Rohde & Schwarz UK has provided Brunel University’s Wireless Network & Communications Group (WNCG) with a 40 GHz R&S®ZVA vector network analyzer, a 6 GHz vector signal generator, and a 6 GHz spectrum analyzer to start important work on mesh network applications in accordance with IEEE 802.15.3 Task Group 3c. The equipment will also support a Master of Science WiMAX project.
One of the largest university-based communications research groups of its kind in the UK, WNCG, which is part of Brunel University’s School of Engineering and Design, is involved in a wide range of research activities. These include mesh networks, wireless personal networks, service discovery, OFDM, UWB, cognitive communications, next-generation Internet, radio over fiber and cross-layer optimization.
Rohde & Schwarz UK will further support the School of Engineering and Design by donating a prize for the best final-year MSc project in the field of RF & wireless communications and will deliver seminars in mobile communications and protocol analysis to students.
The R&S test equipment is housed in a new building that the WNCG has moved to on the university’s main campus. With this new equipment and facilities at its disposal, the team has been able to apply to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Program to participate in several additional projects. Among the topics that the group is planning to investigate are intelligent transport systems (ITS) and context-aware pervasive networks (CAP-NET).
Professor Hamed Al-Raweshidy, head of WNCG, commented, "Our academic staff and students are pioneering tomorrow’s wireless devices, networks and applications. Research is a costly enterprise so the loan of this test equipment puts us in a position to continue our work while awaiting further funding."
Phil McCluskey, university program manager at Rohde & Schwarz UK, stated, "Brunel University is pushing the boundaries of some very exciting research areas. We felt that it was important to support its researchers with the tools and equipment when they needed it in order for this research to progress."