3-4 mini programming assignments. These assignments
will be based on measurements and/or datasets of wireless networks and smartphone sensors. The students
will be asked to analyze the datasets/measurements using simple tools and the programming language of
their choice to complete the assignment. The assignments will help students in understanding practical
aspects/issues in wireless and mobile computing, and also help them prepare for the final project.
Project: The project will design and implement a mobile sensing technique or a wireless networking protocol
within the topics of the course described above. Instructor will provide many sample ideas (e.g. smartphone
localization with WiFi, activity tracking with smartwatch, and many more), tutorials and other necessary
resources. Necessary mobile devices such as smartphones can be provided for implementation. Experience
with development on mobile platforms is *not* mandatory.
The project can be done individually or in teams of 2 students. The project topic and team size should be
discussed and approved by the instructor. There will be three project deliverables - 1. Project proposal (5%) 2.
Final project report (15%) and 3. Final project presentation/demo (20%). The final project report and
presentation will be due at the end of the semester.
Policies
GMU Honor Code All students must adhere to the GMU Honor Code and the Computer Science Department's
Honor Code Policies. Violation of the Honor Code will result in a failing grade.
Accommodations for Disabilities If you have a documented learning disability or other condition that may
affect academic performance, you should: 1) make sure this documentation is on file with the Office for
Disability Services (SUB I, Rm. 4205; 993-2474; http://ods.gmu.edu) to determine the accommodations you
need; and 2) talk with me within the first week of the semester to discuss any accommodation needs.
