Communication Systems

专业详情

The circulation of information continues to grow at breakneck pace: Photos, music and videos are ceaselessly exchanged in the age of Internet. While the world shaped by communication systems seems easy to grasp, a real command of this subtle universe – at the junction of mathematics, computing and electrical engineering – is both complex and fascinating. To study communication systems is to stand at the very crux of our society’s challenges.

Communication systems engineers have to ensure the reliability and efficiency of the flow of information. They do so by developing new communication methods that allow data to be compressed, or to protect it from the risks related to the environment in which it is transmitted and from malicious attacks. The latter particularly involves cryptology, a field that is continually evolving in order to effectively resist the ingenious efforts of hackers.

Wireless applications are also undergoing major developments. In parallel to the evolution of mobile telephones, the miniaturization of components now allows us to install sensors in various objects (embedded systems). Communicating over the network, these sensors enable actions to be monitored or triggered, for example in the case of applications related to climatic conditions (permafrost, avalanches) or object positioning (such as mobile telephones). This means that protocols must be developed to be able to manage the numerous data exchanges, while minimizing the quantity of energy needed for system operations.