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Intro To Communication

This lecture introduces communication systems and models. It discusses what communication is, how information can be measured and packaged into signals, and models for communication systems. It also covers analog vs. digital communication, constraints on system design, the electromagnetic spectrum, and how reliable communication can be achieved through channel coding despite noise in the channel.

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Harsha
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118 views

Intro To Communication

This lecture introduces communication systems and models. It discusses what communication is, how information can be measured and packaged into signals, and models for communication systems. It also covers analog vs. digital communication, constraints on system design, the electromagnetic spectrum, and how reliable communication can be achieved through channel coding despite noise in the channel.

Uploaded by

Harsha
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 19

COMS3100/7100

Introduction to
Communications
Lecture 2: Introduction
This lecture:
I What is communication and how do we do it?
I A model for communications
I Analogue vs. digital
I Capacity & reliability
Ref: Carlson ch. 1, Couch ch. 1, Haykin ‘Background & Preview’,

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 1 / 19


What is Communication?

Communication is the transmission of


information.
I Our aim is to reproduce as accurately as
possible at the receiver a message sent
from the transmitter.

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 2 / 19


What is Communication? (2)
What sorts of messages might we
communicate?
I speech I video
I music I text
I images I sensor
readings, etc.

Hello

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 3 / 19


What is Communication? (3)
How do we `package up' a message for
transmission?
I As a signal.

Hello 0101010101
1010101010
1010010101

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 4 / 19


Measuring Information

Can we measure an amount of information?


I Quantity of information is subjective.
I It is measured by the receiver, as a level
of `surprise'.
I Communication is most ef icient when
the transmitter is `in tune' with what is
surprising to the intended receiver.
I H (1928) proposed measuring
information in terms of (number of) bits.

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 5 / 19


How?
We communicate through a medium or a
channel.
I Ink on a page.
I Sound through air.
I Electromagnetic (EM) radiation through:
I air (or free space), I twisted pair,
I coaxial cable, I optical ibre.
IMagnetisation of a ferromagnetic
material.
N.B. Data storage is a form of
communication — to ourselves!

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 6 / 19


How? (2)

IA communication system should be


suited to the channel.
The system is in luenced by the mode of
communication:
I one-to-one (e.g., point-to-point),
I one-to-many (e.g., broadcasting),
I many-to-many (e.g., networking).

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 7 / 19


EM Spectrum

For telecommunication (τ ɛλɛ meaning `far


off') an attractive option is to use EM
radiation through air, i.e., radio.
I Excellent propagation over long
distances at some frequencies.
I Avoids necessity to run a wire!

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 8 / 19


EM Spectrum(2)
But everyone else wants to use radio too.
⇒ Government regulates who can use what.
I The International Telecommunications
Union (ITU) works to reserve certain
areas of spectrum worldwide,
I e.g., for mobile phones, wireless internet
(Wi-Fi).

450 MHz 800-980 MHz 1.5 GHz 1.8 GHz 1.9 GHz 2 GHz 2.4 GHz 3.7 GHz 5.2 GHz 5.8GHz
ISM GSM GPS DECT Winforum PCS ISM WLL HiperLAN ISM
NMT 450 ISM GSM (US) 802.11 b/g 802.11a
Paging Bluetooth
CDPD HomeRF
PHS Zigbee
CT1, 2

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 9 / 19


EM Spectrum(3)

Australian spectrum plan

I In Australia, spectrum is managed by


Australian Communications and Media
Authority (ACMA).
I In the USA, the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) manages the spectrum
and de ines local standards.

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 10 / 19


A Model for Communications

Tx Signal

Transmitter
Encoder
(TX)
Noise,
Interference
distortion
Channel

Rx Signal

Receiver
Decoder
(RX)

Communications

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 11 / 19


A Model for Communications (2)

I We start with a source that is not


necessarily electrical.
I The source is transduced into an
electrical signal, the input to the
communication system.
I In the transmitter, it is modulated
and/or coded and/or transduced into a
transmit signal suitable for the channel.

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 12 / 19


A Model for Communications (3)

I The signal may be corrupted by noise,


interference and distortion as it passes
through the channel.
I The received signal is
demodulated/decoded/transduced to
produce an output signal.
I This signal is transduced into a form
suitable for the destination.

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 13 / 19


Analogue vs. Digital Comms
Some information is inherently digital in
nature,
I e.g., text,
but very often information `starts & ends
life' in analogue form.
I Nevertheless, digital communication is
increasingly popular even when the
information is inherently analogue.
I Digitising an analogue signal causes an
irreversible loss of idelity.

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 14 / 19


Analogue vs Digital Comms (2)
I So why is digital comms popular?
I Digital signal processing components are
cheap, readily available, programmable,
with predictable, stable performance.
I Also, can confer resistance to noise.
O Digital ""
Quality of ""
An ""
signal reproduced alogu ""
at receiver e ""
"
/
Noise or distance
or attenuation.

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 15 / 19


Constraints
In designing a system, many constraints
may need to observed, including:
I transmitted power,
I signal-to-noise ratio (SNR),
I bandwidth,
I data rate,
I maximum transmitted signal amplitude,
I idelity or bit error rate (BER),
I latency,
I interference,
I ‘business factors’ (cost, risk, etc.).
It is the task of the communications
engineer to be able to design systems
within such constraints.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 16 / 19
Reliable Communications

S (1948) made the startling


discovery that, over certain channels, it is
possible to:
I transmit data at a certain rate — up to
the channel capacity
I yet, despite the corrupting effects of
noise,
I receive the data with an arbitrarily low
bit error rate!

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 17 / 19


Reliable Communications (2)
The secret is in channel coding.
I S didn't show how to construct a
practical channel code.
I After more than 50 years of research,
starting to get quite close to theoretical
limits only recently:
I turbo codes, low-density parity check
codes.
I Determination of channel capacity is the
province of information theory.

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 18 / 19


Theory and Practice
Physics and information theory show us
what is possible. . .

. . . but we must build with what we have,


reaching out for the ideal.

COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 19 / 19

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