Programa del congreso

This contribution presents a practical proposal for the analysis and visualization of satellite signal coverage using the Iridium constellation as a reference scenario. By modeling the orbital geometry of the satellites and the radiation pattern of their antennas, students can compute the received power on the ground and represent it over a geographic map. The activity is implemented in MATLAB using the Satellite Communications Toolbox and allows students to reinforce key concepts related to radio link modeling, such as antenna gain, propagation losses, and free-space transmission equation, within the context of a real low Earth orbit (LEO) system.

En este trabajo, se propone una metodología que combina el aprendizaje cooperativo y el aprendizaje basado en juegos como alternativa a la docencia expositiva en clases teóricas. Para sistematizar la aplicación de esta innovación y evaluar su impacto real sin sesgos, se ha decido utilizar una aproximación basada en el proceso de investigación-acción. Los resultados obtenidos son prometedores y muestran la capacidad de la metodología propuesta para mejorar diferentes aspectos del proceso de aprendizaje.

This communication describes the study and evaluation of low-cost RF measurement instruments intended for educational use. To this end, a separate analysis of the principles of operation is included for each type of typical RF test-equipment (i.e., a function generator, a spectrum analyzer, and a vector network analyzer). Then, an evaluation of the performance of these instruments is conducted for measurements in undergraduate laboratory experiments (e.g., transmission lines, characterization of antennas and/or passive filters). The values of some characteristic parameters are confronted with measurements made with high-performance commercial RF equipment. In conclusion, reasonable accuracy can be achieved using low-cost equipment. Thus, the use of low-cost RF instrumentation is validated to increase educational activities related to hardware testing, which has a positive influence on learning quality.

When learning analog and digital communications, students often remain in a theoretical environment, missing out on the practical aspects of wireless applications. Fortunately, the growing use of software-defined radio (SDR) devices is bridging the gap between what students learn and what they will face in industry. In this work, an app-based platform for transmitting and receiving signals using two SDR devices is presented. Students will be able to generate and transmit a basic signal with a message encoded. Then, upon receiving the signal, they will be able to interactively correct frequency and phase offsets before demodulating and decoding the message. This platform gives a baseline understanding of practical wireless communications systems and the impairments these real-world applications have.

This article presents a collaborative initiative between professors of Telecommunications Engineering and Nautical Science, with the objective of providing students with multidisciplinary and transversal training. The collaboration focuses on marine radars, a topic that is common to both degrees, but approached from different perspectives. For Telecommunication Engineering students, the initiative aims at incorporating operational and functional aspects in real contexts into theoretical design tasks; for Nautical Science students, it looks for relating the usual radar operation to further theoretical foundations, and to better understand the radar performance for different configurations, scenarios and goals. The teaching methodology is based on joint sessions between professors and students of both degrees, in order to share teaching approaches and laboratory equipment. This initiative has been conducted during eight-courses, with a positive evaluation from professors and students.