Graduate School

Electronic and Computing Engineering research overview

The Department of Electronic and Computing Engineering (ECE) is proud of its high quality, industrially relevant research, learning and teaching. Our ever-evolving range of specialist areas leads our postgraduate research students to developing highly successful professional engineering and technological careers.

Our postgraduate research students come from all over the United Kingdom and many other parts of the world. They are conducting research on a range of subjects including electronics, computer engineering, control and automation, telecommunications, data communications, computer networks and internet technology.

For more information about how to apply please contact the Faculty of Technology using the Contact us page.

If you have any questions about studying for a research degree at the University of Portsmouth, please complete our enquiry form.

Key Facts

RAE Rating: Our researchers contributed their work to the Research Assessment Exercise 2008 (RAE) in the Unit of Assessment of Computer Science and Informatics (UoA 23).

We are delighted with the outcome, as 25% of our research in this Unit of Assessment was rated 'internationally excellent' and overall, 65% of all our research projects were rated 'of international standing'.

The department continues to build on this success, developing our academic and industrial research as well as our advanced technology training.

Academic staff: 27 (please see the staff list).

Postgraduate research students: 15.

Internal links: ECE has close links with the School of Computing and the Institute of Industrial Research (IIR).

External links: The Department of Electronic and Computing Engineering has received a prestigious award from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in recognition of 25 years of continuous accreditation.

We run the only European Space Agency (ESA) accredited training facility in the UK and companies such as NXP Semiconductors Ltd, BT Laboratories, Cisco, Xyratex and BAE Systems all sponsor a prize for students from the Department.

Resources

Digital Electronics and Microprocessor Laboratory

Our DEML laboratory has 45 fully equipped benches including scopes, network analysers, PCs and other standard electronic equipment for measurement purposes. You will also be able to use our specialised hardware/software development tools for design, development and implementation of microcontroller systems. In addition, the laboratory is equipped with professional hardware/software programming/testing VHDL environments for CPLD and FPGAs devices.

Analogue Electronics and Control Engineering Laboratory

This laboratory has 24 fully-equipped benches for analogue testing and measurements and 8 benches for control system design, analysis and development. Other facilities that you will be able to use include inverted pendulum kit, six Servoset systems, helicopter demonstration and development kits, and sets of walking robots.

Telecommunications Laboratory

Our telecommunications facilities include a wide range of instruments for generating, receiving and analysing high-frequency signals. Our postgraduate research students conduct research using signal generators and spectrum analysers coveing the communication bands up to 22 GHz, with the emphasis being on the new 3G frequencies, as well as an anechoic chamber for the measurement of antennas.

Digital Signal Processing Laboratory

The Department's teaching of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is supported by specialised and modern hardware and software laboratory facilities.

Computer and Network Laboratories

Our students have plenty of high-spec computers to use as we manage our own autonomous computer network with 200 PCs running Linux and Windows. The Department runs its own servers for anything that the network needs (DNS, DHCP, Kerberos, NIS etc). It is a multiplatform transparent network, where all our computers can be accessed remotely for greater flexibility and use from home, with sophisticated firewalls and VPNs in place.

Research Areas

Control and Robotics

Control and Robotics: Our researchers in control and robotics are conducting and supervising high quality research on mobile robotics and the application of artificial intelligence to provide advanced solutions to practical problems.

Embedded and Distributed Systems: An example of the involvement of the ECE department with industry consists in a collaborative project with Smart-e Ltd (www.smart-e.co.uk) manufacturers of audio/video switching and distribution equipment. The project, which was co-funded by SEEDA and Smart-e, aimed to research the range of available solutions for the implementation of web-based intelligent monitoring and control of Smart-e's range of audio-visual equipment.

Intelligent Context-Aware Systems: We are conducting and supervising rsearch projects to provide intelligent context-aware information services in mobile environment and supporting interaction amongst people, artefacts and places on a global scale. For example, we have been conducting the JHPeer project, which attempts to develop a location and context aware information retrieval engine to fit on mobile devices in a P2P environment, bringing together advances in the web, information retrieval system and mobile systems.

Security and Fraud Detection: If your research interests lie in this area, we can provide excellent supervision for various specialisms. For example, our researchers are designing and implementing knowledge-based authentication software that will be provided free to the public using an open source license. The current research is focused on improving the fraud detection processing and a system using CAPTCHA techniques to automatically collect empirical test data from the Internet.

Mobile and Fixed Earth-Space Communications

Mobile and Fixed Earth-Space Communications: If your interests lie in this area, you are in good hands. Research in terrestrial and fixed earth-space communications is one of the longest established activity within the University of Portsmouth. The main focus of our work has been in radio spectrum management and optimisation, and the understanding the underlying physics of electromagnetic wave propagation.

Engineering Education: Our researchers are working and supervising the effective teaching of engineering subjects. Our research projects include studies to understand the motivational influences of students as they progress from FE to HE and through HE. Other research activities are focussing on evaluating the influence and use of technology in teaching and the assessment of the impact of peer support services in students' performance.

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