RESEARCH @ CTIE
Expertise in telecommunications and information engineering is reflected through leading edge research.
There is strong collaboration between Monash University and outside organisations, both in Australia and overseas.
RESEARCH EXPERTISE
CONFERENCES
POSTGRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES
FACILITIES
RESEARCH EXPERTISE
TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS
The CTIE networks group are experts in design and control of high speed networks supporting
real time applications. Particular expertise within the group includes:
Internet networks, IP version 6, Mobile IP, ATM Networking, Quality of Service, Network Simulation, Performance
testing, Network Management, Satellite Links.
The group has a particular focus on working with real networks and maintains a large testbed network
within the CTIE laboratories for this purpose. The network includes IP, ATM, Ethernet, wireless mobile, and satellite links and provides network
management and analysis capabilities. Research includes leadership of Project 1.1 - Next Generation Internet for the Australian
Telecommunications Cooperative Research Centre, a federal government, industry and University initiative. The networks group provided
overseer services to the Australian Automotive Exchange Network and has been involved in many other network design
projects. They have undertaken a large range of consultancies, up to and including whole of country internets. Networks group staff are also involved in teaching professional
short courses as well as undergraduate
and postgraduate subjects including ATM Networks, Internet Networking and Telecommunications Performance Analysis.
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
Extensive DSP research encompasses the areas of telecommunications,
robotics, and biomedical and power engineering. Research and teaching utilises the state of the art DSP laboratory established by Texas
Instruments. Continued sponsorship by the company ensures that the laboratory remains a leading facility.
FIXED AND WIRELESS MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS
BROADBAND NETWORK APPLICATIONS
CTIE's research expertise builds on more than a decade of video coding and video applications
work. This includes work in the early 70's developing one of the first
video codecs in collaboration with Siemens (Australia), and contributing
to MPEG standarisation , through to the development of one of the first video on demand
applications for education 'McIVER' (Multi-campus interactive education resource) and a streaming and
distributed video application 'Digital Media Library'.
Current research includes line and video coding, space-time processing in fixed and mobile wireless communications,
MPEG-4, subject recognition in video sequences, video restoration, encryption for streaming video,
digital watermarking for still images and video, video
processing for unmanned air vehicles (UAV), and audio and video on demand. A audio on demand service
developed for lecture recall by students of the University can be sampled on the Monash
library webpages.
OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS AND APPLIED PHOTONICS
Research to push the boundaries of communication capacity includes areas of ultra-broadband
(up to and possibly higher than 10 Tera-bps) communication transmission
and networks including lightwave generation and modulation techniques,
transmission properties of optical guided media, optical amplification
and detection techniques, especially novel modelling techniques in frequency
domain for nonlinear operating-regime of optical systems and networks, optical transport
network modelling for DWDM optically amplified transport networks, optical packet
switched transmission and networking design techniques, quantum communications
over optical fibre transmission systems and networks, and photonic Signal
Processing for All-Optical Communications Systems and Networks.
The Optical Communications Laboratory has recently been updated with the donation of Long-Reach Ultra-High Capacity optical equipment by Siemens
ELECTRONICS AND ELECTROACOUSTICS
Advances in audio electronics are seriously challenging linear amplifiers. Research in this area
has caught the attention of a number of companies in the entertainment business for its advances
in audio amplifiers, electrostatic loudspeakers and low-frequency enclosures.
ANTENNAS and PROPAGATION
Leading edge research is conducted in areas of national and international significance. Collaboration
includes work with the Australian Telecommunications Cooperative Research Centre, with the Country Fire
Authority and other community, government and industry groups.
Research areas includes steerable antenna arrays, propogation, microwave, antennas and
propagation for Third Generation Mobility, ionospheric structure and propgation, HF Radars, and Over-the-horizon
radar.
An anechoic chamber assists with experimentation and RF design.
ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY AND FIELD THEORY
Electromagnetism has a fundamental effect on modern telecommunications systems. Research
is conducted in theoretical analysis and the effects in transmission lines and telecommunications
systems particularly wireless, and the effect on biological systems.
Successful research can lead to safer and more efficient communications environments,
for instance on a bushfire front where the intense heat and radiation will cause
electromagnetic interference with the communication systems used by firefighters.
An EMC laboratory is currently being established, and research conducted in collaboration with EMC
experts in Europe, particularly Hungary and Sweden.
PARALLEL/DISTRIBUTED SIMULATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
OMNET++ is currently the preferred tool for simulating networks, with the IPv6Suite developed onsite.
IPv6Suite is an open source OMNeT++ model suite for accurate simulation of IPv6 protocols and networks.
For simulation work, there is The "Pizzeria": CTIE's Linux Cluster containing 9 dual cpu Sun pizza boxes. In addition there is access to VPAC and APAC, as well as other clusters.
FACILITIES
The facilities within the Centre are being constantly changed and updated almost on a
monthly basis. The list below should be treated as a representative only.
Digital audio/video compression laboratory (Room 113, Building 31)
An excellently equipped laboratory for audio and video coding research, with about $1,000,000
worth of equipment. The equipment includes a RAM-based video sequencer
for real-time playback of high resolution sequences prepared frame-by-frame
on computers, a D1 digital video player for recording and playing sequences
for independent international evaluation, a digital Betacam player (with
analog Betacam playback), an S-VHS player, a 1" tape player, an Optibase
Fusion MPEG2 digital video compresssor, and the Siemens Eikona video compression
system.
Advanced network and video services laboratory (Room 111, Building 31)
One of the leading laboratories in Australia for the development and testing of new network equipment for ATM and Ethernet networks. The laboratory contains a Newbridge 36150 ATM edge switch, a Fore ASX-200BX ATM backbone switch with 155 Mbit/s optical fibre ports, a First Virtual workgroup switch with 25 Mbit/s ATM twisted pair copper ports, Ethernet switches, an HP Broadband Series Test System, and an HP Broadband Services Analyser. The laboratory has connections to wide area ATM networks, and also cable TV networks
TV quality video conferencing is available to sites in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Sydney using the Telstra wide area ATM network. In addition PC based ISDN video conferencing is also available
The laboratory also supports the development of advanced video services. The laboratory has a range of personal computers with different types of network interfaces and different types of video decoding hardware to test different video service models
The laboratory also uses the Opnet network simulation software and a range of Ethernet network analysis and management tools
CTIE has built up an extensive testbed facility for trialing network based applications
in a multi-vendor, multi-technology environment. Networking technology
includes both ATM and Ethernet switching from vendors including Fore (now
Marconi), Cabletron and NEC as well as routing equipment from Cisco and
open-source routing based on Linux PCs. This networking equipment is backed
up by high-end ATM analysis equipment from Hewlett Packard (now Agilent)
and IP analysis equipment including Shomiti Surveyor and Ethereal.
Augmenting the fixed network are a number of wireless networking technologies. There
is an IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN including equipment from D-Link and 3Com
as well as PCs linked by "Bluetooth" wireless links. CTIE also has a satellite
Earth station connected to the testbed as well as research time slots on
the PanAmSat PAS-8 satellite.
Mobile IPv6 and IPv6 Multicast are supported in the testbed.
Connected to this network are video servers from Microsoft and Silicon Graphics covering
everything from very low-rate Internet video to high quality MPEG-2 video
streaming. Also connected are a number of video streaming clients and video
conferencing systems, as well as a video encoding facility that can create
MPEG 1 & 2 files from a number of input source types.
Collectively this constitutes a very flexible facility that allows network applications
to be tested in a diverse, heterogeneous environment.
Digital Signal Processing laboratory
The DSP laboratory is equipped with 32 computer stations. The DSP hardware/software has been
supplied by Texas Instruments. Half of these computer stations have TMS320C6201 (13) fixed point or TMS320C6701 floating
point internal EVM boards suitable for image or numerically intensive applications. The other half are equipped
with both internal TMS320C54 EVM's and TMS320C5402 external DSK Kits suitable
for lower power applications. All are running Code Composer Studio with DSP/Bios capabilities.
In addition there are 16 TMS320C24 external EVM modules for first phase DSP hardware projects.
Laboratories are designed for real signal acquisition, processing/analysis and output.
Microwave and telecommunications laboratories
The Centre is equipped with extensive microwave facilities. The coaxial equipment
includes signal generators and oscillators and various components suitable
for frequencies up to 4 GHz as well as X-band waveguide apparatus for frequencies
in the 8.5 - 9.5 GHz range. Additional equipment available in the laboratory
includes a wide-band sweep signal generator usable up to 12 GHz, a vector
voltmeter, a time-domain reflectometer and an admittance meter.
A general purpose antenna range has been installed. It comprises two towers 17 metres high
and 85 metres apart. A fixed source is located in one tower and the receiving
antenna is mounted on a steerable positioner on the other tower. The associated
control equipment and pattern plotter are located in the laboratory. Other
antenna equipment includes a field strength measuring set for the 0.1 -
30 MHz range.
The facilities also include an anechoic (electromagnetic) chamber for indoor antenna measurements
in the frequency range of 2 GHz to 20 GHz and a 5 x 2.5 x 2.5 cubic metre
electromagnetically screened chamber for EMC measurements is currently
under constuction.
For communications systems research, a range of signal generators, several noise sources and
a spectrum analyser are available, as well as specialized equipment constructed
in the Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering. In addition,
the undergraduate laboratory is equipped with a range of communication-system
modules with which a variety of modulation processes can be investigated.
For telecommunication and computer network simulation, the laboratory has many dedicated computers including the CTIE Pizzeria (linux cluster), Sun Sparc systems and a variety of open source and commercial simulation packages.
Optical Communications and Applied Photonics Laboratory
The Centre is equipped with a research and teaching laboratory for optical communications
and applied photonics including the following:
For Optical Systems and Networks Modeling:
Extensive modeling MATLAB-based platform for computer aided design of single channels and
dense wavelength division multiplexed optical fibre communications systems
and networks, design tools for optical transport networks, basic optical
transmission system components.
Design with external collaboration for linear and nonlinear integrated photonic components,
especially electro-optic multi-GHz optical modulators, high-precision packaging
platform for integrated photonic component technology.
Electronic noise suppressed optical receivers and transmitters for quantum optical
communications.
CONFERENCES
The Centre for Telecommunications and Information Engineering holds external conferences,
often in collaboration with its industry partners and interested user groups.
The Centre participates and presents at conferences in other areas of Engineering
that are increasingly realising the benefits of telecommunications and
information technologies in their industry.
POSTGRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES
http://www.ecse.monash.edu.au/prosp/postgrad.html
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