Low Cost Ubiquitous Context-Aware Wireless Communications Laboratory for Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Wireless Communication technologies are in continuous evolution. Around the world, many Universities try to provide innovative laboratory courses to train their students in this field. In this paper, a ubiquitous laboratory course for wireless communications is described. The laboratory course has been designed so that the students have to complete six different experiments. Three of these experiments have been designed to use advanced professional network testing tools in order to provide practical experience in simulation tools. Two additional experiments have been implemented in order to provide hands-on measurements through the student's mobile device. This is a novelty and provides the students with an example of ubiquitous learning. Finally, in the last experiment, the students manufacture a WiFi antenna. The laboratory has been designed so that the students develop different practical skills in each experiment. This laboratory course facilitates applied learning and the consolidation of theoretical concepts.