A Wireless Communications Systems Laboratory Course

A novel wireless communications systems laboratory course is introduced. The course teaches students how to design, test, and simulate wireless systems using modern instrumentation and computer-aided design (CAD) software. One of the objectives of the course is to help students understand the theoretical concepts behind wireless communication systems through hands-on experiments and to make them more confident both in system design and analysis. The course also aims at increasing the interest of students in engineering and technology. Therefore, laboratory experiments that are complementary to the materials discussed in the theoretical part of the course are designed specifically to incorporate the use of several wireless devices that students probably use extensively in their daily lives. Complementing and expanding upon the materials covered in other communication courses is another merit of this laboratory-based course. Meeting the course requirements also helps students improve their oral presentation and report preparation abilities. The evaluation of the course indicates that most of the objectives are achieved. This paper discusses the experiments designed to teach various wireless communication concepts to the students on a weekly basis, as well as the interesting projects and the other course requirements, which could be replicated by other universities.