Welcome
Description of the Group
The Communications and Signal Processing (CSP) Group is headed by Prof. Abdelhak Zoubir and is affiliated with the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, at Curtin University of Technology. Some of the activities of the group are within the $27 million Australian Telecommunications Cooperative Research Centre (ATcrc) with its five University and ten industry partners.The role of the CSP Group is to develop fast algorithms based on advanced signal processing tools, which are statistical in nature, to tackle problems that are highly relevant to communication systems.
Signal processing deals with the extraction of information from noisy, distorted information. Modern signal processing and statistical tools developed over the last few years can alleviate many of the problems encountered in communications systems today. We have been particularly involved in the design and implementation of receivers when the interference distribution is unknown or impulsive.
Our Vision is:
To be a reputable group in Australia, and internationally, for research in signal processing for communications; and to educate first-class Masters and PhD students in this area.Our Mission is:
- To build a top research group in the area of communications and signal processing.
- To be a centre for academic excellence and high standard research in Australia.
Research Activities
Fundamentals
A fundamental topic currently under research is Bootstrap Techniques for Application to Parameter
Estimation, Signal Detection and Model Selection. The bootstrap is
useful in many areas where asymptotic techniques are inapplicable. It
has been used for the detection of signals in interference of unknown
distribution such as in telecommunications and radar applications, for
the determination of confidence intervals for model parameters of
interest such as in sonar signal processing and for model selection of
non-stationary signals. A comprehensive set of theory and methods for
detection, confidence interval estimation and consistent model
selection has been developed in this project. Many algorithms are
compiled in a toolbox, coded with Matlab (available from the downloads page).
Wireless Communications
The capacity of FDMA, TDMA or hybrids is well defined; when RF channels or time slots are no longer available, no more customers can be accomodated.
CDMA, on the other hand, is interference limited. It is possible to include one more user, although at the price of a slightly worse signal-to-noise ratio for
everyone. Of course a limit will be reached at some point.
The next (3rd) generation of mobile communication system will employ wideband code division
multiple access, W-CDMA. W-CDMA has advantages compared to 2nd generation systems of: lower transmit powers, bit-rate flexibility (with bit rates up
to 2Mbit/s), graceful performance degradation and increased capacity.Multi-user detection (MUD) is a technique that can be employed to improve capacity and coverage in a CDMA system such as W-CDMA. In theory, MUD can provide an improvement in capacity by a factor of almost three in additive white Gaussian noise channels but in practice improvements depends strongly on the detection scheme, channel estimation and delay estimation. It has been shown that MUD is able to exploit the structure contained in a multi-access interference signal and subsequently can be near-far resistant. Hence, a practical system design could be undertaken without depending on high precision power control.
The aim of this project is to develop adaptive multi-user detection algorithms for future wideband CDMA systems that can cope with non-stationary, non-ideal conditions in a mobile radio environment. Focus of the research include issues such as the non-Gaussian nature of the interference and the non-stationarity of the mobile radio environment. The methods to be developed are model-based. Thus, important issues such as model mismatch and parameter estimates inaccuracies will also be investigated.
Radar Signal Processing
Signal processing as a specialised field of research had its genesis during World War II when radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging) was used to detect military targets. Today, radar signal processing is as exciting as ever as new applications are found for radar. Two important applications that the CSP group has performed research in are over-the-horizon radar and ground penetrating radar. Currently the focus of our radar research is in the application of ground penetrating radar for landmine detection.Landmine Detection Using GPR
Currently it is estimated that there are approximately 110 million landmines in the ground and at the present rate of demining, it will take approximately 1100 years to remove existing mines alone. By the time you finish reading this page, another person will be killed or maimed by a landmine. In addition to this humanitarian nightmare, mines disable not only people but also vast tracts of farmland and pasture. By dislocating transport routes, they also isolate rural communities, wrecking local economies. All of this forces enormous numbers of people directly or indirectly into poverty.Current methods of landmine detection are based on either finding areas of soil which have been disturbed from their original state or the fact that landmines possess different characteristics to the surrounding soil. In the past, metal detection was the primary method of landmine detection. However, this is insufficient in modern post-war regions as the latest landmines have little metal and the surrounding terrain may be littered with shrapnel.
Currently, hand prodding is the method of choice for civilian demining, which requires a detection rate of 99.6%. A deminer lies on their stomach and prods the ground in front with a metal rod or a bayonet inserted at a 30-degree angle. This process is slow, each deminer clearing only 20 to 50m2 per day by hand and is quite expensive.
An alternative which is currently being explored by a number of researchers, is the possibility of using GPR. This device produces a profile or record of sub-surface features. These profiles are used for evaluating the location and depth of buried objects such as landmines. The CSP group is working on new ways of processing GPR returns to simultaneously detect and classify buried objects by their frequency spectrum so that, ultimately, plastic landmines can be identified.
About Perth
Curtin University is located in the Western Australian capital of Perth - one of Australia's most picturesque cities. With its Mediterranean-style climate, Perth offers students high quality education, an affordable standard of living, and diverse cultural, sporting and recreational opportunities. Perth has a reputation as Australia's friendliest city. Perth's healthy lifestyle is well supported by a world class health care system and a clean, safe environment, free from many of the crime and congestion problems of other international cities.Perth is one of Australia's most multicultural cities being home to more than one million people, many of whom were born in countries other than Australia. It is arguably the most beautiful, AND the most affordable city in Australia. Perth has one of the lowest costs of living of any city in Australia and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Bisected by the Swan River, the city is just a 20 minute drive from the Indian ocean and some of the world's most beautiful beaches.
International students find that Perth's cost of living, rent, food and clothing are generally lower than those in other Australian capitals or cities in the USA, UK and Canada.
Perth is justifiably famous for its Mediterranean-style climate with hot, dry summers and mild winters. Daytime temperatures in the winter months (June to August) range from 10 to 18 degrees Celsius (50-64 degrees Fahrenheit). In the summer months (December to February) temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius but usually range from 25 to 35 degrees Celsius (77-95 degrees Fahrenheit). Perth is Australia's sunniest capital and consequently its population enjoys a healthy outdoors lifestyle of swimming, bushwalking, sightseeing and inviting friends over for a 'barbie'.