My name is Asma Afzal. I am currently pursuing a PhD in Electrical
Engineering (Wireless Communication ) from the University of Leeds, UK.
I am interested in working on the WiNeLo GSoC project. WiNeLo is an
in-the-loop simulation framework for communication networks based on the
GNU Radio software radio toolkit. gr-winelo mimics the behavior of
common RF frontends such as the USRP, but instead of sending the signal
over the air, a central server plays the role of the wireless
communication channel. Arbitrary channel models can be simulated, by
passing their respective GNU Radio processing block to the server. Since
this whole setup is completely transparent to GNU Radio applications,
it is at any moment possible to switch between simulations and
real-world tests.
After watching the FOSDEM video, I believe I can make (part of) the following additions to the ongoing project
1. Implementation of various analytical channel models on the server to
mimic real wireless channel. (Rayleigh, Nakagami-m, Rician, Weibull
fading, Lognormal Shadowing)
2. Implementation of different transmission strategies such as CDM or
interference free TDM with different digital modulation schemes.
A user will be provisioned to input various controlling parameters like
the frequency, rate of symbol transmission, wireless environment
(indoor/outdoor), etc.
With reference to these points, I wanted to ask senior members of the
community regarding which tasks would be beneficial to the community
immediately?
I will appreciate your input to point out the exact goal.
I believe that my skills are particularly well suited for this project.
I did my Masters in Telecommunication and Networks from NUST, Pakistan. I
studied Wireless communication and Wireless networks in detail. I am
familiar with modulation schemes and wireless channel impairments like
path loss, slow/fast fading, shadowing, noise and interference. My
current research is based on stochastic modeling of wireless networks in
presence of path loss and fading. I have recently presented a paper at
Globecom 2013. The paper hasn’t come on IEEE Xplore yet but you can find
an electronic copy on this link.
http://ipt.seecs.nust.edu.pk/Pubs/Asma%20Globecom%202013.pdf
Although I don’t have prior experience with GNU Radios, but I have
strong programming skills in C/C++ and Matlab. During my masters, I
worked on a collaborative project with Cypress Semi-Conductor, USA. The
project involved implementation of AES-128 encryption and a part of
thermal management system on Programmable System on Chip (PSoC). As a
result of successful implementation, I got two technical articles
published (listed below).
http://www.embedded.com/design/safety-and-security/4417178/Enhancing-system-efficiency-of-embedded-encryption-applications
http://www.embedded.com/design/prototyping-and-development/4422955/Building-an-efficient--intelligent--and-flexible-thermal-management-system
I am a keen learner and I have always wanted to apply my theoretical
knowledge on practical systems. This is my chance to do that. It will be
extremely beneficial for my understanding of wireless systems and since
this project is so relevant to my research, I would like to pursue it
after summer as well and contribute to the GNU Radio open source
community.
Thank you.
Kind Regards,
Asma Afzal.