CPSC 538a - Term 2 2004/2005W (January - April)

This general theme of this course is Time-Sensitive Distributed Applications. The three main topics of the course will be the following:

• Multimedia distribution
• Sensor networks
• Network games

Time

14-15:30 Mondays and Wednesdays

Location

CISR 304

Instructor

Charles 'Buck' Krasic e-mail web

Newsgroup

Format

This course will follow a research seminar format, that is, we will review and discuss a selection of recent research papers from the topic areas described above.

We will be covering two papers per class. Every person in the class is responsible for reading all of the papers.

There will be an in-class presentation for each paper, followed by group discussion. Each student can expect to be assigned the lead role for one or more of the papers, depending on the total number of participants.

The person assigned lead role will:

1. Make an appointment to meet me sometime before your scheduled presentation.
   • You should bring a draft of your presentation.
   • We will review your slides, discuss any difficulties with the material, etc.
2. Do the short 15-20 minute slide presentation in class, summarizing the paper.
3. Lead the group discussion:
   • What were the main contributions of the work?
   • What were the advantages and disadvantages of the approach?
   • How does it compare to the other papers and related work?
   • What are potential avenues for further work and improvements?
4. Submit a web page (due 1 week after presentation) containing:
   • A short (one or two paragraph) summary of the paper
   • A summary of the group discussion (a couple of paragraphs, or bullet list is ok)
   • Optionally, additional references to other important papers on the subject not included in the class.
   • A copy of your slide presentation

Project

Full details for the class projects will be given later this term , but here is an outline of what to expect. There will be a term project, which may entail programming, simulation, or design. Associated with the project will be two sets of class presentations and written submisssions, the first stage will be the project proposal, and the second and final stage will be project reports. The proposals will have a short 1-2 page written submission, and a presentation near the middle of the term in class. The project reports will be given during the first exam week, in the style of mini-workshop. The written component will be a paper (approximately 5-10 pages). Projects can be done in groups, or by individuals, subject to my approval.

Grading

Grades will be based on class participation, class presentations, and paper reports.

• Class presentations 30%
• Summaries 20%
• Project 40%
• Class participation 10%

Schedule

The first class (organizational meeting) will be on Monday, January 10, 2004

The tentative set of papers, reading schedule, and student materials are here.