Cellular Wireless Network Constructed from Modular Short-Range RF Transmitters

Student: Jesse Chan

Supervisor: Richard Cocks

Category: Electrical Engineering Thesis Project

In the present world of communication, creating a device that is capable of exchanging information with another through a wireless medium is a compelling prospect. Present days there are many products that have already been created and employed widely. However a design that is inexpensive, low powered and mobile is rarely available.

This thesis documents the design and implementation of EasyPage. A portable messaging device that uses low power RF transceiver modules to generate a network that is significantly larger than the range of any single transceiver pair. EasyPage solves the crisis between staff and customers in places such as fetes, flea markets and restaurants where communication problems are common. The product uses radio frequency as a wireless medium to pass information to the distant nodes cover by the network. Due to its ad-hoc characteristic each node is capable of forwarding the message that is not addressed to itself to the destination thus extending the range of the entire network.

The review of current existing solutions such as pager and wireless LAN is analyzed in the early chapter, followed by the theory and technical information behind the product. The specifications of the product are derived and the fundamental design decisions in achieving the solution are made. The full implementation including both hardware and software is examined and the decisions are justified. The thesis concludes with an evaluation on the product achieved and future development possible.

Poster Presentation (PDF)

Thesis Document (PDF)