Seminar "Sustainability and Smart Cities"

Topics

This seminar covers topics of communication networks in Smart City environments with a focus on sustainability. Energy efficiency and green IoT are of special interest besides further topics that include data protection, participation of citizen and open data.
The topics of the individual seminars are intended to build upon one another, starting at fundamental concepts of RF networks in the lead-up to Smart Cities.

1. Fundamentals of RF transmissions (Adviser: Florian Metzger)
   •  Introduction to radio technology, from LC circuits to antennas
   •  Introduction to modulations, radio propagation and attenuation
   • Radio regulations
2. Software Defined Radios (SDR) (Adviser: Stefan Geißler)
   • Basic operating principle
   • Tools (e.g. gnuradio)
   • Application to research
3. LPWAN and LoRaWAN  (Adviser: Frank Loh)
   • Central aspects of Low Power Wide-Area Networks
   • LPWAN technologies in comparison
   • LoRaWAN and gateway placement
4. • Smart City sensing and architectures (Adviser: Frank Loh)
     • Sensing approaches and applications
     • Sensing and monitoring advantages
     • Communication architectures for Smart City sensing and management
5. Energy-efficient communication systems (Adviser: Stefan Geißler)
   • Energy-efficient communication in general
   • Green data centers and edge computing
   • Energy efficiency in cellular networks
6. Green IoT and sustainable Smart Cities (Adviser: Florian Metzger)
   • General introduction of green IoT
   • Energy harvesting concepts
   • Introduction to specific energy models for LPWANs (e.g. for LoRa)
7. Data protection vs. Smart City (Adviser: Nicholas Gray)
   • Legal and ethical aspects
   • Handling data and privacy in Smart Cities
   • Data protection and social participation
8. Smart City: Open data and social participation (Adviser: Nicholas Gray)
   • Importance of open data for smart cities
   • Participatory aspects of Smart Cities
   • Community networks

Notes

Despite the current limitations of the chair's daily work, the seminar will take place in the winter semester. You will find the schedule and current dates in the corresponding WueCampus course, to which you will be invited by your supervisor. 

The seminar will be held as a block seminar. The actual dates for presentation will be announced during the semester in WueCampus and via e-mail.

The seminar participants must contact their supervisor in a timely and independent manner to discuss the topic with him or her. We attach great importance to a professional talk. This includes both the content and the way of presenting.

The participants have to familiarize themselves with their topic and prepare a didactically well-prepared talk of 30 to 35 minutes. The material is provided by the supervisor. He*she is available for questions. Further study of literature is often expected, depending on the topic. The written elaboration of the topic is compulsory according to the examination regulations.

Two weeks before the official presentation date, we request a rehearsal presentation to practice and improve the talk. This one is mandatory. Some supervisors have business trips and other appointments, so they are time-bound. Therefore, the appointment must be coordinated with the supervisor in advance. We expect the participants to prepare for the rehearsal presentation and practice their talk several times with fellow students beforehand. Any feedback from fellow students should be incorporated.

Participants who have not prepared an appropriate final presentation in time are moved to the next semester. Unfortunately, it is not possible to postpone the presentation dates at short notice. Being present at all presentations of the seminar is compulsory for all participants. The presence is monitored.