ISSUE
01 Research Trends on Radar Tracking of Moving Targets
Engineering Student Success Story 2
December 2008
Quarterly-Published Newsletter of THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
Get Tuned
Dr Ioannis Kyriakides
Engineering Quote Engineers are not boring people, they just get excited about boring things!
Engineering Joke The Board of Trustees of a nearby University decides to test the Professors, to see if they really know their stuff. First they take a Math Professor and put him in a room. Now, the room contains a table and three metal spheres about the size of softballs. They tell him to do whatever he wants with the balls and the table in one hour. After an hour, he comes out and the Trustees look in and the balls are arranged in a triangle at the center of the table. Next, they give the same test to a Physics Professor. After an hour, they look in, and the balls are stacked one on top of the other in the center of the table. Finally, they give the test to an Engineering Professor. After an hour, they look in and one of the balls is broken, one is missing, and he's carrying the
This issue
When tracking with radar, the accurate estimation of the target's position and velocity requires accuracy in radar measurements. The factors that affect measurement accuracy are the noise introduced by the environment and the type and parameters of the waveform transmitted by the radar sensor. Each waveform that we choose to transmit is associated with an ambiguity function (AF). The AF is the result of the two dimensional cross-correlation of the signal with its time-delayed (shifted in time) and its Doppler-shifted (shifted in frequency) versions. The ambiguity function describes the ambiguity that exists in knowing both the position and the velocity of a target simultaneously (uncertainty principle). Different waveforms have different AF characteristics and are, thus, associated with different measurement accuracies. In general, the more highly peaked the AF is, the more accuracy we have in measuring position and velocity at the same time. Traditionally radar tracking uses linearly frequency modulated (LFM) waveforms. LFM's are associated with AF shapes as the one shown in Figure 1. A new type of waveform, however, the constant amplitude zero autocorrelation (CAZAC) waveform, is recently becoming popular as a radar signal. CAZAC waveforms have highly peaked AF's as the one shown in Figure 2. Comparing Figures 1 and 2, we observe that CAZAC waveforms have better delayDoppler accuracy than the traditionally used LFM waveforms.
third out in his lunchbox.
RFIDs for Healthcare Digital Television in Cyprus
Message from the Dean of the School
Figure 3 In order for a radar tracking system (see Figure 3) to estimate the target state the following steps are taken. First, a waveform is transmitted by the radar sensor. The waveform reflects from targets and returns to the radar sensor (see Figure 4) with a certain time-delay and Dopplershift. The time delay of the waveform is associated with the distance from the target to the radar sensor, while the Doppler shift is a function of the velocity of a target with respect to the radar sensor. Next, the radar processing unit takes two-dimensional crosscorrelations of the return signal with template signals at the radar system site with each of the template signals having a different time-delay and Doppler-shift. The magnitude of these crosscorrelations reveals which timedelays and Doppler-shifts are closer to the associated true target position and velocity. Finally, the radar tracking system calculates an estimate of the target state using the information on time-delay and Doppler-shift from the return signal. Currently, new types of waveforms and constructs, as well as schemes that adaptively choose waveform parameters in real time are being developed making radar tracking a very promising and exciting research topic.
Rouzet Agaiby received her Associate Degree in Computer Engineering from Intercollege (now University of Nicosia), Nicosia, Cyprus, in 1997, and her B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Kennedy Western University in Wyoming, U.S.A, in 1999. She then pursued professional certification in Microsoft software of the Windows 2000 family making her a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) within 2 years. Following that, she embarked on graduate studies at Newcastle University, U.K, where, having scored the highest average from about 120 students on the same course, she graduated with distinction in 2005 with an MSc in Communications and Signal Processing.
She won best poster and best presentation in two consecutive years at conferences held at the University. She has an article in the Journal of Applied Physics awaiting publication and is hoping to have more publications before concluding her PhD.
the University of Nicosia as the first issue of “Get Tuned” becomes a reality. This quarterly newsletter is addressed to students, faculty, and alumni of the Department of Engineering. It will be posted on the Department’s web site with the hope that alumni and friends of the Department will read it.
Through “Get Tuned” we will try to get the readers tuned to departmental activities and
technology within the interests of the Department faculty and students. We will also try to keep in touch with our alumni. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those colleagues who have given us hope by their contribution and by sharing their wisdom with us. At the same time, I would encourage all
contribute towards the preparation of the issues to come. Best of luck in this new undertaking.
46 Makedonitissas Avenue P.O. Box 24005 1700 Nicosia CYPRUS (+357) 22841500 phone (+357) 22357481 fax www.unic.ac.cy
Department of Engineering at
faculty and students to
Department of Engineering
Dr George Gregoriou Dean, School of Sciences Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 4
Radar Tracking of Targets
A new journey begins for the
advancements in science and This triggered her interest in research and so she started a doctoral degree in Semiconductor Nanotechnology at the same University where she is currently in her final year.
Student Success Stories
Radio Frequency Identification for Healthcare Dr Anastasis Polycarpou The Department of Engineering has been recently awarded research funding (€ 128,350) by the Research Promotion Foundation (RPF) to work for two years on the implementation of RFID technology along with Information Technology (IT) and Wireless Communications in the healthcare environment.
A well-defined subsection of a hospital will be equipped with a set of static (immobile) as well as mobile RFID readers interconnected through a wireless network that serves as bridge to the hospital database system and backhaul Information and Communication Technology infrastructure.
Hospitals and healthcare clinics around the world are using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to identify patients and medical personnel, track assets and surgical equipment, and even control/monitor inventory. RFID technology is used to ensure that patients receive quality health care by eliminating patient mix-ups, reduce running costs and unnecessary expenses, and improve efficiency and overall patient satisfaction. RFID is an emerging technology that uses radio frequency signals to communicate between the RFID tag and the RFID reader. The RFID tags are similar to barcodes which are encoded with a unique identification number; however, RFID tags require no direct contact or line-of-sight between the reader and the tag in order to read the encrypted information. The primary objective of hospitals and clinics is to introduce RFID technology, together with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), in their healthcare environment in order to improve quality of service to patients and reduce operational costs. This can be achieved by using RFID technology for a) inventory control and monitoring; b) tracking and locating of valuable medical equipment; c) identification and tracking of blood, specimen, organs, etc.; d) automatic identification of inhospital patients through the use of RFID wristbands; e) real-time access/update of patient's profile and medication records by medical staff. The direct benefits of adopting this technology in the healthcare sector include a) reduction of errors and patient mix-ups due to traditional paper-bound processes; b) real-time access and update of patient's medical profile; c) increased productivity and efficiency at workplace; d) better healthcare service to patients; e) fast and error-free identification of specimen and blood samples during laboratory work; f) item and equipment loss prevention; g) labour savings; h) automatic and accurate record of inventory.
Patients will wear low-cost, wristband RFID tags and medical personnel will be equipped with simple-to-use handheld terminals (e.g., RFID readers) able to rapidly receive and decode patient’s unique ID, wirelessly communicate with the medical record database, and quickly, securely and reliably retrieve patient’s information. In that way, medical staff will be able to avoid mistakes, perform the appropriate medical treatment and update accordingly each patient’s profile. Furthermore, the proposed network of RFID tags and readers, in combination with the rest of the wired and wireless infrastructure, will be able to provide real-time location service (RTLS) for pre-tagged patients and valuable medical equipment.
Small but cute! Did you know that the first
Is Digital TV Finally Coming to Cyprus?
electronic mail, or "email", was sent in 1972 by Ray Tomlinson? It was also his idea to use the @
user from the name of the computer.
Marconi in 1901 was the first to
Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in July this year, Intel’s Health
It’s 2011 and you are ready to watch your favourite football team smashing your rivals (because some things never change…)! You turn your TV on, but nothing; no signal, just static!
sign to separate the name of the
Did you know that Guglielmo
EYE ON TECHNOLOGY
Launching of Digital TV Broadcasting in Cyprus
Guide PHS6000 is currently tested in a number of pilot programs the company has jointly with health care
If you had only finished reading this article …
providers. These programs enroll patients and
Dr Antonis M. Hadjiantonis
Engineering Student Success Story 1
transmit radio signals (Morse codes) across the Atlantic Ocean and launch this way the wireless communication industry? Did you also know that Marconi had no formal education, screwed up at school, and failed to get into university? Nonetheless, he managed in 1909 to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. Everything is possible; you just need persistence and hard work.
Do you know why the sky is blue? This question was first answered in 1911 by Albert Einstein who calculated the detailed formula
Did you know? By 2012, all European countries have agreed to cease analog television broadcasting and transit into fully digital broadcasting and specifically Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT or DTTV). Cyprus is among the late adopters of DTTV and faces an important challenge in meeting its European commitments, i.e. abandoning analog transmission by 2012! DTTV, translated in Greek as ΕΨΤ (Επίγεια Ψηφιακή Τηλεόραση), is the new era of TV broadcasting, offering better quality of picture and sound, as well as a greater number of channels.
Present and Future of Digital TV molecules. He explained that
gas particles (molecules). The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths (red, orange, and yellow) pass straight through; however, the shorter wavelength light (blue) is absorbed by the gas molecules and then radiated in different directions. Everywhere you look, it is simply blue.
In spite of the late start of DTTV in Cyprus, its deployment should be accelerated by the dominance of TV reception by aerial. As shown by a recent survey from the European Union (Eurobarometer No293), a staggering 91% of households in Cyprus receive TV signal using an aerial. The percentage exceeds the European average of aerial use by 50%. This uniform use of aerial will expedite the adoption of digital
of sub-carriers, supporting three modulation options (QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM) and 5 different FEC (forward error correction) rates. In addition, 4 Guard Interval options and a choice of 2k or 8k carriers make it a very flexible standard for deployment of Digital Terrestrial Television. The use of OFDM modulation with the appropriate “guard interval” allows DVB-T to provide a valuable tool for regulators and operators in the form of the “single frequency network” (SFN). An
Though related with High Definition TV (HDTV), the two terms should not be confused. To put it simply, DTTV can bring HDTV to your HDready TV! But even if you have an older television set, your can still experience the benefits of digital TV with sharper and clearer video quality.
for the scattering of light from
the atmosphere is a mixture of
Interesting facts about TV in Cyprus and Europe
Today, a large number of countries worldwide have adopted at least one standard for digital TV broadcasting, paving the way towards its full adoption. As seen in the figure, a fragmentation of standards has led to a regional adoption of DTT technologies. In Europe, the Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial (DVB-T) standards have been adopted for digital TV, as proposed by the European Telecoms Standards Institute (ETSI). ETSI is an independent, non-profit, standardisation organisation of Europe’s telecommunications industry with worldwide influence. The DVB family of standards support in addition satellite video (DVB-S) and video for handheld devices (DVB-H).
designed to deliver a whole new range of services beyond just standard definition TV (SDTV), e.g. radio, interactive services and high definition channels (HDTV). What’s next? An important factor for the successful deployment of digital TV in Cyprus is making people aware of the change and the benefits they can enjoy. On the other hand, convincing people to spend extra money on a set-top box or a new TV set can be problematic, since the vast majority of TV users are just happy with the current TV quality and programs! Experiences from other European countries can be helpful, while providing low-priced set-top boxes to everyone should also be a priority. For the moment, we keep enjoying our standard definition programs and wait for the much promised transition to the digital era of TV!
TV broadcast, since digital transmissions will use the same frequency bands and can be received by conventional aerials. Newer television sets (e.g. LCD, Plasma) have fully integrated digital receivers, therefore can fully benefit of the improved video quality. A set-top box decoder will be needed for older TV sets, in order to convert the digital signal back to analog form for existing analog televisions (e.g. CRT). Some technical stuff … The adopted standard in Europe (and worldwide) is DVB-T and uses OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplex) modulation to deliver a robust signal and has the ability to deal with very severe channel conditions. This type of modulation uses a large number
SFN is a network where a number of transmitters operate on the same RF frequency. Using different combinations of the above parameters a DVB-T network can be designed to match the requirements of network operators, finding the right balance between robustness and capacity. Networks can be
Rimoon Agaiby received his Diploma in Computer Engineering from Intercollege (now University of Nicosia), Nicosia, Cyprus, in 2001, the BEng Degree in Computer Engineering and Microelectronics from Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK, in 2003, and the MSc and PhD degrees in Microelectronics from Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK in 2004 and 2008 respectively. His research modeling of
included TCAD strained Si/SiGe
MOSFETs and Virtual Substrate SiGe HBTs, DC/RF characterisation of single/dual channel strained Si MOSFETs. He spent 2 months at IMEC, Leuven, Belgium working on 1/f noise characterization of locally strained silicon devices. This exchange was setup as part of the European Network of Excellance, SiNANO. He is currently working at Qimonda, Dresden as a Systems Expert for Dielectric Reliability and qualifying future DRAM technology nodes with advanced dielectric stacks. Dr Agaiby was the recipient of the ICI Science and Engineering Award in 2003 and the International Research Scholarship in 2004. He was also one of the recipients of the IEEE Electron Device Society Graduate Student Fellowship in 2006.
physicians to assess the benefits and challenges of the tele-health system.
The new tool includes a small touch-screen PC running Windows XP and a web portal that helps connect patients and doctors. The device can also be connected to a number of the most commonly used medical devices which monitor a patient’s vital signs such as blood-pressure monitors, glucose meters, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters and weight scales. The information can be further relayed via the internet to caregivers who can monitor the patient’s state of health and provide education and management information as needed. The
This Issue’s Q&A Technology Tip
device is expected to be beneficial to both patients
Q: When was the first computer bug
trapped between the points of Relay #70, in
found?
Panel F. The operators removed the moth and
and doctors as it will reduce patient visits to hospitals and
affixed it to the log. The entry reads: "First A: The first computer bug was found
actual case of bug being found." They put out
in 1947 by Grace Murray Hopper
the word that they had "debugged" the
who was working on the Harvard
machine, thus introducing the term
University Mark II Aiken Relay
"debugging a computer program".
Calculator (a primitive computer). On
In 1988, the log, with the moth still taped by the
the 9th of September, 1947, when the
entry, was in the Naval Surface Warfare Center
machine was experiencing problems, an
Computer Museum at Dahlgren, Virginia.
investigation showed that there was a moth
teach patients how to manage their own health.