The chapters listed below are from the 6.02 course notes, which can be found in the Readings section.
| LEC # | TOPICS | CHAPTERS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1: Bits | |||
| 1 | Introduction and objectives for communication systems, information and entropy, Huffman coding | 1, 2, 3.1–3.2 | |
| 2 | Source coding: Huffman codes and LZW | 3 | |
| 3 | Errors and binary symmetric channels, error correction introduction | 4 (skim through 4.3.1), 5.1–5.3 | |
| 4 | Error correction (channel coding), Hamming distance, parity bits | 5 | |
| 5 | Rectangular parity codes, Hamming codes, linear block codes, interleaving | 6 (not including 6.6) | Problem set 1 due (Huffman and LZW) |
| 6 | Convolutional codes | 7 | |
| 7 | Viterbi decoding of convolutional codes | 8 | Problem set 2 due (linear block codes) |
| Unit 2: Signals | |||
| 8 | Gaussian noise, SNR and BER, dB scale | 9 | |
| 9 | Transmitting on a physical channel: the bits-signal boundary, digital signaling, modulation and demodulation | 10.1 | Problem set 3 due (Viterbi decoder and comparing codes) |
| 10 | Linear, time-invariant (LTI) channel models in continuous time (CT) and discrete time (DT), step response, unit sample (impulse) response, convolution, causality | 10, 11.3 | |
| Quiz 1 (covering lectures 1–7 and problem sets 1–3) | |||
| 11 | Intersymbol interference (ISI), PyAudio channel demo (full oneping library), understanding LTI systems through their frequency response | 11 | |
| 12 | Filters and composition, deconvolution as (noise-sensitive) inverse filtering | 11 | Problem set 4 due (digital signaling, clock recovery, noise analysis) |
| 13 | Fourier transformation to display the spectrum of a periodic signal (discrete-time Fourier series) | 12 | |
| 14 | Discrete-time Fourier series, spectrum of non-periodic signals (discrete-time Fourier transforms), spectral character of noise | 13 | Problem set 5 due (unit-step and unit-sample response, eye diagrams) |
| 15 | Modulation on a sinusoidal carrier, demodulation (time-domain and frequency-domain interpretations), sharing spectrum using multiple carriers | 14 | |
| 16 | Signals in time and frequency, LTI channels, filtering, and modulation/demodulation: how these come together in modern design | 14 | |
| Unit 3: Packets | |||
| 17 | Multi-hop networks, packet switching, queues, sources of delay | 16 | Problem set 6 due (modulation and demodulation) |
| Quiz 2 (covering lectures 8–16 and problem sets 4–6) | |||
| 18 | Sharing a channel: MAC protocols (TDMA, Aloha) | 15 | |
| 19 | Network layer: routing protocols (without failures) | 17 | Problem set 7 due (MAC protocols) |
| 20 | Network layer: routing protocols (handling failures), comparing distance-vector and link-state protocols | 18 | |
| 21 | Transport protocols: reliable data delivery | 19 | Problem set 8 due (distance-vector and link-state routing protocols) |
| 22 | Transport protocols: improving throughput with sliding windows | 19, 16.4 | |
| 23 | From the telegraph to the Internet | Problem set 9 due (transport protocols) | |
| 24 | Course wrap-up | ||
| Quiz 3 (covering lectures 17–24 and problem sets 7–9) | |||