SDR IN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING EDUCATION

This paper presents the subject Digital Techniques for Communications (DTC). DTC is taught at the Escola Politecnica Superior de Castelldefels (EPSC), which belongs to the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). It is a compulsory subject for undergraduate electrical engineering students specialized in telecommunication systems. It covers sampling theory, efficient IQ modulation and demodulation, phase-locked loops, and direct digital synthesis. The practical part consists of four laboratory exercises, where students in groups of two gradually implement a simple communications system on a fixed-point digital signal processor. This paper discusses the SDR practices that our students learn during the laboratory session. We conclude with our positive experience of teaching SDR principles to undergraduate students.