Instructor: Nakul Garg (nakul@rice.edu)
Lectures: Tu - Th, 4:00pm - 5:15pm
Location: James Baker Hall, 116
TA: TBD
Office Hours: TBD
Course Description. This course focuses on building intelligent mobile systems that sense, communicate, and make decisions under tight resource constraints like limited energy, compute, and bandwidth. We will explore wireless communication, embedded sensing, and machine learning techniques for mobile applications. Topics include wireless localization, sensor fusion, on-device AI, energy harvesting, wireless imaging, and emerging techniques like 3D mapping and neural radiance fields.
Prerequisites: The course is open for graduate (PhD/Master's) and senior undergraduate students. Prior experience in embedded systems, wireless communication, and machine learning is recommended but not required.
| # | DATE | TOPIC | ASSIGNMENT | READING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOUNDATIONS OF SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS | ||||
| 1 | Aug 26 | Introduction to Intelligent Mobile Systems | - | |
| 2 | Aug 28 | Sensors and Signals | - | |
| 3 | Sep 2 | Signal Processing and Fourier Analysis | - | |
| 4 | Sep 4 | Signal Processing and Fourier Analysis | Homework 1 Released | |
| 5 | Sep 9 | Signal Processing and Fourier Analysis (cont.) | - | |
| 6 | Sep 11 | In-Class Workshop 1: Smartphone Sensor Analysis | - | |
| 7 | Sep 16 | IMU Systems, Sensor fusion, Filtering | Project Proposal Due | |
| 8 | Sep 18 | Aliasing and Freq Shifting | Homework 1 Due | |
| SPATIAL SENSING AND COMPUTING | ||||
| 9 | Sep 23 | Wave Propagation & Ranging | Homework 2 Released | |
| 10 | Sep 25 | Doppler Effect | - | |
| 11 | Sep 30 | Arrays, Beamforming, Spatial Sensing | - | |
| 12 | Oct 2 | Arrays, Beamforming, Spatial Sensing (cont.) | - | |
| 13 | Oct 7 | Wireless Localization | Homework 2 Due | |
| 14 | Oct 9 | Wireless Imaging | - | |
| Oct 14 | Fall Recess | No class — Holiday | ||
| 15 | Oct 16 | Midterm Exam (In-Class) | Midterm Exam Assessment | |
| 16 | Oct 21 | Structure Assisted Sensing | Homework 3 Released | |
| 17 | Oct 23 | Wireless Imaging – Diffusion, NeRF | - | |
| 18 | Oct 28 | NextG I: 5G & Millimeter-Wave Sensing | - | |
| ON-DEVICE INTELLIGENCE | ||||
| 19 | Oct 30 | Project Progress Discussion | - | |
| 20 | Nov 4 | Energy Harvesting & Intermittent Computing | - | |
| 21 | Nov 6 | On-Device AI: TinyML & Optimization | Homework 3 Due | |
| 22 | Nov 11 | In-Class Workshop 2: Hands-On TinyML | Workshop | |
| APPLICATIONS AND INTELLIGENT MOBILE SYSTEMS | ||||
| 23 | Nov 13 | Mobile Health Sensing | - | |
| 24 | Nov 18 | Mobile Health Sensing (cont.) | - | |
| 25 | Nov 20 | Security and Privacy | - | |
| 26 | Nov 25 | Security and Privacy (cont.) | - | |
| Nov 27 | Thanksgiving Break | No class — Holiday | ||
| FINAL PROJECTS | ||||
| 27 | Dec 2 | Final Project Presentations I | Final Presentations | |
| 28 | Dec 4 | Final Project Presentations II | Final Presentations | |
All students must uphold the Rice Honor Code standards established when you matriculated at Rice. If you need clarification on academic integrity expectations, procedures, or student rights, consult the Honor System Handbook.
Any student with a documented disability needing academic accommodations should: 1) visit the Disabilities Resource Center (DRC) to ensure required documentation is on file, and 2) speak with the instructor as soon as possible. The DRC is located in Allen Center, Room 111 / adarice@rice.edu / x5841.
Student wellbeing and mental health are important. If personal challenges are interfering with your ability to complete coursework, please contact the Wellbeing and Counseling Center for support. 24/7 support: 713-348-3311.
Information in this syllabus may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice as appropriate.