- Computer and Network Systems (3F5)
AIMS − This module aims to give an understanding of the enabling technology which underlies a variety of modern information processing systems. It covers the architecture and hardware of modern computer systems and of the networking technologies that interconnect them to form distributed systems.
OBJECTIVES − On completion of this course a student should:
Telecommunications and computer networks
- Be familiar with the basic requirements of networks and their topologies.
- Have knowledge of the transmission media used by typical networks.
- Understand the difference between telephone, data and multimedia network systems.
- Be able to understand the switching and multiplexing methods which allow many messages to be passed over a common network.
- Have knowledge of local area networks and their typical protocols.
- Have knowledge of large telecommunications networks and their multiplexing methods.
Computer Systems
- Be familiar with the basic components needed to construct a computer and the different ways to interconnect these components, including the various ways of exploiting parallelism.
- Compare the instruction sets, implementation issues and performance of CISC and RISC architectures.
- Know about memory organisation, addressing schemes and the use of caches, and their effect on performance for different types of application.
- Be familiar with the various ways of handling input and output in a computer system.
- Appreciate the role of operating systems, the services they provide and the way they interact with the underlying hardware.
Official website: 3F5. top of page 
- Systems and Control (3F2)
AIMS − To make students familiar with “state-space?methods of modelling and analysing dynamic systems. These methods are extremely important for control engineering, signal processing, and related subjects.
OBJECTIVES − On completion of this course a student should:
- Understand what a state-space model is, and how to obtain such a model.
- Be able to relate state-space models to transfer-function models.
- Be able to analyse the behaviour and structure of a state-space model.
- Have some understanding of feedback design using state-space, transfer function and root-locus techniques, and be able to relate them to each other.
- Appreciate the need for and usefulness of state observers, and their role in feedback and other systems.
Official website: 3F2. top of page - Signal and Pattern Processing (3F3)
AIMS − To study the theory and practice of digital filters, random processes and pattern processing.
OBJECTIVES − To become familiar with the fundamental concepts of digital filtering, statistical signal processing and pattern recognition. The student will learn how to extend and apply the basic theory of 3F1 to design digital filters, perform optimal detection, noise reduction and estimation, and learn the basics of classification and statistical pattern recognition.
Official website: 3F3. top of page - Signal and Systems (3F1)
AIMS − This course covers three basic topics in signals and systems which provide the basis for further topics in signal processing, communications, control and related subjects. The first topic introduces the z-transform, which is the generalisation of the Laplace transform to discrete time systems. The second topic deals with stochastic processes. The third topic is an introduction to the theory of information in the context of transmission along a channel.
OBJECTIVES − On completion of this course a student should:
- Be familiar with the theory and application of the z-transform.
- Be able to analyse the stability of discrete-time systems.
- Understand the use of correlation and spectral density functions.
- Be able to analyse the behaviour of linear systems with random inputs.
- Be familiar with the key concepts of information Theory, such as how much information is conveyed by a given message, and be able to calculate the entropy of source data with known statistics.
Official website: 3F1. top of page - Matlab/Octave Laboratory (IB)
AIMS − The aim of this course is to persuade all of the students that Octave, at a simple level, is a useful tool that they can and should use. The bright students should be encouraged toexperiment and exploreOctavein more detail.
The lab sessions take place in the DPO and run between the following dates (inclusive, effective 2006):
Session Start End Thursday 9am−1am 5 October 23 November Monday 11am−1pm 9 October 27 November Tuesday 9am−1am 10 October 28 November Official website: 3F1.