Introduction to information theory and coding

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Module nameIntroduction to information theory and coding
Type of moduleCompulsory
Learning results,
competencies, qualification goals		The student is able to:
  • apply the basic knowledge of the information theory,
  • create and apply optimal and suboptimal procedures for the block and convolutional coding and decoding,
  • create and apply optimal and suboptimal procedures for source coding and decoding.

Learning results with regard to the objectives of the course of study:
  • Gaining a deeper knowledge about the specific electrical fundamentals
  • Acquiring enhanced and applied subject-specific basics
  • Identifying and classifying complex electro-technical and interdisciplinary tasks
  • Being confident in the ability to use and evaluate analytical methods
  • Being able to create and evaluate solving methods independently
  • Gaining important and profound experience in the area of practical technical skills and engineering activities
  • Working and researching in national and international contexts
Types of courses4 SWS (semester periods per week):       3 SWS lecture
                                                                 1 SWS exercise
Course contents
  • Fundamentals in information theory, entropy, mutual information
  • Typical sequences and Shannon capacity for the discrete memoryless channel
  • Channel coding: block codes, cyclic block codes, systematic form
  • Soft and hard decisions and performance; interleaving and code concatenation
  • Convolutional codes: tree and state diagrams, transfer function, distance properties; the Viterbi algorithm
  • Source coding: fixed-length and variable-length codes, Huffman coding; the Lempel-Ziv algorithm; coding for analog sources, rate-distortion function; pulse-code modulation; delta-modulation, model-based source coding, linear predictive coding (LPC)
Teaching and learning methods
(forms of teaching and learning)		Lecture, presentation, learning by teaching, self-regulated learning, problem-based learning
Frequency of the module offeringWinter term
LanguageEnglish
Requirements for the
participation in the module		Prerequisites according to examination regulations
Student  workload180 h:   60 h attendance studies
                      120 h personal studies
Academic performancesNone
Precondition for the
admission to the
examination performance		None
Examination performance

Form of the examination: oral exam

Duration of the examination: 30 min.

Number of credits
of the module		6 credits

In charge of the moduleProf. Dr. Dirk Dahlhaus
Teacher of the moduleProf. Dr. Dirk Dahlhaus and co-workers
Forms of mediaProjector, black board, piece of paper
Literature references
  • T. Cover and J.A. Thomas, Elements of Information Theory, 2nd ed., Wiley, ISBN: 978 0 471 24195 9.
  • J.G. Proakis, Digital Communications, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 4th ed., 2001.
  • Papoulis, S. U. Pillai, Probability, Random Variables, and Stochastic Processes, McGraw-Hill, 4th ed., ISBN 0071226613.

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